Chapter 25: Obstacles to Approval - Young Couple Bullied by Professor...
"Ned, hasn't the ethics approval for the second phase come through yet?" After finishing the meeting with RA Phoebe and confirming the follow-up data collection, Xu Aida suddenly thought of a question.
"Since it involves vulnerable groups and data is collected from external organizations, it's normal for the approval process to be a bit slow."
There was no one else in the seminar room. Liang Siyu spoke while holding her hand.
She struggled free and glared at him.
He smiled and released his grip: "If there are no results by this week, I'll email Professor Brooke."
Actually, he was a little worried. The day before yesterday, Jenna suddenly mentioned Professor Will, who is always rigorous and conservative. Their new project, "Algorithmic Feedback to Improve Surgical Procedures," might have offended him. And he happens to be the chairman of the ethics committee.
He reviewed the project's ethics application yesterday, and from a strict perspective, it probably needs additional materials.
Sure enough, they received an email that evening from the ethics committee, informing them that they needed to conduct an on-site defense, which was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Xu Aida frowned and asked, "Why is an on-site defense still required?"
In her previous life, after switching to surface electromyography, she had never heard of any project requiring an on-site defense. This is non-invasive, completely non-traumatic, while invasive procedures face such rigorous scrutiny.
Liang Siyu sighed, "When recruiting participants with upper limb disabilities, the ethics committee will naturally be more cautious, and on-site defense is normal."
She was skeptical, but she had never collected this kind of data at JHU in her previous life. She only completed the first stage and started doing algorithm generalization verification after graduating and going to Hangzhou.
Liang Siyu was actually aware that there was another important concern: his conflicting identity.
The committee might make a big deal out of this, worried that he might have access to patients' private data through his father.
This problem could be big or small—if the other party is prejudiced from the start, it will be difficult to handle. But before confirming the facts, he didn't want Ada to worry.
On Friday afternoon, he walked alone into the medical school's conference room.
“Mr. Leung, we need to confirm whether it is necessary to collect data at multiple locations for this project,” Professor Will said calmly.
His heart sank slightly; the first thing he saw was a veiled attack. While seemingly asking about data points, it was actually a suspicion of a "conflict of identity."
He didn't rush to defend himself, but instead made a standard statement: "We have completed the initial modeling at JHU, but recruiting the target population is quite difficult. Introducing a second site helps to increase the diversity of participants and enhance the model's adaptability in different scenarios."
Professor Brooke glanced at the crowd and added at the opportune moment, "Please also briefly explain your relationship with the Palm Springs Rehabilitation Center, especially how you handle any potential privacy issues."
Liang Siyu neither dodged nor avoided the question; he understood that his mentor's initiative in bringing up this point was to give him an opportunity to clarify things directly.
"My father is the chairman of the Palm Springs Rehabilitation Center, and he agreed to provide the research site free of charge. I am only involved as a researcher."
"Palm Springs has an independent management system. All patient data is controlled by the hospital, and the research team has no access to any sensitive information. All participants are recruited and notified by the hospital."
Professor Foster calmly asked, “Let’s consider this scenario. If I were a patient at your father’s rehabilitation center, and I trusted my rehabilitation therapist completely.”
"Recently, I suddenly received a research invitation from them. Am I worried that if I refuse, it will seem like I'm not cooperating with the treatment?"
She paused for a moment, then asked, "How do you ensure that participants are not affected by this potential pressure?"
“We fully understand your concerns.” Liang Siyu sat up straighter. “In the application materials, we have stated that all recruitment information was sent by the administrative coordinator, and the recruitment letter clearly states that ‘participation will not have any impact on subsequent treatment’ to avoid confusion with medical matters. Moreover, we emphasize the 72-hour cooling-off period and the free withdrawal mechanism.”
Professor Will raised an eyebrow: "Administrative coordinator? Can I assume that since the other party knows your background and is your father's employee, they might have an incentive to suggest and induce the participants?"
