Bioethics issues in human studies

The role of Ethics Committees

General Consideration

Regardless of primary or secondary uses of biological material, any study protocol is subject to the ethical review process [11, 14].

Article 20 of the Preliminary Draft Declaration on Universal Norms on Bioethics [15] states on Ethics Committees:

Independent, multidisciplinary and pluralist Ethics Committees should be established, promoted and supported at the appropriate level in order to:

1. Assess the ethical, legal and social issues related to scientific research projects involving human beings;
2. Formulate recommendations and contribute to the preparation of guidelines on bioethical issues
3. Foster debate and education in bioethics.

See appendix 1 for the specific Ethics Committees responsible for approval of nutrigenomics research within NuGO.