• The Ethics Review Committee (ERC) of the NIMH is a board specialized in reviewing scientific & ethical aspects of research protocols specific to mental health.
• The ERC of the NIMH has received approval from the Ministry of Health and also a member of the Forum for Ethics Review in Sri Lanka (FERCSL).
• The ERC is responsible to review research proposals submitted to them for ethical consideration, and to make suggestions on improvement of research protocol in keeping with current ethical standards.

Present Members of the ERC

1. Dr. Kapila Ranasinghe, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), FSLCPsych                                                                                           Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka

2. Dr. Pushpa Ranasinghe, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), FSLCPsych                                                                                   Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka

3. Dr. Chamara Wijesinghe, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), MRCPsych (UK)                                                                     Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya                                                                                     Hony. Consultant Psychiatrist, Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama

4. Dr. Sajeewana Amarasinghe, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry)                                                                                             Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka

5. Dr. Dulani Samaranayake, MBBS, MSc, MD (Community Medicine)                                                                       Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo Consultant Community Physician

6. Dr. Prabath Wickrama MBBS, MD (Psychiatry)                                                                                                     Consultant Psychiatrist, District General Hospital, Negombo

7. Dr Dulshika Amerasinghe Waas MBBS, MD (Psychiatry)                                                                                     Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayawardenapura                                             Hony. Consultant Psychiatrist, Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila

8. Dr Chathurie Suraweera MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), MRCPsych(UK)                                                                     Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo                                                                             Hony.Consultant Psychiatrist, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo

9. Dr. Miyuru Chandrasena MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), MRCPsych(UK)                                                                                Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya                                                                                   Hony. Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama

10. Mrs. Dilukshi Shanika Wijesinghe                                                                                                                             Attorney at Law                                                                                                                                                                   Senior Legal Officer – Women In Need

11. Dr S.S.P. Warnakulasuriya RN, RMN, BSc (Nursing), MSc, PGDCP, PhD                                                               Dean, Faculty of Nursing, University of Colombo                 

12. Mrs. W A C Sadhamali, BA, MPhil                                                                                                                             Chief Psychiatric Social Worker – National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka

13. Mrs. T Thilakaratne, RN, RM, BSc (Nursing), MPA                                                                                           Principal, Nursing Training School, Mulleriyawa

14. Dr. Nandana Welage, BSc, MSc, PhD (Occupational Therapy)                                                                             Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya

Important:

• The ERC will convene at 12 noon on the 4^th Thursday of each month
• All submissions for the monthly ERC should be submitted before the 15th of the same month.
• Each proposal is reviewed in-depth by 3 committee members and the other members review a summary of the proposal.
• The in-depth reviewers are selected depending on the speciality / area of the research project submitted.
• The ERC may accept, request re-submissions with modifications, or reject your research submissions. All decisions are final.

Before submitting your research proposal:

1. Download our application form.
2. Did you read our guidelines for submission?
3. Did you prepare your research protocol according to our format?
4. After preparing your documents please review with our checklist.
5. If you are attached to the Ministry of Health you may also want to learn about research allowance and apply for it.