5th National HREC Conference

We are delighted to invite you to join us for this exciting event, where professionals from around Australasia come together to advance the field of human research ethics. Whether you are a committee member, HREC Chair, professional staff, or researcher, this conference offers a unique opportunity to engage with leading voices and explore critical issues that shape research ethics.

Our conference is dedicated to fostering dialogue, sharing knowledge, and promoting best practices in the ethical conduct of human research. Over the course of this event, you will have the chance to participate in a variety of sessions, including keynote addresses, workshops and online discussion opportunities, aimed at enhancing your practical and ethical application of your skills and knowledge.

Delivered through an online webinar and recorded video our conference aims to facilitate optimal attendee engagement and content accessibility.

This conference will again be free and held virtually across 3 full days from 27 - 29 November 2024.

The conference will be held in the AEST-Brisbane time zone (GMT+10).

The call for abstracts is now closed.

Day 1 Wednesday 27 November

08:30 - 09:00 AEST-QLD	Conference welcome Gordon McGurk, University of Queensland HREC Chair Acknowledgement of country Greg Pratt, Central Queensland University Opening address Colin Thomson AM
09:00 - 10:00 AEST-QLD	Plenary Session Responsible AI- Challenges and Responsibilities Associate Professor Niusha Shafiabady, Australian Catholic University Reimagining ethics pre-review Emma Moloney, University of Tasmania
10:15 - 11:45 AEST-QLD	Session - Data Navigating the rich tapestry of Australian privacy legislation: A survival guide for HRECs and researchers Nik Zepps, Monash University Waivers of consent and how much more cautious HRECs should be Mark Taylor, University of Melbourne The digital disruption of research Clair Sullivan, The University of Queensland Enhancing clinical data sharing and reuse: Balancing FAIR Principles with sensitive data protection Rudolf Schnetler, Townsville Hospital and Health Service Preferences of individuals for future research use of samples and data in the Australian Reproductive Genetic Carrier Screening Study (Mackenzie’s Mission) Matilda Haas, Australian Genomics
12:00 - 13:00 AEST-QLD	Session - HREC quality assessment Quality vs quantity in HREC review in Australia Gordon McGurk, University of Queensland HREC Chair Clinical Research Data Sharing Frameworks: Supporting trustworthy and efficient practices Lisa Eckstein, Clinical Trials: Impact & Quality (CT:IQ)
13:15 - 14:30 AEST-QLD	Session - Practical strategies 1 Empowering human research ethics committee members to review genomics applications: Pilot testing of a custom online, educational resource Aideen McInerney-Leo, University of Queensland Indigenous genomics research – ethical considerations for HRECs Annalee Stearne, Telethon Kids Institute An ethical, evidence-based program supporting researchers to return clinically actionable genomic information to research participants Mary-Anne Young, University of New South Wales A Review on the WHO Tool for Benchmarking Ethics Oversight of Health-related Research Involving Human Participants and Its Potential Implications for the Australian Context Ehsan Shamsi Gooshki, Monash University Considerations in acquiring ethics approvals for research involving artificial intelligence: Development of a therapist assisted AI powered chatbot to increase gamblers’ awareness of risky gambling and overcome barriers to help-seeking Tara Thornhill, Flinders Centre for Gambling Research
14:45 - 16:00 AEST-QLD	Session - Practical strategies 2 Practical strategies for safeguarding researchers engaging in sensitive research Renee Fiolet, Deakin University Beyond the Form: What types of communication with clinical research participants need ethical review? Gudrun Wells, Clinical Trials: Impact & Quality (CT:IQ) In pursuit of ethical and inclusive research: What ethics committees and disability researchers can learn from each other Megan Walsh & Victoria Stead, Deakin University Lived experience and the HREC review process – opportunities Janelle Bowden, AccessCR Pty Ltd Ethical diligence or gatekeeping – the quandary when vulnerable populations are involved Heather Lovatt, Central Queensland University Australia
16:00 - 16:30 AEST-QLD	Session - Plenary Ethics review equivalency, or do we always need local committee review? Professor Edward Dove, Professor of Law, Maynooth University, Ireland

