The Office of Human Research Protection Program (OHRPP) provides the following services to ensure the safety and well-being of human research participants, and to advocate their rights.

  • Efficient and high quality ethics review

  • Education on human research protection

  • Quality assurance and continuous improvement

  • Engagement of public and research partners

OHRPP comprises of 5 divisions:

Domain Specific Review Board (DSRB)

Formed in 2004, the DSRB has been providing ethics review of research protocols in NHG and partner institutions. The 5 biomedical Domains are based on broad but related disease groupings. In response to the increasing interest in Population Health research, a new 6th domain (Domain F) has been set up this year. The specialties under DSRB are as follows:

Research Quality Management (RQM)

Research Quality Management (RQM) formally started as a division providing quality assurance activities to ensure that research protocols are carried out ethically and in accordance with the Singapore Guideline for Good Clinical Practice (SGGCP), DSRB SOPs and other applicable regulations. In addition, RQM extended monitoring for selected Investigator-initiated Studies (IIS) to support investigators in ensuring data quality and compliance. Under OHRPP, the RQM division will undertake various continuous improvement initiatives such as optimising the DSRB’s operational efficiency, and creating tools and training to support investigators conducting IIS.

Researcher Training and Support (RTS)

The Researcher Training & Support (RTS) is a division responsible for developing training programs and support initiatives for researchers and research support staff. The RTS has embarked on a series of departmental seminars and lunch-time talks. One such talk will be on the Submission of a DSRB Application, which is intended to equip researchers and research support staff with the knowledge and techniques to complete the form.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) division oversees the propagation of RCR culture and education within the research community. While Proper Conduct of Research is about having the knowledge to do things right, RCR is about doing the right things in research.

Collaboration and Partnership (C&P)

The Collaboration & Partnership (C&P) divisiexternal healthcare set-ups and agencies. Such research partnerships between healthcare on oversees the extension of ethics review services and oversight to institutions provide a common platform of ethics review and establish common standards of research conduct in partnering institutions.