We encourage researchers to apply for new projects with the UMRI platform. Whether your study involves volunteers, phantoms, or clinical data, our team is here to support you through every step of the process. From preparing your application and securing ethical approval, to handling sensitive matters such as incidental findings or requests from volunteers to access their own data, we provide clear guidance to make the process as smooth as possible.
If you have a research project in mind, the first step is to complete the UMRI Project Application Form. This form is detailed and collects key information about the researchers, a summary of your project, the MRI procedures you plan to use, and how you intend to manage the data during analysis. The information you provide not only allows UMRI to review and approve your project, but it also generates most of the documents you will need for your ethics application.
After you submit the form, you will receive a shared project folder containing draft versions of all the required documents, including the Data Management Plan, Researcher Agreement, and, if applicable, consent forms and information sheets for volunteers. You will then be guided through the following steps:
Full document with the overview of the process is found here:
All researchers applying for a project with the UMRI platform must complete the UMRI Project Application Form. This form gathers the essential information about your project and automatically generates draft versions of the required documents. Once submitted, you will receive access to a shared project folder containing documents which you can review and share with participants.
All research projects at the University of Malta that involve human participants, personal data, or sensitive information require submission through the URECA (University Research Ethics and Data Protection) system. The URECA form guides you through a self-assessment of your project and collects the information needed for ethics and data protection review.
To support you in completing the form, we have prepared a guide. This document explains each section of the form, clarifies common questions, and shows how to link your UMRI project application with the URECA requirements. By following it, you can ensure that your submission is complete and consistent, reducing the chances of delays during the review process.
Find the guidance here:
To ensure that MRI data collected for your project is correctly transferred from the scanner to the University repository—and that all data are properly pseudo-anonymised, stored, and recoverable—it is essential to follow the labelling procedures outlined below. Please read these instructions carefully before your first data-collection session to avoid delays or data-handling issues.
Incidental Finding
An incidental finding is an unexpected observation of potential clinical significance that arises during an MRI scan of a research volunteer who was recruited for non-clinical research purposes. These findings are not related to the aims of the study but may have health implications for the participant.
Principal Investigator’s Role
If an incidental finding is identified, UMRI will contact the Principal Investigator and request the volunteer’s name and contact details (since the radiologist only reviews pseudo-anonymised scans). The PI’s responsibility is limited to providing this information promptly so that UMRI can reach out to the volunteer with appropriate guidance. All communication and clinical follow-up are managed directly by UMRI.
This document sets out the procedure to be followed when a research volunteer requests access to their own MRI data. The principal investigator (PI) of the study is responsible for carrying out the steps described in this document to ensure that such requests are handled correctly. These steps are required under data protection legislation, including GDPR and the Malta Data Protection Act, and reflect UMRI’s commitment to supporting research volunteers in exercising their rights.
[Write your initials here] would like to thank the University of Malta’s MRI Platform (UMRI) for access to scanning equipment and services, use of its infrastructure, and resources such as documentation and preprocessing scripts.
[Write your initials here] gratefully acknowledges the provision of scanning services by the University of Malta’s MRI Platform (UMRI).
[Write your initials here] would like to thank the University of Malta’s MRI Platform (UMRI) for access to secondary data from the University’s MRI repository and for resources such as documentation and preprocessing scripts.
[Write your initials here] gratefully acknowledges the provision of secondary MRI data by the University of Malta’s MRI Platform (UMRI).
UMRI would like to list on its website any publications arising from work carried out with data collected on the University’s scanner, or received from the University’s MRI repository. Kindly let us know of any such publication by sending an email with the article’s DOI at umri.platform@um.edu.mt.
