Institutional Scientific and Ethics Review Committee
Chair: Dr. Christopher Opio
The Aga Khan University – Kenya; Institutional Scientific and Ethics Review Committee (ISERC) provides independent, competent and timely review of proposals intending to use human participants in research. It ensures that the research projects undertaken by AKU in Kenya are of the highest ethical standards in relation to protecting the dignity and rights of human participants in the study.
The committee draws its mandate via accreditation by the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), Government of Kenya. The committee received full accreditation in 2012, with a subsequent renewal for three years in 2018 and 2021 respectively. The ISERC functions as per the NACOSTI approved Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) and Terms of Reference (ToR) with regards to its, objectives, functions, scope of responsibility, composition and documentation.
Members of the ISERC
The ISERC is comprised of a gender sensitive, multidisciplinary team of experienced medical scientists, clinicians, public health specialists, sociologists, laypersons, theologists, lawyers and health system management specialists. The members are appointed for a period of two years while the chairperson is appointed for a period of three years and may be reappointed at the discretion of the university.
Review Process
The committee meets on the second Monday of every month, with flexibility for more meetings allowed based on the submissions received. Depending on the risk level, proposals are subjected to either a full committee review, expedited or exempt review process. For a full committee review, the applications for review are to be submitted to the research office not later than 2 weeks to a given meeting date.
Click here to access meeting schedules for 2024.
