Conflict of Interest Policy

Purpose: The purpose of this Conflict of Interest Policy is to ensure integrity and transparency in the operations of the Atlas of Variant Effects Alliance (“AVE”), particularly in committee and workstream activities. It aims to manage situations in which personal, professional, or financial interests could conflict with the interests or goals of the Alliance.

Scope: This policy applies to all individuals serving in the Alliance’s committees, workstreams, and other decision-making or advisory roles, whether as full members, external collaborators, or observers. (hereafter referred to as “AVE group”)

Eligibility: AVE group membership is open to academic, nonprofit and government organizations and individuals that are interested in contributing actively in an open process to set standards, share tools, develop strategy and facilitate genomic research, in order to create comprehensive variant effect maps for important regions of human and human pathogen genomes that could ultimately assist in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease. Private sector and/or for-profit entities that wish to become involved in AVE groups will be assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure compliance with applicable NHGRI, NIH and governmental legal-, ethical-, and conflict of interest-related policies.

Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when an individual’s personal, institutional, professional, or financial interests have the potential to or might compromise collaborative decisions and activities.

Note: This also encompasses situations where there is a perceived conflict of interest—where it seems to others that an individual's personal interests might compromise their professional judgment, decisions or actions.

This includes (but is not limited to):

• Employment or consulting relationships with organizations affected by Alliance decisions
• Financial interests (e.g. stock ownership, grants, royalties) in entities impacted by Alliance outcomes
• Personal relationships that could affect objectivity (i.e. If a spouse, significant other, or relative has a conflict of interest)
• Academic or competitive interests that may bias judgment

Disclosure Requirements

• All AVE group members must complete an annual Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form, even if no conflicts exist.
• New group members must submit the form prior to appointment to a committee or workstream.
• Group members must inform group leadership (i.e., chairs, project managers, coordinators) and update their disclosure promptly following any change in circumstances about new initiatives, activities, or planned publications that overlap with involvement in their AVE group.

Competing activities:

We have a "no surprises" rule.  AVE group members are expected to be open with their group about other pre-existing activities or new initiatives that coincide with their involvement in AVE and/or potentially overlap with the scope of their AVE work. The member(s) and the group chairs should come to an agreement on how to manage the overlap. If an organisation or individual is subject to policies and requirements or has pre-existing relationships that create a fundamental conflict with the criteria, the AVE Executive Committee has the right to reject or remove the organisation or individual.

COI in brief:

• Disclosure Requirement: AVE group members must disclose any financial, professional, or personal interests that could reasonably be perceived as affecting their impartiality in matters before the group.
• Review Process: Disclosures will be reviewed by the AVE Executive committee  to determine if a conflict exists and to recommend appropriate mitigation or management measures.
• Recusal: Members with a potential conflict may be asked to recuse themselves from discussions or decisions where impartiality could be compromised.
• Periodic / Annual Updates: Group members should review and update their conflict of interest declarations annually and must notify the AVE Director of Program Operations, Lara Muffley upon any significant change in circumstances.
• Confidentiality: All disclosures will be treated confidentially and used solely for evaluating potential conflicts.

Atlas of Variant Effects Alliance - Conflict of Interest Declaration and Attestation Survey

Acknowledgements and Attribution. The following COI resources were consulted in crafting the AVE COI Policy: GA4GH, GREGoR, ClinGen

Effective Date: 1 September 2025   Version: 1.0