Internal Ethics Committee

The Internal Ethics Committee (IEC) of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics (DND) was established through a decision of the Rector’s Council (6/9-10-2018). The committee consists of three faculty members from different academic disciplines. It is responsible for monitoring the compliance of research projects (such as undergraduate and postgraduate theses, PhD dissertations and postdoctoral and independent research) with ethical and deontological standards, as described in detail in the Code of Ethics of the University of Thessaly (https://www.uth.gr/panepistimio/thesmika/themata-deontologias). Of note, the submission of research proposals to the IEC for approval is mandatory, whereas such submissions are not allowed to be submitted retrospecitvely. According to the Code of Ethics of University of Thessaly (p. 22), “when IEC reviews research proposals, it focuses on issues related to the research procedure rather than on the quality of the proposed research”.

The procedure that interested parties must follow to obtain the IEC approval is as follows.

The application must be submitted to the email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., accompanied by the following:

A. Application

B. Detailed Research Plan accompanied by research material (e.g., research protocols, information and consent forms)

C. Research Project Consent Form

To complete the relevant forms, interested parties may refer to the appropriate templates. The IEC members meet regularly to review the submitted research proposals. After reviewing a proposal, the Committee either approves it by issuing a signed certificate, or requests its revision if the ethical and deontological rules governing the research process are not satisfactorily followed. In that case, it notifies the research supervisors electronically about the the corrections that need to be made in order for the proposal to be accepted. After the revised proposal is submitted, the IEC reviews it again.

In accordance with the Code of Ethics of University of Thessaly, the Committee records its meetings and keeps minutes of its decisions.