IEC for Animal & Human Research

Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC), also referred to as, Institutional Review Board (IRB), Ethics Review Board (ERB) and Research Ethics Board (REB) in many countries and situations, serves as an independent representative and competent body to review, evaluate and decide on the scientific and ethical merits of research proposals. The primary purpose of this committee is to protect the rights, safety and well being of human subjects who participate in a research project. The Ethics Committees are entrusted with the initial review of the proposed research protocols prior to initiation of the projects and also have a continuing responsibility of regular monitoring of the approved programmes till the same are completed. Such an ongoing review is in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and all the international guidelines for biomedical research. The need for evaluation of research proposals has been emphasized under the Statement of General Principles at item no. 5 (http://icmr.nic.in/human_ethics.htm#Guidelines) pertaining to precaution and risk minimization.