There are almost 900 Research Ethics Committee (REC) members at the Health Research Authority (HRA) based across the UK who give up their time to provide our Research Ethics Service on a voluntary basis.
Our committees are made up of a variety of people who bring different skills and experiences. This includes lay members, whose primary professional interest is not in clinical research, and members of the public who have never worked in healthcare or research. This is to make sure that we have insights from different perspectives, and everyone’s view is equally important.
RECs review applications for health and social care research before it can be approved to go ahead, and play a crucial role in upholding the dignity and safety of research participants.
We met Greater Manchester West REC member Dr Tobiasz Trawinski, to find out why he became a REC member, how it works alongside his career in academia, and his impressions from his first few months in the service.
Tell us about your career to date, Tobiasz.
I'm currently a Senior Lecturer in psychology at Liverpool Hope University. Prior to this, I was a Post Doctoral Associate at New York University in Abu Dhabi, after doing my PhD at the University of Southampton. My research explores how our personality and attitudes influence the way we engage with other communities and the art and cultural heritage that represent them.
I’m also the chair of my faculty ethics committee at the university, which means that I oversee the research done by the Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences. This covers a range of subjects, from psychology to health and computer science.
Higher education institution Research Ethics Committees
Most universities have established research ethics committees as part of their internal governance arrangements. These research ethics committees are not part of the National Research Ethics Service. In most cases, where research meets the criteria for requiring ethical review within the Governance Arrangements for Research Ethics Committees, universities will not also require review by their internal ethics committee.
Why did you decide to join our Research Ethics Service?
One reason I decided to join was for my professional development, because the HRA provides fantastic training for its REC members. It’s helped me to stay up to date with changes to processes in the research approvals system, which is very relevant to my role within the faculty, meaning I can make sure the policies and processes we have in place at the university reflect this.
There is another motivation for me, and this is more about the bigger picture and how we perceive academics or scholars in general. What is our role in society? At the university we do research, and we teach students. But all of this is behind a paywall, so there’s this big imbalance in place. It made me think – what can I do as an academic to be more engaged in society and have an impact on those outside of the academic world, to make the benefits of research accessible to everyone?
At some point, each of us will require healthcare, so we are all users and equal in that sense. One way to address this is to volunteer and help others progress and deliver the science, ensuring that community voices and diversity are reflected in research.
How does being a REC member work around your profession?
My employer is very supportive and shares the values of the research ethics service. I usually attend meetings once a month, and they allow me dedicated time to do my REC service for the HRA.
As I mentioned, it’s also very aligned to my ethics role in the faculty, helping me ensure that our practices are up to date.
What’s been your experience of being a REC member so far?
I’ve been a REC member since December 2024, and in my first few months one thing that struck me was how the committee members really carefully read all of the documentation for each research application.
I’d been wondering how the system would work, as we are all volunteers with different motivations. You’d think that on occasion, people might say they didn’t have time to read all the papers, but this isn’t the case- everyone is so diligent and scrutinises the information, so I was very pleasantly surprised by that.
It’s also been very uplifting to see the ethics process in action and be part of it. You feel you have really contributed to something when you ask the applicant about something they hadn’t considered, which they acknowledge is an important point. You realise that we all have a common goal, which is to do research which addresses the needs of our society.
I guess it is easy to see RECs as a ‘blocker’ to innovation. But actually, it’s more about working together towards our common goal.
What have you learnt from being part of the Research Ethics service?
It’s really reminded me that the whole point of the research ethics process is to deliberate on the relevance of the research question, in terms of how it will affect society, who will participate, and the advancement of science.
It also puts into perspective the amount of people and work that is involved- between participants, funders, sponsors and then the actual researchers. It’s a real reminder how important it is to make the research worthwhile.
It’s also made me reflect on how important good communications skills are. Asking the questions in the right way and using plain English, avoiding jargon.
Otherwise, we feed into a soap opera picture of scientists using all of these words, but no one really knows what they mean. So an ability to be clear and to the point is important.
What skills would you say are required to be a REC member?
This is an interesting question. You could say that critical thinking skills and ability to gather and comprehend large amounts of information, but I think there is a more important element. You should ask yourself - would I like to take part in this study, based on the information provided? You have to be able to consider other perspectives, such as the motivations from the researchers or research sponsors, rather than just the skills we bring to the committee.
I think it’s also important to be considerate. We are seeing an application that has had a lot of work put into it, and the ethics review is almost the end of the research application process. So, we should be respectful and remember that applicants are also bringing their own experiences and questions to the process.
Being aware of this, and how our position can influence our perspective, is an important skill.
What advice would you give to applicants attending REC meetings?
The first thing I’d say is that we are on your side!
Our goal is not to prevent your research from taking place, we are there to support you to carry out an ethically sound research project.
The second thing is that you should really give some thought to what type of information you are giving to the participants, and check what you intend to give out with those outside of your bubble. Are they able to understand what you are communicating to them? A researcher recently showed my committee a patient letter they planned to send, and the number of acronyms was… rather overwhelming. It could really put people off.
I’d also encourage applicants to consider other formats of participant information. Remember, sometimes we are communicating to 7-year-old children and they probably don’t want a 5 page information booklet. The medium is important, but I feel there’s little awareness about the amount of money it can cost to produce good quality participant information. This is a wider issue, but it’s something we should talk about throughout the research application process and it should be communicated from the outset, for example when applying for funding.
Do you have any final thoughts?
Just that I'm very grateful for this experience. I find it extremely rewarding and enriching to have that moment each month to take a step back to see the bigger picture of what is happening in other parts of the country. It gives me hope that people are dedicated to doing good and taking opportunities to advance science and improve our lives. Perhaps that’s more important now than ever.