Biological Levers

Organisms regulate their own behavior and internal states by means of numerous sensitive and interconnected control systems. These systems make organisms vulnerable to manipulation, but also give them the capacity for cooperative interaction. This project examines the crucial role played by mechanisms of regulation in the evolutionary processes leading to complex organization both within organisms and in ecological and social relationships among them. It will draw on the expertise of philosophers, biologists, and behavioural scientists.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS:

Gillian Barker (Rotman Institute of Philosophy; Western University)
Robert Batterman (University of Pittsburgh)
John Odling-Smee (Emeritus Research Fellow, Manfield College, University of Oxford)
Kyle Stanford (University of California at Irvine)
William Wimsatt (University of Chicago)

Overview

Organisms and other biological systems are self-regulating: they control many different dimensions of their own behaviour and internal states. The systems that organisms use to achieve self-regulation need to be responsive to their contexts yet to have potentially large effects on what the organism does. As a result, these systems have capacities that play a special role in evolution. One of these “biological levers,” once it has evolved, can be recruited to new uses within the same organism, or it can be manipulated to the advantage of another organism, resulting in exploitation or in mutually rewarding cooperation. Interactions among biological levers within organisms or in different organisms produce complex feedback processes that play a distinctive role in the evolution of complex organization.

This research project will investigate the evolutionary patterns produced by the interaction of biological levers and show how such interaction is involved in many evolutionary processes, including the evolution of multicellularity, of complex developmental systems, and of aspects of social complexity such as altruistic behaviour, signalling, and the regulation of mating behaviour and aggression. The project will help us to understand the evolution of social coordination, including human language and moral systems, and will help us rethink common assumptions about adaptation.

Members

Gillian Barker (PI, Western University)
Robert Batterman (CI, University of Pittsburgh)
O’Neal Buchanan (Graduate student, Western University)
Michael Doan (Graduate student, Dalousie)
John Odling-Smee (CI, Emeritus Research Fellow, Manfield College, University of Oxford)
Valerie Racine (Graduate student, Western University)
Kyle Stanford (CI, University of California at Irvine)
William Wimsatt (CI, University of Chicago).

Selected Publications

Articles:

Core ethical concepts

Weijer C, Miller PB, Graham M. The duty of care and equipoise in randomized controlled trials. In: Arras JD, Kukla R, Fenton E (eds.). Routledge Companion to Bioethics. Routledge: New York, 2015: pp. 200–214.

Horn AR, Weijer C. Clinical Equipoise. Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics 2016: 1–11.

Hey SP, Weijer C. What questions can a placebo help answer? Monash Bioethics Review 2016; 34(1): 23–36.

Pragmatic RCTs

Campbell MK, Weijer C, Goldstein CE, Edwards SJ. Do doctors have a duty to participate in pragmatic randomised trials? British Medical Journal 2017; 357: j2817.

Horn AR, Weijer C, Grimshaw JM, Brehaut JC, Fergusson D, Goldstein CE, Taljaard M. An ethical analysis of the SUPPORT trial: addressing challenges posed by pragmatic comparative effectiveness randomized controlled trials with interventions routinely used in medical practice. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal. (Accepted)

Goldstein CE, Weijer C, Brehaut JC, Campbell M, Fergusson DA, Grimshaw JM, Hemming K, Horn AR, Taljaard M. Accommodating quality and service improvement research in existing ethical principles. (Submitted).

Goldstein CE, Brehaut J, Fergusson D, Grimshaw J, Horn AR, Taljaard M, Weijer C. Ethical issues in pragmatic randomized controlled trials: a review of the literature identifies gaps in ethical argumentation. (Submitted)

Cluster randomized trials

Taljaard M, Weijer C, Grimshaw JM. Ethical implications of cluster randomized trials. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.) 2015: 897–905.

Taljaard M, Chaudhry SH, Brehaut JC, Weijer C, Grimshaw JM. Mail merge can be used to create personalized questionnaires in complex surveys. BMC Research Notes 2015; 8: 574.

McRae AM, Taljaard M, Weijer C. Cluster randomized trials: another look. Clinical Trials 2016; 13(3): 294–300.

Hemming K, Eldridge S, Forbes G, Weijer C, Taljaard M. How to design efficient cluster randomised trials. British Medical Journal 2017: in press.

Horn AR, Weijer C, Hey SP, Brehaut JC, Fergusson D, Goldstein CE, Grimshaw JM, Taljaard M. Thinking clearly about the FIRST trial: Addressing ethical challenges in cluster randomized trials involving health providers. (Submitted).

