NSW Cancer researcher of the year award nominations due 24th Feb 2012

Research ethics

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All research involving humans has to undergo ethical and scientific approval by a human research ethics committee (HREC).

These committees make sure research participants' privacy, welfare and rights are fully protected within the scope of the research.

The Institute currently manages two human research ethics committees under NSW Health and in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines: the NSW Population & Health Services Research Ethics Committee and the Clinical Research Ethics Committee.

These committees are accredited lead human research ethics committee in NSW, which means they can conduct the single ethical and scientific review of multi-centre research projects on behalf of all sites within the NSW public health system.

Accountable to the Cancer Institute NSW Board, the committees have the authority to:

  • grant ethical approval for research proposals
  • request modification/s and/or clarification of research proposals
  • reject research proposals on ethical grounds
  • monitor ethically approved proposals
  • approve protocol amendments
  • suspend approved protocols
  • withdraw ethical approval;
  • form appropriate subcommittees as required for expert advice
  • seek expert opinion as required.

Both committees have been certified under the national Harmonisation of Multi-centre Ethical Review (HoMER) process, administered through the National Health and Medical Research Council. It is anticipated that ethical review under the HoMER process will start in 2012.

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