Some experts believe that fear of exploitation, based on unethical practices that have been documented in past studies, may make minority communities distrustful of the biomedical establishment and reluctant to participate today.8 For example, in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study conducted between the 1930s and 1970s, black men with syphilis were denied proven treatments for the disease while researchers studied the effects of untreated syphilis on the body.9 More recently, investigators at Arizona State University collected blood samples from the Havasupai Tribe to study genetic markers of type 2 diabetes, but then used the samples for unrelated studies on schizophrenia and inbreeding—taboo topics for the Havasupai—without the consent of tribal members.10 (In an out-of-court settlement tribal members eventually received compensation of $700,000, funds for a clinic and school, and the return of their DNA samples.10)
