Institutional event to celebrate 30 years of the UAB Research Ethics Committee
UAB Rector Javier Lafuente and Vice-Rector for Research Assumpció Malgosa held the institutional inauguration to commemorate 30 years since the founding of the UAB Research Ethics Committee (CERec)—previously known as the Ethics Committee on Animal and Human Experimentation (CEEAH). The event will take place on 19 and 20 September and the first day will include almost 150 experts in ethics and research, with the participation of specialists in big data and health and the application of artificial intelligence in several fields.
After a brief speech welcoming the attendants, Vice-Rector Assumpció Malgosa showed her appreciation for the "enormous dedication and perseverance" of all the people at the UAB who have spent these past 30 years contributing to the growth of the CERec, turning it into an "essential tool for all of the scientific community, and not only our University". "In such complex moments as the ones we are experiencing now, it is necessary to have points of reference that help us see what is happening and build a better world for future generations", she added.
The first day has been organised as a space for reflection and debate on issues of great current relevance in the field of ethics and research. The inaugural conference, entitled “A New Ethics for a New Era”, will be given by Dirk Lanzerath, professor of Philosophy at the University of Bonn and director of the German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences. Other participating speakers will be Lluís Montoliu, deputy director of the National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC), who will speak on the present and future of animal experimentation; Jordi Cortadella, from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, on ethics and artificial intelligence; and Itziar Lecuona, from the Bioethics Observatory of the University of Barcelona, on big data in health sciences.
The second day will have a strong institutional character, with the aim of recognising the work and dedication of all members and staff who have served in CERec throughout its existence. The book 30 anys de recerca ètica a la UAB [30 years of ethical research at the UAB] will also be presented by José Luis Molina, director of the committee.
In a pioneering initiative in Spain, CERec was created in 1994 with the aim of guaranteeing rigour, honesty and responsibility in the research carried out at the UAB. “In these years, many researchers on campus, as well as technical staff, have selflessly advised on more than 6,000 research projects in their ethical aspect, disseminating the values of good research among trainees and senior staff on campus, in a dialogue that has only just begun. In the future we hope that at different levels Catalan, state and European research institutions will help us with self-evaluation tools to make the task of research ethics committees more sustainable,” says José Luis Molina.
The institutional inauguration of 30 years of the CERec will soon be available on the UAB's YouTube channel.