Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC)
Research involving human clinical samples and data comes under the purview of the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), which functions based on the guidelines of ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research; https://naitik.gov.in/DHR/Homepage). It is mandatory that all proposals on biomedical research involving human participants should be cleared by an appropriately constituted Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC), also referred to as Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), to safeguard the welfare and the rights of the participants. The basic responsibility of an Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) is to ensure a competent review of all ethical aspects of the project proposals received by it in an objective manner. IECs provide advice to the researchers on all aspects of the welfare and safety of the research participants after ensuring the scientific soundness of the proposed research through an appropriate Scientific Review Committee. The scientific evaluation ensures technical appropriateness of the proposed study, and the IECs specify in writing the authority under which the Committee is established. The responsibilities of an IEC can be defined as follows:
- To protect the dignity, rights and well-being of the potential research participants.
- To ensure that universal ethical values and international scientific standards are maintained while also taking care of local values and customs, and local health care requirements.
The Ashoka University Human Research Ethics Committee (AUHREC) was established on 28th June, 2021. The committee was re-constituted on 15th May,2023.
The Ethics Committee to scrutinise biomedical research projects involving human subject at Ashoka University is again reconstituted as below on 14th April, 2026.
For any information related to the Human Ethics Committee of Ashoka, please drop an email at: auhrec@ashoka.edu.in
