Category: <span>Company News</span>

Sociologist, lawyer and Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, Dr Michelle King, was yesterday awarded the Bellberry Travel Grant at the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law (AABHL) Conference 2023 in Brisbane.

The travel grant will assist Dr King to present a paper in Chicago at the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD) World Congress in August next year.

Dr King said her work focuses on defining inclusion in research for people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities and how this inclusion is mediated by research ethics committees and rules.

“Research about the experiences and perspectives of people with profound intellectual disabilities is difficult,” said Dr King.

“Most research work is done with the people around the person with profound intellectual disabilities, like parents, support workers, or health professionals.

“Including someone with profound intellectual disabilities in research can also be made more difficult by research ethical clearance processes and committees.

“My paper considers the question of ‘nothing about us, without us’ for people who may not be able to include themselves,” she said.

Dr King is also the parent of an adult daughter with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.

“I greatly value the opportunity to travel to the IASSIDD World Congress to share my results on ethics, decision-making and profound intellectual disabilities,” she said.

Bellberry’s CEO, Kylie Sproston congratulated Dr King on her ground-breaking research saying Bellberry was excited to support Dr King with a travel grant.

“This year marks 20 years of Bellberry and we are proud to partner with the 2023 AABHL Conference to offer a travel grant of up to $2000 to an early career or higher degree researcher to assist with travel to present research related to research ethics,” said Ms Sproston.

For further information please contact Alison Rogers on 0488 995 868 or alison@livingstories.net.au

The SA Science Excellence and Innovation Awards provide a opportunity to recognise the work of inspiring Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) leaders and teams working in research and education institutions, schools, industry and the community.

Bellberry is proud to be a Gold Sponsor of this event and look forward to attending the awards evening on 17th November which will celebrate the diversity of scientific endeavour and research in SA.

HREC meetings are held every Wednesday for the duration of 2024

The role of a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) is to ensure that all kinds of research involving or impacting on humans conform to the highest standards of ethical practice and academic integrity.  In this episode, Behind Closed Doors, we meet four members of Bellberry’s HRECs to understand what motivates people to take on this responsibility and how the process works.

HREC meetings are held every Wednesday for the duration of 2024

In June 2023 Bellberry were delighted to host the “Towards a Coordinated Approach for Managing Accelerated Patient Access to Potentially Beneficial Medicines: Balancing Patient, Regulator, Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Payer, and Other Stakeholder Needs” international workshop in Adelaide.

This event brought together over a global delegation from over 20 nations including the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Singapore, and Japan from a range of stakeholder groups to discuss the issue of a gap in funded access to potentially beneficial medicines where there has been accelerated regulatory approval.  All aspects of the workshop programme were overseen by a Scientific Committee and were chaired by E/Prof Lloyd Sansom.

The workshop was followed by a one-day open day meeting where the deliberations and conclusions of the expert panel presented and debated amongst a wider local audience.  The workshop outcome was the development of an agreed statement of good practice, guidelines on approaches and a clear agreement on required next steps.

The full report from the workshop can now be viewed here, key themes from the report were integrated into a meeting statement that can be viewed here.

Bellberry is a values-driven organisation working in research ethics, where respect is a fundamental principle that guides the work that we do.  Bellberry is committed, through our work, and the principles enshrined in the NHMRC National Statement, to people having a voice in decisions that affect them.  The Voice is a step that Australia can take to embody those principles.

Bellberry is proud to confirm its support for the proposed constitutional amendment to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the First Peoples of Australia.  This support aligns with our work in research ethics, and the work that we are undertaking as part of our Reconciliation Action Plan.

Bellberry recognises that there will be a diversity of views among its staff, members, and broader community.  Every Australian will come to their own decision on the referendum and Bellberry respects this and their right to vote in accordance with those views.

HREC meetings are held every Wednesday for the duration of 2024

Bellberry were thrilled to win the 2023 Not-For-Profit Business of the Year Award at Friday’s South Australian Premier’s Business and Export Awards!

What a great way to kick off our 20th year celebrations – thanks to our amazing Bellberry community.

Bellberry is proud to partner with the 2023 AABHL Conference to offer a grant of up to $2000 for Early Career Researchers/Higher Degree Researchers to enable travel to undertake or present research related to research ethics.

To find out more or to apply, click here: https://aabhlconference.com/bellberry-travel-grant

HREC meetings are held every Wednesday for the duration of 2024

On Monday in celebration of International Clinical Trials Day on 20 May, the Bellberry team supported and acknowledged all the amazing achievements that result from clinical research, by hosting a clinical trials themed afternoon tea.

Andy Phay, Cancer Clinical Research Manager at SA Health joined us for a discussion about the key considerations and priorities when running a clinical trial, followed by a presentation and learning’s from the Ethics Working Group in AI Translational Health Research in Singapore by Lisa Eckstein (Director of Philanthropy at Bellberry) and an update on Confidentiality and Privacy in a Landscape of Emerging Technologies from Franco Boschiero (IT Business Partner at Bellberry).

We were also proud to publish the Bellberry Clinical Trial Activity Report for 2022. This annual publication represents over one third of the Australia wide CTN trial activity across the development lifecycle.

Click here to register and download the Bellberry Clinical Trial Activity Report 2022

On International Clinical Trials Day, we’re proud to publish the Bellberry Clinical Trial Activity Report for 2022. This annual publication represents over one third of the Australia wide CTN trial activity across the development lifecycle.

This report demonstrates capability and capacity in a broad range of research areas. It also captures the originating funding location for inward investment in Sponsored clinical trials, again demonstrating Australia’s active participation in the global development process.

In this reporting period Bellberry was also delighted to have been awarded full re-accreditation for five years by the global Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP). Bellberry is the only organisation to achieve AAHRPP accreditation reflecting Bellberry’s commitment to protecting the rights and welfare of research participants.

If you have any questions relating to this data, please contact us at bellberry@bellberry.com.au

Click here to register and download the Bellberry Clinical Trial Activity Report 2022

LAST CHANCE FOR EARLY-BIRD REGISTRATION – CLOSES 19 MAY!

Join us at Bellberry’s International Scientific Congress in Adelaide on Friday 23 June 2023:

“Toward a Coordinated Approach for Managing Accelerated Patient Access to Promising Medicines. Balancing Patient, Regulator, HTA, Payer, and Other Stakeholder Needs”

Programme governance by a Scientific Advisory Committee, chaired by Professor Emeritus Lloyd Sansom AO

REGISTER NOW – places are strictly limited.

Bellberry consists of a team of highly professional, innovative and dedicated people who are committed to making a difference within the research community.

Our culture is built on shared values:

• Making a difference
• Working together with integrity and respect
• Professional and Responsive
• Future looking and forward-thinking.

That combination helps our professionals make a difference each day both individually and collectively.

Experienced Professionals

Due to our continued growth we’re excited to share that we currently have the following vacancies:

• Research Officer (part-time) (Melbourne)
• Project Coordinator (part-time) (Melbourne)
• Research Ethics Team Leader (Adelaide)
• HREC Officer (Adelaide)

Please visit our Join the Bellberry Team page for further information on each of these roles and to apply.