Launch of DCU Research Ethics Committee

Front row (L to R): Dr Siobhan O'Sullivan, Prof Dermot Diamond, Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynski, Dr Jane Horgan
Back Row (L-R): Mr Brian Tench, Dr Mary Shine Thompson, Ms Eve Merton, Ms. Marian Vickers, Dr Declan Raftery, Fr Paul Tighe, Dr Donal O'Gorman, Mr Peter Nowlan

30 July 2004

DCU's Ethics Committee was officially launched today by Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, President of DCU. The setting up of this committee is the culmination of a substantial inter-university programme which was coordinated by the DCU Research Advisory Panel and the Office of the Vice President for Research over an 18-month period.

The new committee is relevant to all DCU researchers, research collaborators, postgraduate students and students undertaking research projects, whereby research involving human or animal subjects must only be conducted in accordance with the law, and according to acceptable ethical standards. These ethical standards will be set and monitored by the committee whose members are made up of DCU researchers, lay representatives, legal experts and external ethics advisors.

The aims of the committee are:

• 1.to protect the rights and welfare of human and animal participants in research studies or trials conducted by or involving DCU researchers.
• 2.to facilitate the conduct of ethically sound, legally compliant research at DCU in accordance with national and EU legislation.
• 3.to advise the research committee on the further development of ethical policies and procedures at DCU

The research ethics committee reports to the Research Committee of the University and is supported by the Office of the Vice-President for Research.

The members of the committee are:
Fr Paul Tighe, Mater Dei Institute
Dr Siobhan O'Sullivan, Irish Council for Bioethicsv Mr Brian Trench, School of Communications, DCU
Dr Jean Holohan, Servier Laboratories (Ireland) Ltdv Ms Marian Vickers, Northside Partnership
Dr David Tomkin, School of Law and Government, DCU
Ms Eve Merton, Postgraduate researcher, DCU
Dr Jane Horgan, School of Computing
Mr Peter Nowlan, BioResource Unit, TCD
Dr Donal O'Mathuna, School of Nursing, DCU
Mr Donal O'Gorman, Centre for Sports Science and Health, DCU
Dr Mary Shine Thompson (observer), St Patrick's College, Drumcondra
Dr Robert O'Connor, National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology, DCU
Dr Declan Raftery, Director, Office of the Vice-President for Research, DCU

Further information on the Research Ethics Committee, application guidelines, relevant application forms for the granting of ethical approval to research projects and other university and national ethics resource documents will be available on the research website at:
www.dcu.ie/research/ethics.shtml