Genomics England seeks new members for its ethics and access committees
Our Access Review Committee and Ethics Advisory Committee are seeking a new chair and members
As Genomics England celebrates its tenth anniversary, we’re refreshing 2 committees that are vital to ensuring we are doing right by our participants and building strong ethical foundations for our work. Our Access Review Committee (ARC) and Ethics Advisory Committee (EAC) are both seeking new Chairs and new members.
These external and independent committees were both set up as Genomics England undertook the foundational 100,000 Genomes Project.
The EAC helps navigate ethical complexities around consent, bringing genomic analyses into the clinic, and setting up a research environment for access to data by both academic and commercial researchers.
The ARC was created to oversee the genomic and clinical data we hold in our secure Research Environment. It ensures participants’ data is used with the intention of bringing benefits and new scientific insights back to patients and the healthcare system.
Both committees embed participant representation at the heart of their thinking, advice and decisions.
Now, Genomics England is supporting the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, and will be establishing new cohorts of participants such as through the Newborn Genomes Programme and Diverse Data Initiative. There are also rapid advances in genomic and data-driven technology driving exciting new possibilities in genomic medicine, but also presenting novel ethical and governance challenges.
As a result, we are renewing the remits and ways of working for both the ARC and EAC, looking for motivated new members to join and help us in our mission to bring the benefits of genomic medicine to everyone – driven by ethical considerations and the interests of our current and future participants.
If you’re interested in joining one of these committees and helping Genomics England lead the way in grappling with some of the complexities of working at the interface between clinical care and advancing genomic research, read more below.
See the Ethics Advisory Committee page and see the Access Review Committee page for more details on how to apply.
