SIMISOLA AKINTOLA Lecturer - University of Ibadan |
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04.07.2022-29.08.2022
AN INDIGENOUS LEGAL APPROACH TO REGULATING DATA SHARING IN GENOMIC AND BIOBANK RESEARCH IN RESOURCE LIMITED SETTINGS: PERSPECTIVES FROM NIGERIA
The overall objective is to complete a book entitled "An indigenous legal approach to regulating data sharing in genomic and biobank research in resource limited settings: perspectives from Nigeria."
The proposed chapters for this book are:
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: From colonisation to legal selfactualisation? The regulation of genomic & biobank research in Africa
• Chapter 2: The regulation of genomic biobank research in Nigeria: current approaches
• Chapter 3: A shift in regulatory approach?
• Chapter 4: Respect for indigenous law and reciprocity
• Chapter 5: Stewardship, Trust, and accountability
• Chapter 6: Community and stakeholder engagement
• ConclusionThe earlier chapters though in draft form will also draw from previously published work that must be updated. The objective of the proposed stay is to focus on two chapters: Respect for indigenous law and reciprocity (Chapter 4), and Stewardship trust and accountability (Chapter 5).
Briefly chapter 4 will focus on the significance of National law and in particular indigenous customary law as a source of law in Nigerian legal system in genomic biobank research in Nigeria will be discussed. Solidarity in high income countries where regulatory approaches are borrowed is well established and such an ethos that reflects the communal based worldviews prevalent in many African communities is analysed against this borrowed background. However if the governance of the research is to foster equitable exchange of research practices, there must be some reciprocal benefit. This chapter will explore the impact that reciprocity will have on communalism and how this may manifest in a governance framework. Particular focus will be given to capacity building and benefit sharing to enable the research to develop for the benefit of the local population in a manner that promotes trust and fairness. It will conclude with some recommendations on how to ensure reciprocity and indigenous law is enshrined in a governance framework.
I am an academic lawyer and I am currently a Professor at the Department of Private and Property Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo-State, Nigeria. I am also a Faculty Member at the Centre for Bioethics, Ashi, Ibadan,Ibadan, Oyo-State, Nigeria as well as an Adjunct Professor at the School of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. My research interests are in the areas of Intellectual Property, Health Law and Policy particularly Bioethics and Genomics. I tutor both undergraduate and postgraduate students in medical law, Bioethics and Health Policy. My doctoral thesis focused on future uses of data and biological materials in biobanking research. I have been involved in the development of the National Health Ethics Code for Nigeria, the Intellectual Property Policy of mu institution and other policies within the institution and outside. I have served on the institutional review board of my university and the teaching hospital for years. More recently, I have been involved in the discussion towards the development of e-health policy and regulation in Lagos State.