Stepped wedge trials

Taljaard M, Hemming K, Shah L, Giraudeau B, Grimshaw JM, Weijer C. Inadequacy of ethical reporting and conduct of stepped wedge cluster randomised trials: results from a systematic review. Clinical Trials 2017: April 8.

Presentations:

Workshops and panels

Naganathan V, Travison T, Allore H, Taljaard M, Weijer C. International, Pragmatic and Multisite Trials: Design, Implementation and Ethical Considerations (Invited Panel). 21st IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics. San Francisco, USA. July 24, 2017.

Eldridge S, Grimshaw JM, Goldstein CE, Hey SP, Weijer C. The pragmatic randomized controlled trial at 50: past successes; future challenges (Invited panel). International Clinical Trials and Methodology Conference and meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials, Liverpool, UK. May 9, 2017.

Fergusson D, McIntyre L, Taljaard M, Horn A, Weijer C. Ethical challenges in pragmatic comparative effectiveness trials (Invited panel). Society for Clinical Trials meeting. Montreal. May 15, 2016.

Dijkgraaf R, Alberts B, Nordling L, Mair D, Weijer C, Soror S. Interplay between science advice, politics and the media (Invited panel). Interacademy Partnership Conference on Science Advice. Hermanus, South Africa. March 1, 2016.

Hemming K, Taljaard M, Weijer C, Matei M, Eldridge S, Giraudeau B. Variations in Regulatory Requirements and Implications for Consent Procedures in Cluster Randomized Trials (Invited Workshop). 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials. Arlington, USA. May 18, 2015.

Individual talks

Goldstein CE, Weijer C. The learning health care system and conscription into research: the content and limits of a Rawlsian common good. Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Kansas City, US. October 20, 2017.

Goldstein CE, Horn AR, Taljaard M, Weijer C. Ethical issues in individual-cluster trials: beyond the Ottawa Statement. Meeting of the Canadian Bioethics Society, Montreal, CA. May 25, 2017.

Goldstein CE, Horn AR, Taljaard M, Weijer C. Ethical Issues in individual-cluster trials: beyond the Ottawa Statement. Ethox Center, Oxford, UK. May 10, 2017.

Goldstein CE, Horn AR, Taljaard M, Weijer C. Ethical Issues in individual-cluster trials: beyond the Ottawa Statement. International Clinical Trials and Methodology Conference and meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials, Liverpool, UK. May 9, 2017.

Weijer C. Inadequacy of ethical conduct and reporting of stepped wedge cluster randomized trials: Results from a systematic review. The CONSORT extension for stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials (SW-CRT): Liverpool consensus meeting. Liverpool, UK. May 7, 2017.

Weijer C. Models of informed consent in pragmatic trials. Ontario SPOR Support Unit (OSSU) Workshop on Pragmatic Trials. Toronto. March 7, 2017.

Taljaard M, Weijer C. Pragmatic randomized controlled trials: interplay between design and ethics. Clinical Epidemiology Program Rounds. Ottawa. January 27, 2017.

Taljaard M, Weijer C. The ethics of cluster randomized trials. Public Health Agency of Canada Research Ethics Board. Ottawa. January 12, 2017.

Weijer C, Taljaard M. The ethics of pragmatic trials. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Clinical Research Week. Ottawa. October 18, 2016.

Horn AR, Taljaard M, Weijer C. An ethical analysis of the SUPPORT study: addressing challenges posed by a randomized controlled trial comparing standard treatments used in medical practice. American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. Washington, DC. October 10, 2016.

Horn AR, Taljaard M, Weijer C. An ethical analysis of the SUPPORT study: addressing challenges posed by a randomized controlled trial comparing standard treatments used in medical practice. International Association of Bioethics. Edinburgh, UK. June 15, 2016.

Horn AR, Taljaard M, Weijer C. An ethical analysis of the SUPPORT study: addressing challenges posed by a randomized controlled trial comparing standard treatments used in medical practice. Canadian Bioethics Society. Toronto, ON. May 27, 2016.

Goldstein CE, Taljaard M, Weijer C. Ethics of pragmatic randomized controlled trials. Meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials, Montreal, Canada. May 17, 2016.

Horn AR, Taljaard M, Weijer C. An ethical analysis of the SUPPORT study: addressing challenges posed by a randomized controlled trial comparing standard treatments used in medical practice. Society for Clinical Trials. Montreal, QC. May 17, 2016.

Weijer C. Ethical issues in cluster randomized trials in health research. International Working Group, U.S. Office for Human Research Protections. Washington, DC. April 13, 2016.

Weijer C. Recent advances in research ethics: developing the first ethical guidelines for cluster randomized trials. Western Research Forum. March 21, 2015.