Our Team

Research Integrity, Compliance and Ethics

The Research Integrity, Compliance and Ethics (RICE) Office is committed to providing regulatory oversight and promoting research integrity and ethical conduct in clinical research within SingHealth. By strengthening research quality, research integrity, and regulatory compliance through dedicated administrative, operational, educational, and oversight functions, we safeguard the rights and welfare of research participants while supporting SingHealth researchers in conducting high quality and responsible research, thereby enabling the growth of research activities in our Academic Medical Centre.

Our Mission

RICE provides leadership in protecting the rights, welfare and wellbeing of research participants involved in research conducted or supported by the SingHealth Group through the 5 functions below.

Research Institution (RI) Administration oversees all Human Biomedical Research (HBR) within SingHealth’s purview and ensures compliance with the Human Biomedical Research Act (HBRA). The RI Administration also defines the roles and responsibilities of the committees that provide oversight for the HBR activities:

1. Research Regulatory Compliance Committee (RRCC)
2. SingHealth Tissue Governance Committee (STGC)

Education and Development is responsible for delivering educational and training programmes to keep the research community updated on new legislation, policies, and guidelines. The team supports the adoption of these policies across SingHealth institutions and promotes adherence to regulatory and ethical standards. Updates on compliance, ethics, and research integrity matters are regularly communicated to stakeholders.

Research Compliance Management is responsible for the monitoring, quality management and audit of the research. The monitors will perform on- and off-site routine monitoring using a risk-stratified framework recommended by the International Council for Harmonisation Guideline for Good Clinical Practice (ICH GCP) and ensure that relevant regulations and guidelines are met by objectively evaluating the processes and conduct of Investigator-Initiated Clinical Research (IICRs) at the SingHealth institutions. Examples of IICRs include clinical trials under the Health Products and Medicines Act or HBR under the HBRA. Continuous research quality surveillance will be performed along with internal audits to identify process and/or system deficiencies. Best practices will be shared, and relevant corrective actions will be implemented.

Centralised Institutional Review Board (CIRB) Operations assists the CIRB in reviewing research projects to ensure that the rights and welfare of the human research participants are protected and that the regulatory requirements are met. The CIRB secretariats support the CIRB Chairperson and committee members in a timely manner. 

Research Integrity is responsible for handling concerns involving allegations of research misconduct, thus ensuring that all research within SingHealth is conducted responsibly and honestly.