The Ethics and Governance Office is responsible for ensuring that governance processes are in place to enable research undertaken at the Sanger Institute to comply with the Human Tissue Act, Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act and the Nagoya Protocol. The team applies for NHS Research Ethics Committee (REC) and Health Research Authority (HRA) approval, liaises with NHS R&D departments on behalf of the research teams at the Institute and acts as the sponsor's contacts for GRL sponsored studies. The team liaise with regulators, such as the Human Tissue Authority, other authorities aligned to health research, and government departments, such as the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). We support researchers throughout their projects, providing specialist advice and expertise during the whole life-cycle of a research study.
We have specialist expertise in relevant regulations and provide advice on developing research protocols, research participant information sheets and consent forms, and other associated documentation prior to NHS REC and HRA review. We assist with enabling NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) Portfolio adoption of studies.
Regarding non-human samples, we provide advice and actively work with our researchers, their collaborators and National Focal Points in countries overseas to enable access to these research materials.
Members of the team act as the Executive Secretariat for the Institute's Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB) and the Human Materials and Data Management Committee (HMDMC).
The team manage electronic systems to enable the efficient in-house approval of studies using human materials or non-human materials from overseas, and we also carry out audits across the Institute to monitor compliance.
The Ethics and Governance team is also responsible for drafting and implementing relevant Institute research policies. Each policy covers a particular topic and outlines the Institute's position and the requirements researchers must fulfill during the conduct of their research.
If any research team would like to discuss regulatory compliance or aspects of research governance or sponsorship of studies, or if you would like team or one-to-one training, please contact us by email at ethicsandgovernance@sanger.ac.uk
