University Research Ethics Office
The University Research Ethics Office (UREO) is an office established in 2015 under the Office of the University President. The UREO has the following mandates:
- Develop University policies and Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) pertaining to research ethics and institutional review;
- Ensure that University research ethics policies and procedures are consistent with national and international standards;
- Disseminate information and build capacity in the University on the conduct of ethical research and ethics review by providing seminars / workshops, materials and other resources; and engaging the University units in consultation meetings and other activities;
- Provide administrative support to the University Research Ethics Committee (AdMUREC) and serve as its Secretariat.
Ronald Allan L Cruz PhD
UREO Director 2021-2024
Dr Ronald Cruz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology. He obtained his PhD in Biology from Ateneo de Manila University. He has served as the Loyola Schools Coordinator for Teacher Formation Institute and Faculty Spiritual Formation as well as Chair and Vice-Chair of the University Research Ethics Committee. He completed training in good clinical practice, health research methodologies and ethics, and animal care and use for research from the University of the Philippines-Manila National Institutes of Health; and standard operating procedures in health research ethics from the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board.
University Research Ethics Committee
The Ateneo de Manila University Research Ethics Committee (AdMUREC or UREC) is mandated to review and monitor research that involves human participants, to ensure that such research is conducted in accordance with institutional, national, and international ethics principles and guidelines, including:
- scientific soundness
- non-maleficence and beneficence
- respect for persons
- justice
AdMUREC is Level-2 accredited by the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB). Level 2-accredited research ethics committees possess the requisite functional structure and demonstrate the capacity to review all types of researches except clinical trials required for FDA registration of new drugs.
The UREC is a multidisciplinary and multisectoral body that reviews and monitors the research of faculty, staff, students, and other researchers who conduct their investigation under the auspices of the Ateneo de Manila University. It is composed of two panels: the Loyola Schools (LS) Panel and the School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH) Panel. It also includes lay and non-Ateneo affiliated representatives.
The establishment of the UREC is in accordance with the directives of the Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS), particularly the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB); the DOST, DOH, CHED, UPM Joint Memorandum Order 2012-001 (“Requirement for Ethical Review of Health Research Involving Human Participants”); and the DOST-PCHRD, DOH, CHED, UPM-NIH Administrative Order 001-2013 (“Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10532 – or the Philippine National Health Research System Act of 2013”).
The composition, functions, and processes of the UREC are aligned with the National Ethical Guidelines for Health Research (2017), the World Health Organization (WHO) Standards and Operational Guidance for Ethics Review (2011), the Belmont Report (1979), and the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki (1964), among other international guidelines.
The review and decision-making process of the UREC is independent of other offices, units, and administrative officials in the University. This means that the decisions of the UREC with respect to its reviews of research protocols are not subject to the influence, regulation, or approval of any other office or official in the institution.
UREC Chair
Loyola Schools (LS) Panel Chair: Luz Rimban
Luz Rimban is the executive director of the Asian Center for Journalism, an academic unit under the Department of Communication of the Ateneo de Manila University. She is a lecturer at the Communication Department, the coordinator of the Master's in Journalism program and the moderator of the official campus publication, The Guidon.
School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH) Panel Chair: Albert Tiotuyco MD (2019 – 2021)
Dr Albert Tiotuyco is a graduate of UP College of Medicine Class of 1987. He finished his residency training in ENT-Head and Neck Surgery at UP-PGH in 1992. He has been involved in the academe for more than a decade in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He also worked as a medical science liaison in the USA specializing in clinical research in oncology for 12 years. He is now a faculty member at ASMPH, as the YL5 coordinator for the cell module, and a clinical associate professor at the UP College of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (DBMB). Aside from this, he is the current chair of the ASMPH-REC and a member of The Medical City IRB (TMC-IRB).
UREC Vice-Chair
LS Panel Vice Chair: Atty Eduardo Valdez PhD (2021 – 2022)
Atty Eddie Valdez teaches law subjects at the John Gokongwei School of Management where he served as Chair of the Marketing and Law Department. He received his AB & MA in Philosophy and his LLB degrees from the University of the Philippines. He was a Lonergan Fellow at Boston College where he obtained another MA in Philosophy. His PhD in Philosophy is from the Ateneo de Manila University. He is the author of three law books, two published by the Ateneo de Manila University Press and the other by C & E Publishing, Inc.
ASMPH Panel Vice Chair: Angel Belle Dy MD MBA (2019 – 2022)
Dr Angel Belle Dy is a general practitioner and identifies as an early childhood development advocate for the last 10 years. She is a graduate of the ASMPH MD-MBA program and completed post-graduate studies from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the UC Davis MIND Institute. As an adjunct assistant professor at ASMPH her roles include vice-chair of the ASMPH research ethics panel, assistant year level chair, and co-project leader of the Ateneo Autism Study Group. Her professional credentials also include being a trained DIR Professional under the International Council for Development and Learning and a Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics practitioner, completing training with the Child Trauma Academy.