Associate Professor Kazi Rahman has been appointed Chairperson of the North Coast NSW Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC).

Kazi Rahman appointed chair of research ethics committee

Nov 22, 2023

Associate Professor Kazi Rahman has been appointed Chairperson of the North Coast NSW Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC).

Kazi has been a long-standing and integral member of the HREC since his appointment in February 2020. He is well known in northern NSW, having worked as a Senior Epidemiologist with the North Coast Population and Public Health Directorate, and as Senior Lecturer, Rural Research Education with Northern NSW Local Health District’s academic and research partner, the University Centre for Rural Health.

Kazi is an Associate Professor in Healthcare Innovation, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine with another of the LHD’s academic and research partners, Bond University.

While Kazi is welcomed to this role, Northern LHD thanks Dr Alex Stephens, the District’s Director of Research, for relieving as the interim Chairperson.

“It’s amazing to have Kazi take on the Chairperson role,” said Dr Stephens,

“He brings a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge, having served as a member of the committee since 2020. He is very well placed to hold this position, bringing a calm temperament, attention to detail and tremendous insight”.

Kazi started as the NCNSW HREC Chairperson last month and is backed by a wealth of experience, including a degree in Medicine from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University (USA) and a PhD in Epidemiology and Population Health from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health Research at The Australian National University in Canberra.

Prior to joining the North Coast Population and Public Health Directorate in 2019, Kazi held a variety of academic and research roles, including lecturer of Epidemiology at Griffith University and Lecturer in Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University.

The North Coast NSW HREC is dedicated to ensuring the well-being of participants in research through the scientific and ethical review of human research in accordance with the National Statement of Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2023). The HREC forms part of the LHD’s Research Governance framework to ensure the ethical design, conduct and dissemination of results of human research.

Anyone wanting further information about HREC can contact the Executive Officer to the North Coast NSW HREC, Rebecca Lavery, by email: NNSWLHD-Ethics@health.nsw.gov.au