Become an external committee member for UCL’s Research Ethics Reviewing Committees

Research ethics is fundamental to University College London (UCL)’s mission as a world-class institution dedicated to the continued pursuit of original knowledge and scientific advancement to benefit humanity and the world of the future. Research ethics committees play a central role in ensuring that research meets the highest standards of transparency, accountability and ethics, to safeguard and empower participants. They are currently seeking volunteer external members to ensure that the public voice is heard within their two central reviewing committees:

• Life and Medical Sciences Research Ethics Committee (LMS REC) (Brain Sciences, Life Sciences, Population Health Sciences, and Medical Sciences)
• Humanities, Arts and Sciences Research Ethics Committee (HAS REC) (Arts and Humanities, Bartlett, Institute of Education, Laws, Social and Historical Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Engineering)

Who the team is looking for: 

Diverse committee membership is essential for the consideration of ethical issues. UCL is committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. They particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented including people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people. They are also interested in hearing from volunteers with the following backgrounds or interests an educational, legal, medical, scientific, mental health, social work, counselling, or audit/risk management background, social media and emerging new technologies such as AI. This will ensure diversity of expertise and perspective to contribute to discussions on complex and challenging research ethics applications.

Expected commitment from participants:

The committees meet 10 times a year and are hybrid so members can join in person on campus or virtually via Teams. Please visit their website for committee meeting dates:  https://www.ucl.ac.uk/research-innovation-services/compliance-and-assurance/research-ethics-service/apply-ethical-approval/apply-ucls-research-ethics

To find out more and express an interest in this role, please visit their webpage: Become an ethics committee member | Research and Innovation Services – UCL – University College London

Closing date to apply: Friday 30th May 2025

UCL is committed to ensuring their review process is as accessible as possible and to providing support as needed to reviewers with accessibility needs. They can’t be flexible on meeting timing, but attendance can be in person or online.