MANILA CITY, Metro Manila- The MD-PhD scholars of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) attended the Basic Research Ethics Training on 22-23 March 2017 at the C.O.M.E Conference Room, Paz Mendoza Hall, University of the Philippines (UP) Manila.

The MD-PhD scholars who attended the PHREB’s Basic Research Ethics Training

Led by the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB), the training provided scholars with knowledge on how to conduct ethical research to assist them in the development of their masteral or dissertation requirements.

The speakers, namely Dr. Maria Salome Vios and Dr. Sonia Bongala, Chair and Vice-Chair of the PHREB Committee on Standards and Accreditation (PHREB CSA), emphasized the role of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) in ensuring the welfare, safety, and protection of the research participants from any possible scientific advancements of a research protocol.

Dr. Vios and Dr. Bongala also discussed various international, national, and institutional controls that guide researchers on doing ethical research. They reminded the scholars to treat RECs as support institutions in improving the outcomes of their research and not as a hindrance in implementing their objectives.

The MD-PhD Molecular Medicine Program is a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through PCHRD, and UP Manila, through the College of Medicine, to train aspiring physician-scientists for careers dedicated to the advancement of health through biomedical research.

To date, 65 scholars were being monitored by PCHRD. (With reports from Julian Bernardo Torralba, Science Research Specialist I, PCHRD)