All data and biological samples collected in the framework of the FLEMENGHO study are available for secondary analyses by research institutes with relevant expertise providing explicit permission by the Ethical Committee Research UZ/KU Leuven and (in case of biological samples) the UZ/KU Leuven Biobank.
Submitting an analysis request
Prior to submitting an official analysis request, we recommend to get in touch with us first. We can help you address following questions:
Can the research question(s) be investigated within FLEMENGHO and, if so, which data should be requested?
Is all data available or is additional phenotyping required?
Should extra approval be obtained (e.g. additional ethical approval)?
Answering these questions upfront will facilitate the completion of the analysis request form and, as such, speed up the application process substantially. Once completed, the request form should be submitted to the FLEMENGHO Steering Committee Manager for evaluation.
Project assessment and evaluation
Every request is assessed by the FLEMENGHO Steering Committee. This Committee ascertains whether:
the research question is relevant and scientifically substantiated
the proposed analyses are free from conflict of interest and free from overlap with ongoing or planned analyses
additional approval is required (e.g. of Ethics Committee)
Subsequently, the Committee makes an unanimous judgment on the analysis request (approval or rejection). Upon approval, the Steering Committee appoints an Analysis Advisor who will monitor the progression of the project. Upon rejection, the Committee will give advice for resubmission (unless resubmission is disencouraged).
When approved
When your request is approved by the Steering Committee and additional approvals have been obtained:
a data agreement must be arranged between KU Leuven and the applicant.
the applicant will receive an anonimized dataset and data dictionary tailored to the project
the appointed Analysis Advisor will monitor the project's progress to meet the predetermined timeline.