The University of Montpellier establishes its Research Ethics Committee
A new step in the establishment of the governing bodies of the University of Montpellier since its transformation into an experimental public institution, Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, Jacques Mercier, Vice President in charge of research, and Marie-Christine Sordino, Vice President in charge of ethics and professional conduct, officially established the UM Research Ethics Committee at its first meeting on Tuesday, December 8, 2022. Thierry Lavabre-Bertrand, PUPH at the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier-Nîmes and at the Nîmes University Hospital, and Marie-Elisabeth André, Professor Emeritus of Private Law and Criminal Sciences and Honorary Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science, were elected Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee, respectively.
A multidisciplinary, independent, and impartial forum for reflection, the Research Ethics Committee at the University of Montpellier allows Professors and researchers to submit their research projects and protocols involving human subjects for ethical review, particularly on issues related to personal data, privacy, etc. The committee does not deal with interventional (or biomedical) research, which is governed by the Jardé Law(1) and its implementing decree(2). Such research falls under the jurisdiction of the Committees for the Protection of Persons.
The research ethics committee may, for example, be consulted by project leaders for:
- an ethical opinion on the development of new protocols;
- an ethical opinion in support of funding applications;
- an ethical opinion in support of responses to internal calls for projects, but also and above all to regional, national, and international calls for projects;
- an ethical opinion at the request of scientific journals.
Thus, in addition to the procedure involving the Human Protection Committees, the creation of this Research Ethics Committee will cover all scientific fields at the University of Montpellier and the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier, which is its constituent institution.
Ethical and professional principles at the heart of UM's science policy
For Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier: "The establishment of this committee perfectly illustrates our commitment to integrity, ethics, and responsible research. This requirement is essential to the global reputation of our university's scientific excellence."
The creation of this research ethics committee reinforces the measures put in place by the University of Montpellier to promote awareness of the importance of ethical and professional principles in response to questions raised by scientific progress and its contemporary societal repercussions, regardless of the field of research. Among these measures, we can cite, as measures already deployed, the development of a charter of good practices in scientific integrity and the application of the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources.
(1) Law of March 5, 2012 on research involving human subjects
(2) Implementing Decree No. 2016-1537 of November 16, 2016 (Articles R1121-1 and R.1121 of the Public Health Code)