The Master of Health Research Ethics (MOHRE) degree program is the offspring of an exciting collaboration between the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya and the John Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics with the support of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Centre. MOHRE aims to produce graduates equipped with the knowledge and skills to engage in the field of health research ethics. Graduates will be positioned to help create and sustain a safe and ethical research environment.
Associate Professor Dr Mohd Yusmiaidil Putera of Faculty of Dentistry Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and Institute of Pathology, Laboratory and Forensic Medicine (I-PPerForM) is among the nine recipients of the 2020 International MOHRE Scholarship Award.
As one of the members of UiTM Research Ethics Committee, he shared that “it’s a lifetime opportunity to be able to learn from the best in the field and simultaneously applying the experience to the committee I proudly serve”.
The one-year program lines up numerous international and national experts from various institutions such as Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and University of Malaya.
The MOHRE program covers a wide range of health research ethics issues including the foundation of ethical principles, special populations, ethical issues in global health research and clinical trials, healthcare law and ethics, as well as the responsible conduct of research in its syllabus. The MOHRE program opens every year for application.
Health research ethics have always been at the forefront of clinical research. With more health centers participate in clinical trials nowadays in Malaysia, the role of the institutional ethics committee has become the epicenter of all clinical trials involving human participants. With the current pandemic of COVID-19 and following the success of post-phase III clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines, the use of these vaccines must vigorously be monitored in terms of its manifestations on each member of the public.
The protection of participants in health-related research is the core of the ethical principles. Its concept has evolved into a well-articulated international framework supported by normative documents, conventions, and, in growing numbers of jurisdictions. Key among these are the World Medical Association’s 1964 Declaration of Helsinki, the US Department of Health and Human Services Belmont Report and regulations for the protection of research participants, the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences international ethical guidelines, and the International Council of Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use .