Research Services – Human Research Ethics Committee (EC00172)

Overview

Research Services is led by Dr Merrilyn Banks, Executive Director Research at the RBWH. This campus participates in research that is both large in volume and complexity and, as such, contributes significantly to leading development and improvement of research processes. Being committed to growing research capability and capacity at the RBWH, in 2018 there was ongoing increased engagement with our clinician researchers, both in established and commencing research.

The RBWH Ethics team, led by Dr Gordon McGurk who became part of Research Services in 2018, alongside the Research Governance team, with the purpose of working together more productively. Research Services provides dedicated staff providing secretariat and management of the RBWH grants program, including Scholarships, annual Project Grants and Post-doctoral Fellowships.

Our close partner the RBWH Foundation provided more than $2.2 million in grants and scholarships in 2018 alone and RBWH researchers received more than $82,000 worth of support from Metro North’s Collaborative for Allied Health Research, Learning and Innovation (CAHRLI).

The introduction of a dedicated Research Business Manager has facilitated the provision of expert advice on department finance and procurement policies, procedures and issues.

The appointment of Professor Jeffrey Lipman in 2018, as Research Ambassador, continues to enhance the collaboration with our local, national and international academic partners, primarily facilitating research that is investigator initiated and driven.

Research

The RBWH HREC plays an integral role in ensuring research across Australia, but particularly within the RBWH, is ethically acceptable. In the last year, the HREC reviewed 919 applications for review of research, including full applications, low risk applications, amendments and exemption requests.

The HREC also provides advice on whether activities comprise research, or are other non-research activities, such as clinical audit; service evaluation; and quality improvement.

The RBWH HREC remains one of 50 HRECs in Australia whose Ethics review processes have been certified as part of the NHMRC’s certification process. In addition to the existing categories of certification, which include clinical trials Phase I-IV, qualitative research, mental health research and population health research, the HREC will be seeking certification in other categories including:

• Research involving First Nation Peoples
• Paediatric Research

As part of a project to streamline HREC and site authorisation processes, the HREC has also been developing mechanisms to expedite ethics review and to work more efficiently with departments within the hospital to understand their needs and meet contemporary expectations.

Governance

The Research Governance Officers are able to help researchers with:

• SSA forms and the application processes for site authorisation, including relevant site contacts such as Director of Finance and Heads of Department.
• Negotiation of research contracts, including obtaining Metro North legal review where required.
• Guidance regarding legislation, policies and standards relating to the conduct of research, including access to confidential health information under the Public Health Act 2005.
• Education and training for new and experienced researchers to enhance the quality and conduct of research in accordance with good practice guidelines.
• Monitoring of research, including responding to concerns about research conduct.