Maxwell Mehlman, Distinguished University Professor, the Arthur E. Petersilge Professor of Law and co-director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, was appointed bioethics reviewer for the Department of Defense Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research Program. In this role, Mehlman, who also is a professor of biomedical ethics for the School of Medicine, will review research applications for nine clinical areas served by the program and evaluate their impact on study participants, how risk is minimized, issues of privacy, confidentiality and informed consent, and more.
According to Mehlman, the program “is a recognition by Congress that much more research needs to be done to address the mental health problems suffered by service members, veterans, and their families due to traumatic brain injury and other adverse experiences while serving in the military.”