Figure 2From: Ethical considerations of research policy for personal genome analysis: the approach of the Genome Science Project in Japan Schematic illustration of the workflow system in the MGSP and the function of the research unit for the ELSI of genomics for the MGSP. The applicant has to submit three documents to the MGSP: the research protocol, the informed consent form (ICF), and the MGSP application proposal. After review, both the selected researchers and associated members of the MGSP need to receive approval from the research ethics committees (RECs) of the relevant institutions. Then, the researchers have to obtain informed consent (IC) from the participants and send the specimens to the MGSP. Accordingly, the MGSP sequences and analyzes the samples; it then returns these data to the researchers, and it also enters the results into national and public databases. Here, the unit crafts the ICF template and its policy, evaluates the ethical aspects of the documents in an open-call process, and also responds to ethical inquiries from researchers.Back to article page