Ethics approval for human participant research (St. John’s and Labrador Campuses and the Marine Institute)

Research that will involve human participants, conducted by faculty, students, and/or staff affiliated with the St. John’s and Labrador campuses and the Marine Institute, requires ethics review and approval by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research (ICEHR).  

Ethics approval for human participant research (Grenfell Campus)

Researchers at Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus are required to submit their proposals to the Grenfell Campus Research Ethics Board.

Ethics approval for Health Research

The Health Research Ethics Authority (HREA) of Newfoundland & Labrador was established by the Health Research Ethics Authority (HREA) Act in 2011. On July 1, 2025 the former HREA Act was repealed and replaced by the Health Research Ethics Act (HRE Act https://www.assembly.nl.ca/Legislation/sr/statutes/h01-03.htm).

The HRE Act mandates that all health research in Newfoundland and Labrador be reviewed by the provincial Health Research Ethics Board (HREB), formed by the HREA.  Section 2(h) of The HRE Act indicates that health research “means research activities in relation to human health, health care and health care systems involving (i ) human beings as research participants, (ii) health care information respecting human beings, and (iii) human biological material.”

For example – in addition to clinical trials and research involving genetics and genomics – health research includes medical / health education studies that examine training and/or competencies for medical residents and/or other health care professionals in nursing or medicine, as well as studies involving patients as participants, and secondary use of clinical data, biological samples or medical records.  As such, Medical students and/or Medical residents doing course / program projects are required to apply to the HREB for ethics review, as such projects are generally considered to constitute health research.  

Health research does not include tests on non-healthcare equipment or tools to be used by humans – such as automobile or helicopter safety studies, or human kinetic research to establish safety parameters for sports equipment or training – even if the research methods may put research participants at risk.

Researchers whose projects may constitute health research – and thus require HREB review – are advised to contact the HREA Ethics Officer (ethicsofficernct@hrea.ca) and submit brief answers to the 7 questions listed at https://hrea.ca/how-to-apply/ethics-review-required/, for the HREA to determine whether they are required to submit their application to the HREB.