The JAMA Fiasco: Conflicts-of-Interest, Academic Freedom, and Free Speech
This message has been approved by Dr. Jim Clark, Dean and Professor of the FSU College of Social Work, for distribution to students, faculty and staff.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25
3:00–4:00 P.M.
FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AUDITORIUM
REGISTRATION | Online at: fsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0uflXO8AoOvMAoB Free for all attendees. CEUs available. Pre-registration is required for attendance.
RECEPTION | Held after the lecture from 4:00–5:00 p.m. Light appetizers and beverages will be served.
This joint lecture will relay an important case study regarding conflicts-of-interest in the medical literature. A decade ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a clinical trial on the use of antidepressant drugs to prevent minor depression in older adults who had suffered a stroke. Drs. Jonathan Leo and Jeffrey Lacasse authored a critical response and found themselves embroiled in a public fray, which exploded across health and academic media, and raised important issues regarding free speech, academic freedom, and editorial conduct. For the first time, they tell their story together from the inside, with hindsight, some humor, and ramifications for the future of peer review, editorial oversight, and evidence-based treatment recommendations for psychiatric medication.
Jonathan Leo is Professor of Neuroanatomy, DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University. Jeffrey Lacasse is Assistant Professor, College of Social Work. For almost 15 years, Drs. Leo and Lacasse have been co-authoring articles which raise important questions about pharmaceutical company advertising, bioreductionism, ghostwriting in the medical literature, and other barriers to evidence-based information regarding mental health issues and treatments. Their work together has been covered by Science, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Nature Neuroscience, and other publications.
ABOUT THE LECTURE SERIES | The lectures by university researchers will feature engaging and interactive lectures and workshops based around current themes of research crucial for contemporary social problems, foster interdisciplinary collaborations by providing a venue for researchers to meet and discuss their work and connect the key community stakeholders with FSU faculty; and distinguished researchers from other universities.