Liang Siyu's heart raced, but he tried to remain calm and professional, replying, "First of all, we trust the professionalism of our partner organizations, and their administrative coordinators have received ethics training."
He paused, looked at his mentor, Professor Brooke, and presented the alternatives they had discussed.
“If needed, we can contact a third-party ethics body to arrange an independent coordinator to conduct the informed consent process and ensure there is no identity pressure.”
Upon hearing this, Professor Foster smiled slightly and nodded slowly.
Professor Will did not respond immediately; his pen paused on the stack of application materials, as if he was considering something.
“We understand the motivation for scientific research, but cross-institutional collaboration also involves issues of identity conflict, and the committee must maintain a strict and prudent attitude.”
He glanced at David Brooke, meaningfully saying, "We're not those tech-savvy guys in the engineering school; the patient's rights come first."
His voice was firm: “Mr. Leung, you need to submit additional materials. Specific requirements will be provided in the email notification.”
Liang Siyu thanked him and left with steady steps. As he walked down the corridor, he felt a slight sweat on his back. He headed straight for the parking lot, intending to go home.
Ada didn't come today. She's just recovered from the flu and is still weak. She also had her period yesterday.
She rarely experiences menstrual cramps, but this was the first time she had ever experienced uncontrollable menstrual cramps. She broke out in a cold sweat and vomited twice, and oral painkillers were completely ineffective.
He took her to the school hospital that night for an injection, and she felt better afterward.
Liang Siyu was somewhat surprised when she opened the door. The TV was on, playing an old movie. She was nestled on the sofa, covered with a blanket, with her eyes closed.
The tea in the cup was still warm. He hesitated, wondering whether he should let her continue sleeping on the sofa or carry her back to the bedroom. She seemed to sense something and opened her eyes groggily: "Ned? What time is it?"
"It's 5:30. Why aren't you in bed?" He gently placed his hand on hers.
She shook her hand, now fully awake: "How was the ethics defense?"
He squeezed that soft, slender hand: "You need to submit additional materials. Don't worry, Professor Brooke and I have discussed the issues you mentioned, and there shouldn't be any problems after you submit the missing materials."
But the situation might not be so optimistic; Professor Will's expression today gave him a very bad feeling.
Xu Aida stared at him, a pang of sadness gripping her heart. He was putting on an act. She was a little oblivious to people's social masks, but after ten years of marriage with him, she hadn't become so oblivious as to be foolish.
"You're lying to me," she blurted out, trying to pull her hand away from his grasp.
Liang Siyu reflexively increased the force, placing his other hand on her shoulder. She tried to pull back, but there was nowhere to retreat.
His face was close, almost a cheek kiss, but he didn't move away, and his warm, damp breath seeped into her ear.
"I just didn't want you to worry. Trust me, I have a way, okay?"
"If there's a way, we should be even more honest." Her voice softened, and she gently bit her lip, feeling a little guilty.
But she comforted herself, saying that her situation didn't count, and who could believe in something like rebirth? Letting him know might only make things more complicated.
He stepped back slightly and looked her in the eye: "This stage really is just about submitting supplementary materials. I'm just worried there might be a next time. Maybe I'm overthinking it."
"What are they doing? It's just a small project."
She was feeling a bit troubled. In her past life, she had always had a smooth career.
The biggest challenge during her doctoral studies was the technical difficulty she encountered when she first switched to surface electromyography, but she quickly figured out a solution.
When she went to work in Hangzhou, she already had several good papers, and her subsequent achievements were also outstanding, so she had a smooth journey.
Seeing that she was really getting agitated, Liang Siyu could only sigh and explain the situation to her.
"Actually, Professor Will and Professor Brooke have never had a good relationship. He felt that Professor Brooke was too radical. After becoming the deputy director of MIRA, he spent all his time recruiting people from other disciplines. To put it bluntly, he was afraid that the medical school's voice would be diluted."
