The Ethics Committee for Transdisciplinary Research (CERT) is responsible for ensuring that research conducted by Sapienza is carried out in accordance with the ethical principles defined by international and national regulations and in line with Sapienza’s Statute and Code of Ethics. 

The ethical dimension of research is integrated with that of compliance, with the goal of creating research that is ethical by design. By consulting the flowcharts, researchers can identify the relevant ethics committee, if different from CERT.

CERT provides the research community with an ethical clearance service organized into categories that systematically cover the main areas of research:

(1) research involving human subjects (non-clinical) and (9) processing of personal data;
(2) human cells, fluids, and tissues (non-clinical);
(3) animals not falling under the OPBA’s jurisdiction;
(4) research in non-EU countries and/or involving cross-border transfers of data/materials;
(5) impacts on the environment, flora, and fauna;
(6) dual-use technologies;
(7) uncertified prototypes and experimental devices;
(8) software and artificial intelligence;
(10) cultural heritage.

CERT’s integrated evaluation dimensions for ethics and compliance include: 

• methodological validity (with ad hoc statistical-methodological review when relevant);
• management of ethics risks specific to each field (e.g., informed consent and protection of participants in research involving human subjects; responsible community engagement and responsible partnerships in non-EU contexts; impact minimization and provenance due diligence for cultural heritage; safety of use for experimental prototypes);
• compliance with applicable regulations and codes (e.g., GDPR and university forms regarding privacy, equipment safety, export controls, research group safety, environmental safety, etc.).

Ethics clearance applications may only be submitted online, following the procedures outlined on the page: How to Submit an Application to CERT

Sapienza Università di Roma’s Federalwide Assurance (FWA) number with the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is FWA00033345