Day 2 Thursday 28 November

08:00 - 09:00 AEST-QLD	Session - Plenary Accessing England's patient records for research: 58 million and counting Amir-Reza Mehrkar-Asi, University of Oxford, UK
09:00 - 10:00 AEST-QLD	Workshop - Problem solving for HRECs HREC panel discussion
10:30 - 12:00 AEST-QLD	Privacy Training - Privacy Essentials for HRECs (This session will not be recorded) Andrea Calleia, Helios This session will cover topics, such as: - What privacy means and when it arises in the research context - How HRECs should be thinking about privacy, and the scope of personal information - HRECs and the research exemption
12:30 - 14:30 AEST-QLD	Session - Consumer engagement Conducting research with adolescents experiencing marginalisation and vulnerability Jess Heerde, The University of Melbourne More than just the paperwork: embedding ethical practices into how we engage and work with health consumers in research Adrienne Young, University of Queensland Involve Australia - in an innovative and systematic approach to community involvement in genomic research Keri Finlay, Australian Genomics The GenV participant advisory panel: Consumer engagement at scale in a large birth and parent cohort Kate Wyatt (on behalf of Libby Hughes), Murdoch Children's Research Institute Panel discussion (1hr) This panel discussion will address questions such as: - How might the role of the community representative on a committee evolve when an application includes a detailed consumer component?- What strategies can HRECs use to effectively assess the quality of consumer engagement in research projects? - In what ways can HRECs approach the assessment of consumer engagement to ensure efforts are meaningful and consumer input is respected? - How can we ensure that the information provided reflects genuine consumer perspectives and avoids tokenism?
15:00 - 15:45 AEST-QLD	Session - Psychedelic drugs Psychedelic panel discussion Hudson Birden, Ian Tindall and Paul Gatenby The use of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for prolonged grief disorder Venessa Beesley, Queensland Institute of Medical Research Berghofer
15:50 - 17:00 AEST-QLD	Session - Guidelines Cultural Safety Karl Mckenzie, Queensland Indigenous guidelines Hayley Germaine, Northern Territory Human remains, research and indigenous peoples. A perspective from the Human Remains Committee in Norway Lene Os Johannessen, Norway HREC Accreditation update Conor Brophy

Day 3 Friday 29 November

08:00 - 09:15 AEST-QLD	Session - Professionalisation (zoom stream 1) Professionalising the scientific review Melvin Chin, NSW Government - Health, South Eastern Sydney Local Health district Barriers and facilitators to retention in long term paediatric clinical trials Jessie Head-Gray, Murdoch Children's Research Institute Approaches for registering adaptive trials in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) Melina Willson & Peta Skeers, University of Sydney Facilitating up-to-date information on clinical trials: a case for collaboration between ethics committees and the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) Angie Barba (presented by Ava Grace Tan-Koay and Melina Willson), University of Sydney What is the national prevalence of statisticians as full members of human research ethics committees in Australia? Adrian Barnett, Queensland University of Technology
08:30 - 09:30 AEST-QLD	Session - Specific participant groups (zoom stream 2) Geographies of ethics, rural communities and education research: a struggle for ethical research Dipane Hlalele, University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa Visual Consent Tools for Participant Information and Consent in Health Research with First Nations Peoples Mina Kinghorn Ethical issues in conducting health research with people in prison: results of a deliberative research project conducted with people in Australian prisons Paul Simpson, University of New South Wales Ethical barriers and opportunities to facilitate effective involvement of people with a living experience of dementia in research Sarah Jay, Dementia Australia
09:30 - 10:00 AEST-QLD	Session - Plenary (This session will not be recorded) Positioning positionality Mandy Downing, Curtin University
10:15 - 12:15 AEST-QLD	HREC Coordinators session For all HREC Coordinators and Administrators Register for this session here
12:45 - 14:00 AEST-QLD	Session - Consent What constitutes informed in informed consent? Ian Pieper Determining decision-making abilities of people with intellectual disability consenting to participate in qualitative research – moving from substitutes to supporters Rhonda Beggs, Logan and Beaudesert Hospital Inclusive consent practices: Learnings from Generation Victoria Libby Hughes, Murdoch Children's Research Institute Health Information and Bundled Consent in Primary Care (This talk will not be recorded) Helen Deuchar, University of Auckland, New Zealand

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