"I see," she said, straightening up. "But Professor Brooke, a major PI with so many projects under his purview, why would her niche project be an eyesore to Professor Will?"
He sat down next to her, put his arm around her, and added helplessly, "It's our latest 'algorithm-assisted surgical procedure' project, which has dabbled in surgical teaching, a field that Professor Will is most proud of."
But the project had the support of most of the teachers and didn't have any complicated ethical issues, so Will could only use this as an excuse to make his point.
She was at a loss for words, and could only take two deep breaths before coldly uttering two words: "Boring!"
He patted her back: "It is quite boring, but you don't need to worry about it. We'll just submit the missing documents as usual. It's also my fault. I didn't realize before that identity conflicts are easy to be used against us. I'll be more careful in the future."
"If all else fails, I'll withdraw my authorship from the paper and find someone else to coordinate. That won't affect your data collection."
"No way!" Xu Aida turned around abruptly. "Edmund Leung, don't even think about it."
Her tone was unusually stern as she addressed him by his full name, her eyes sharp as knives.
"We discussed the project together, you designed the experiments, and you wrote the experimental materials. Why should we give up our authorship rights because of their prejudice?"
Asking him to withdraw his signature would be putting the cart before the horse; she would absolutely not agree to that.
She paused, trying to slow her speech, her brow furrowed with stubbornness: "At worst, we can just collect data from JHU Affiliated Hospital. It'll just mean waiting a few more months to slowly build up the sample size. I'm not in a hurry."
As soon as Liang Siyu spoke, he knew things were going badly. Knowing her personality, she would never agree; she would only be furious. He hugged her tightly: "It was my fault. I won't back down."
She leaned on his shoulder: "It's good that you know."
His hand traced down her spine from the back of her neck: "No withdrawal, no avoidance of suspicion, even if it takes a year to prepare supplementary materials, is that alright?"
She nodded on his shoulder, inhaling the familiar woody scent, and gently brushed her nose against the side of his neck.
He froze.
She realized what was happening, stepped out of his embrace, and asked with a smile, "Are you really going to make it up for a year? I can't take that. Didn't you say you had a way? Besides quitting this lousy idea, what other solutions are there? Tell me."
Liang Siyu picked up her mug, took a sip of the remaining tea, and then casually teased, "Didn't you already say that we could just collect the data from JHU first?"
She rolled her eyes at him; this was definitely not his plan. If that were his thinking, why did he even bring up withdrawing? He clearly wanted to preserve the data from both sites as much as possible.
"Before my defense today, I had a brief chat with the two professors and listened to their advice."
“When updating the materials this time, we can invite Professor Brooke to formally join as the coordinating PI, and let him be responsible for the liaison in Palm Springs.”
"Then I won't be the only member of the medical school, and the issue of identity conflict will be easier to handle. What do you think?"
Professor Brooke has already agreed to join, and he doesn't think Will would go too far by still insisting on the issue of identity under this arrangement; that would just seem like deliberately nitpicking.
But Liang Siyu had a bad feeling. If Will was determined to delay the process, perhaps it would be safer for him to withdraw his signature.
Xu Aida nodded in agreement, since it wouldn't affect their agreed-upon author order anyway.
But she felt a vague unease. If this could really solve the problem, why did he have that expression when he came back, trying to hide it from her?
"Alright, let's leave the approval process at that for now." He pulled her back into his arms, his large hand naturally resting on her lower abdomen. "I haven't asked you yet? How were you this afternoon? Did you feel unwell?"
He thought she must still be feeling unwell, otherwise why would this workaholic be curled up on the sofa watching an old movie?
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The author's note: Liang Siyu's full English name is Edmund Leung. Ned is Edmund's nickname, which is his preferred name, and everyone usually calls him by this name.
Xu Aida's full English name is Ada Hsu. This simple name is not because the author is lazy, but as a tribute to Ada Lovelace, the first female programmer.
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