Ethics committees

Approved by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK) on 11 July 2025 with code 2025-KAEK-51, the committee operates under the Regulation on Clinical Research of Human Medicinal Products. It evaluates clinical research and low-risk scientific studies, post-market clinical follow-up and medical-device investigations, stem-cell research under Circular 2018/10, observational studies with human medicinal products, scientific studies of treatment methods, and health-claim studies for foods for special medical purposes and food supplements. Cosmetic studies and traditional, complementary and functional medicine research are outside its scope.

Applications use the TİTCK document set and follow the Guideline on Good Clinical Practices. Initial applications are submitted as one printed copy and one PDF on a USB drive; notifications may be sent to kaek@acibadem.edu.tr. Applications on the meeting agenda are finalised within 15 days. No fee is charged for academic studies, specialty theses, studies sponsored by a member of the university or funded by public institutions. The committee meets twice a month; the 2026 calendar, forms and fee schedule are on the university site.

Members

• Prof. Filiz Onat (Chair), Pharmacology
• Prof. Murat Mert Erkan (Vice Chair), General Surgery
• Prof. Abdullah Taner Usta, Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Prof. Özlem Sönmez, Internal Medicine
• Prof. Andaç Salman, Dermatology
• Assoc. Prof. Fatih Özdener, Pharmacology
• Asst. Prof. Ceren Gülser İlikan Rasimoğlu (Member Responsible for Notifications), History of Medicine and Ethics
• Asst. Prof. Neval Yurttutan Uyar, Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology
• Prof. Kamil Fehmi Narter, Urology
• Assoc. Prof. Nilüfer Aykaç, Pulmonary Diseases
• Uğur Aslan and Melek Ay, non-healthcare professional members

Permission must be obtained from ACU-HADYEK before any procedure involving laboratory animals; no approval is issued retrospectively, and only projects to be conducted at ACU-DEHAM are evaluated. Applications are made by the most senior responsible staff member (the thesis advisor for theses) with the application form, the letter of undertaking, the animal request form and the applicants’ experimental-animal-use certificates, in Word format to acuhadyek@acibadem.edu.tr and in wet-signed hard copy. Decisions are appropriate, requires correction, conditionally appropriate or inappropriate; protocol changes need approval; publications must cite the protocol number. The committee meets monthly. Secretariat: İlkesu Baytek, +90 216 500 43 08.

Members

• Prof. Serap Arbak (Chair)
• Prof. Güldal Süyen (Vice Chair)
• Prof. İsmail Hakkı Ulus
• Prof. Yeşim Işıl Ülman
• Assoc. Prof. Devrim Öz Arslan
• Assoc. Prof. Halime Kenar
• Assoc. Prof. Emel Timuçin
• Asst. Prof. Elif Keskinöz
• Asst. Prof. Melis Yavuz
• Asst. Prof. Gözde Arıtıcı Çolak
• Asst. Prof. Perinur Bozaykut Eker

ATADEK evaluates research project applications that fall outside the scope of the clinical research regulations, such as surveys, retrospective studies and studies with biological material not covered by TİTCK rules. Applications are submitted through the School of Medicine; the Campus Meetings series has hosted a session on “Research Ethics and Ethics Committees”.

The Graduate School of Health Sciences and the Bioethics MSc programme host research-integrity events, including the lecture “The Issues of Research Integrity” by Prof. Julia Priess-Buchheit (Kiel University, NERQ) and the European Commission’s research-ethics training attended by ACU academics. The UNESCO Türkiye Bioethics Commission and the Dr. Şinasi Can Medical Ethics Days are organised with the Department of History of Medicine and Ethics.