Ethics Review Committee

The Ethics Review Committee (ERC) independently reviews our research proposals, promoting implementation of ethically sound research across the organisation.

The ERC was established according to the principles specified in the WHO Operational Guidelines for Ethics Committees (2000).

This means that all of our studies comply with ethical standards as laid out by the Office of Human Research Protections, US. Our ERC is a registered Independent Review Board (IRB) and is governed by the following:

Helsinki Declaration
Belmont Report
Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS)

We have our own Federal-Wide Assurance, issued by the Office of Human Research Protection, at the US Department of Health and Human Services. This assures that all research reviewed by the ERC in all partner programmes and subsidiaries will be guided by the principles outlined in the Helsinki Declaration and the Belmont Report.

Ethics Review Committee members

Dr Leslie Cannold (Ph.D)
Dr Fabian Cataldo (MA, MRes, Ph.D)
Emilomo Ogbe (M.B.B.S., MA)
Gillian Elam (B.Sc., M.Sc.)
Karen Newman (B.A.)
Dr Clare Tanton (B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.)
Eric Somé (MD, MPh, MSc)
Korrie de Koning (MSc, Med)
Muktar Gadanya (MBBS, MSc, DLSHTM, MWACP, FMCPH)
Estelle Sidze (BSc, MSc, PhD)
Soazig Clifton (MSc)
Sally Griffin (BSc, MSc)

MSI Ethics Review Committee

Vice President and Director for MSI’s Technical Services Department - Helen Blackholly (MSc, PhD)
Interim Director of Evidence to Action – Kathryn Church (PhD)
Director, Safeguarding and Protection – Joan Summers (MA)
Senior Regional Evidence Manager (maternity leave) - Olivia Nuccio (MSc)
Safeguarding and Ethics Office - Gemma Blakie (BA)

We are saddened to announce the passing away of Dr Katherine Ba-Thike, a truly valued and highly respected member of the Marie Stopes Ethics Review Committee.

Katherine played a crucial role in ensuring Marie Stopes upholds the highest level of ethical integrity and client protection in its research processes. She contributed not only a wealth of experience in reproductive medicine from her time as a clinician and Professor in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Myanmar; but also valuable knowledge of global sexual and reproductive health research and programming from her time in WHO's Department of Reproductive Health and Research in Geneva, where she worked as the Regional Advisor for South-East Asia. Throughout her career Katherine made an outstanding contribution to the implementation of reproductive health services globally, and in particular within the South-East Asia Region. Since joining the Marie Stopes Ethics Review Committee in March 2016 Katherine contributed in-depth understanding of research ethics, programme implementation and the local perspectives of communities in resource-constrained settings.

Dr Leslie Cannold, Chair of MSI’s independent Ethics in Research Committee said of Katherine:

“Katherine was a conscientious, committed and extremely knowledgeable member of the Ethics in Research Committee. Her contributions to the Committee’s work of ensuring research at MSI conforms to the highest ethical standards was invaluable, particularly when it came to studies taking place in South-East Asia. As our annual face-to-face meeting approaches, I know I share the sadness of all Committee members that Katherine won’t be making the trip from Myanmar to be with us. Vale Katherine. You will be sorely missed.”

Our Director of Evidence, Kathryn Church, who worked with her directly while at WHO said:

"She will be dearly missed. She was such a kind, enthusiastic, wise and hard-working colleague. She was always buzzing with ideas about how to get things moving and effectuate change in the programmes we supported. She never gave up! She was fearless in her support for women's reproductive rights and her efforts to support governments and NGOs to improve the quality of care of the programmes they deliver”

We're committed to improving the quality of our research, based on principles of medical and research ethics. We want to improve services and share findings with the broader medical, scientific and NGO communities.