Scientist Profiles

Robert H. McLaughlin, J.D., Ph.D. Research Scientist Legal and Regulatory Affairs Officer Northern California Cancer Center

2201 Walnut Avenue, Suite 300
Fremont, California 94538-2334
E-mail: robert.mclaughlin@nccc.org
Phone: 510-608-5140
Fax: 510-608-5085

Research Interests:

• Human subjects protection and the ethics of participant-based biomedical research;
• Biospecimen use, value, and custodianship as refracted through science, law, and culture; and
• The relationship between human rights to the benefits of scientific advancement and knowledge and civil rights to privacy and the confidentiality of identifiable medical data.

Dr. McLaughlin holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and a J.D., both from the University of Chicago. Since joining NCCC in 2005, he has overseen NCCC programs and compliance in areas of research integrity, confidentiality, and conflicts of interest. He also serves as the Administrator for the Institutional Review Board that reviews human subjects research at NCCC, and is responsible for material transfer agreements by which NCCC data and biospecimen resources may be used in secondary analysis studies. Dr. McLaughlin’s previous research on confidentiality of primary social science research data, disposition of museum collections of sacred objects and human remains, and rituals of citizenship associated with the naturalization of immigrants in the United States has enabled him to provide useful insights into the cancer science issues such as enhancing cancer registration through access to biospecimen samples. Dr. McLaughlin received an additional appointment as a Research Scientist I at NCCC in 2009.

Selected Publications:

McLaughlin RH, Participation in research and social context: The case of population-based cancer registration, surveillance, and research, American Journal of Bioethics, 8:10 (2008).

McLaughlin RH, NAGPRA, dialogue, and the politics of historical authority, in Jennifer R. Richman and Marion P. Forsyth, eds., Cultural Resources Law: Perspectives, Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press (2004).

McLaughlin RH, Rights, remains, and material culture: Legal pluralism in Native America, in Mark Bradley and Patrice Petro, eds., Truth Claims: Representations and Human Rights, New York, NY: Rutgers University Press (2002).

McLaughlin RH, From the field to the courthouse: Should scholarly research be privileged? Law and Social Inquiry 24:4 (1999).

McLaughlin RH, Privilege and practice in social science research, (rejoinder) Law and Social Inquiry 24:4 (1999).

McLaughlin RH, The American archaeological record: Authority to dig, power to interpret, The International Journal of Cultural Property 7 (1998).

McLaughlin RH, The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act: Unresolved issues between material culture and legal definitions, University of Chicago Law School Roundtable 3:2 (1996).