The University of Montpellier Establishes a Research Ethics Committee
A multidisciplinary, independent, and impartial forum for reflection, the University of Montpellier’s Research Ethics Committee, officially established on February 8, 2022, will enable Professors and researchers to submit their research projects and protocols involving human subjects for ethical review, particularly regarding issues related to personal data, privacy, and more…
This marks a new step in the establishment of the University of Montpellier’s governing bodies since its transformation into an experimental public institution. By establishing this committee, Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, Jacques Mercier, Vice President for Research, and Marie-Christine Sordino, Vice President for Ethics and Professional Conduct, aim to demonstrate the University of Montpellier’s commitment to research that is honest, ethical, and responsible. “This requirement is a prerequisite for the global recognition of our university’s scientific excellence,” states the president of UM.
The establishment of this Research Ethics Committee reinforces the measures put in place by the University of Montpellier to raise awareness of the importance of ethical and professional principles in addressing the questions raised by scientific progress and its contemporary societal implications, regardless of the field of research. The Research Ethics Committee may thus, for example, be consulted by project leaders to:
- an ethical review of the development of new protocols;
- an ethics statement in support of funding applications;
- an ethical opinion to support responses to internal calls for proposals, as well as—and above all—regional, national, and international calls for proposals;
- an ethical review at the request of scientific journals.
The Committee will not address the field of interventional (or biomedical) research, which is governed by the so-called Jardé Act[i] and its implementing decree[ii]. Such research falls under the jurisdiction of the committees for the protection of human subjects. Thus, in addition, the creation of this Research Ethics Committee will enable coverage of all scientific fields at the University of Montpellier and the École nationale supérieure de chimie de Montpellier, which is its constituent institution. Among the measures already implemented are the development of a charter of best practices regarding scientific integrity and the application of the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources.
At the inaugural meeting of the Research Ethics Committee, Thierry Lavabre-Bertrand, Full Professor at the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine and the Nîmes University Hospital, and Marie-Elisabeth André, Professor Emerita of Private Law and Criminal Sciences and Honorary Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science, were elected chair and vice-chair, respectively. The Committee is composed of the following members:
- Thierry Lavabre-Bertrand, Full Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Nîmes University Hospital (Chair);
- Marie-Elisabeth André, professor emerita at the University of Montpellier and honorary dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science in Montpellier (vice-president);
- Edmond Baranès, professor at the University of Montpellier, MRE, director of the Department of Economics;
- Anne Sophie Cases, professor at the University of Montpellier, MRM;
- Philippe Poignet, professor at the University of Montpellier and director of the LIRMM;
- Michael Smietana, professor at the University of Montpellier, IBMM;
- Anne Laure Bonnefont, research engineer at INSERM and vice-chair of the Occitanie-Méditerranée Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee;
- Rémi Bertrand, Esq., a member of the Montpellier Bar;
- Olivier Jonquet, Professor Emeritus, former chair of the Ethics Committee at Montpellier University Hospital.
All practical information is posted on the UM intranet. The Research and Doctoral Studies Office (DRED) serves as the secretariat for this body.
[i] Act of March 5, 2012, on research involving human subjects
[ii] Implementing Decree No. 2016-1537 of November 16, 2016 (Articles R.1121-1 and R.1121 of the Public Health Code)