Status Update on the Code of Conduct for Health Research Initiative

The EU General Data Protection Regulation comes into force on 25 May 2018, with direct effect in the EC Member States. In its Article 40, it specifies that the Commission encourages “the drawing up of codes of conduct intended to contribute to the proper application of this Regulation, taking account of the specific features of the various processing sectors and the specific needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.” The BBMRI-ERIC led Code of Conduct for Health Research initiative is committed to such a code, aiming at (a) contributing to the proper application of the regulation, (b) taking into account the specific features of processing personal data in the area of health, (c) clarifying and specifying certain rules of the GDPR for controllers who process personal data for purposes of scientific research in the area of health, (d) helping to demonstrate compliance by controllers and processors with the regulation, and (e) helping to foster transparency and trust in the use of personal data in the area of health research. The aim of the webinar is to present the initiative and give an update on current achievements. A first section of the code will be released soon for comments, a public consultation of the full code will expectantly start in late 2018.

CORBEL webinars include an audience Q&A session during which attendees can ask questions and make suggestions.

This webinar took place on 5 June 2018 and is part of the CORBEL webinar series. It is best viewed in full screen mode using Google Chrome. The slides from this webinar can be downloaded from SlideShare here.


About the speaker...

Michaela Th. Mayrhofer is a political scientist and historian by training. She was educated in Vienna, Louvain-la-Neuve, Essex and Paris. In 2010, she has earned her PhD from both the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and the University of Vienna, which was shortlisted by the Austrian Society for Political Science for 'best thesis 2010'. Prior to her involvement in BBMRI-ERIC, she was investigator in several national and international research projects focusing on the politics of biotechnology and the life sciences, especially the governance of biobanks. Her academic career led to various positions at the Centre de Recherche Médecine, Sciences, Santé et Société, the University of Vienna, the Institute of Science, Technology and Society Studies at Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt/ Vienna/Graz, the Technical University of Vienna and the Medical University of Graz. Today, she serves as the Chief Policy and Coordination Officer of BBMRI-ERIC and coordinates the Code of Conduct for Health Research initiative.