Masticationpedia Ethical and Scientific Board

     Ethics • Transparency • AI & Data Governance

Masticationpedia Ethical and Scientific Board (MESB)

The Masticationpedia Ethical and Scientific Board (MESB) is the independent ethical-scientific body that oversees the Masticationpedia ecosystem, ensuring integrity, transparency, and alignment with the highest international standards in ethics, data protection, AI governance, and scientific accountability.

🏛️ 1. Mission of the MESB

The MESB is not a peer-review body for individual chapters. Instead, it acts as a global ethical and scientific guarantor for all Masticationpedia developments, including mathematical models, diagnostic frameworks, AI components, data workflows, and public initiatives.

• scientific and academic integrity;
• protection of functional and sensitive data in compliance with the GDPR;
• alignment with the EU AI Act for high-risk health-related AI systems;
• methodological transparency and decision traceability;
• continuous ethical oversight of all AI and computational infrastructures.

Note: The MESB does not judge the scientific quality of individual chapters (no editorial peer-review). Its role concerns the global ethical and regulatory alignment of the entire project.

2. Composition of the Board

Clinicians

• Diego Centonze — President, Full Professor of Neurology, Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata
• Gianni Frisardi — Clinician Scientist, Vice Chair
• Maurizio Stefano Giacomello — Visiting Professor of Gnathology and Cranio-Facial Anatomy, University of Milan-Bicocca

External Academics (Independent Members)

• Prof. Andrei Khrennikov — Applied Mathematics (Chair)
• Prof. Ali Esquembre Kučukalić — Applied Physics, Magnetic Materials, Modelling
• Prof. Michèle Finck — Law & Technology, EU AI Act, Data Protection (pending official acceptance)
• Prof. Kemal Türker — Physiology, Human Neuronal Networks
• Prof. Diego Centonze — Neurology, Neuroimmunology, Systems Medicine
• Bioethicist — pending identification

Civil Society

• Carla Cefalà — Civil Society Representative (UK Trustee)

External academics remain fully independent from the Masticationpedia clinical and operational teams and therefore act as External Independent Members in all ethical deliberations.

📝 3. Role & Responsibilities of External Independent Members

External Independent Members provide high-level ethical and scientific oversight, with specific focus on:

• AI governance and compliance with the EU AI Act;
• GDPR and data protection considerations;
• ethical alignment of AI-based pre-diagnostic components;
• integrity and transparency of mathematical and conceptual models;
• guidance on standards required by Wellcome Trust and Horizon Europe.

Workload: extremely light — occasional review of specific items, short comments when needed, no meetings unless explicitly required.

Commitment: fully asynchronous and flexible.

Independence: no involvement in clinical practice, platform operations, or internal decision-making.

🔧 4. Ethical Oversight Scope

The MESB provides cross-disciplinary ethical oversight of:

• mathematical and physical models of the Masticationpedia paradigm;
• complex diagnostic frameworks and conceptual structures;
• AI and computational components for pre-diagnosis;
• procedures for functional-data protection and pseudonymisation;
• projects submitted to Wellcome Trust or Horizon Europe;
• public initiatives and fundraising platforms (e.g., Open Collective).

The MESB does not authorize invasive clinical procedures nor act as a regulatory body. Its function is ethical, not medical-regulatory.

🔁 5. Asynchronous Ethical Procedure (No Meetings Required)

To ensure sustainability and accessibility for international academics, the MESB uses a fully asynchronous online process:

1. Internal notification of a new item requiring supervision.
2. Access to documentation via dedicated platform.
3. Individual vote (Approve / Conditional / Not approved) with optional comments.
4. Automatic quorum validation: at least 3 members, including 1 external.
5. Final ratification by the Vice Chair.
6. Registration of the decision in the EDR.

This model eliminates the need for synchronous meetings, ensures full traceability, and minimizes the workload for Board members.

📚 6. Ethical Decisions Register (EDR)

The Ethical Decisions Register (EDR) is the public, traceable archive of all MESB decisions. Each entry includes:

• Decision ID;
• Date;
• Item (model, AI component, project, etc.);
• Outcome;
• Link to the opinion;
• Short notes.

→ Open the EDR Register

🌐 7. Alignment with Wellcome, Horizon and the AI Act

The MESB governance model is compatible with:

• Wellcome Trust — Ethics & Integrity requirements;
• Horizon Europe — Ethics Self-Assessment & Summary Report;
• EU AI Act — high-risk AI classification for health systems;
• GDPR — processing of health and special-category data.

🚀 8. Requesting Ethical Supervision

The following may be submitted for MESB review:

• mathematical and diagnostic models;
• AI components for pre-diagnosis;
• projects submitted to Wellcome Trust or Horizon Europe;
• initiatives supported by Open Collective.

Contact methods:
• LinkedIn InMail (fully valid for documentation);
• Email: ethics@masticationpedia.org.

💬 9. Communications via LinkedIn

Formal communications with Board members may occur via LinkedIn InMail. These messages are considered valid and can be archived internally and, when relevant, within the EDR system.

• acceptance of Board membership;
• comments or recommendations on models and frameworks;
• ethical or AI-related observations;
• confirmations of agreement or consensus.

This page summarizes the ethical and scientific governance structure of Masticationpedia and serves as a reference for funding bodies, academic partners, and clinical collaborators.

---

     Ethics • Transparency • AI & Data Governance

Masticationpedia Ethical and Scientific Board (MESB)

Il Masticationpedia Ethical and Scientific Board (MESB) è l’organo etico-scientifico indipendente che supervisiona l’ecosistema Masticationpedia, garantendo integrità, trasparenza e allineamento con gli standard internazionali in ambito etico, AI e dati sanitari.

🏛️ 1. Missione del MESB

Il MESB non è un organo di peer-review dei capitoli, ma un garante etico generale di tutto ciò che Masticationpedia sviluppa e presenta: modelli matematici, framework diagnostici, strumenti AI, gestione dei dati e iniziative pubbliche.

• integrità scientifica e accademica;
• tutela dei dati funzionali e sensibili secondo GDPR;
• rispetto dei requisiti dell’AI Act per sistemi ad alto rischio in ambito salute;
• trasparenza metodologica e tracciabilità delle decisioni;
• supervisione etica continua dei modelli e delle infrastrutture AI.

Nota: il MESB non giudica la qualità scientifica dei singoli capitoli (nessuna peer-review editoriale), ma l’aderenza complessiva del progetto a principi etici e normativi.

2. Composizione del Board

Clinici

• Dr. Gianni Frisardi – Clinician Scientist, Vice Chair focused on masticatory science and neurophysiological knowledge sharing.
• Maurizio Stefano Giacomello – Visiting professor of Gnathology and Cranio-Facial Anatomy, Dental School, University of Milan-Bicocca

Accademici esterni (Independent Members)

• Andrei Khrennikov — professor of applied mathematics at the Linnaeus University in Växjö, Sweden.[4] At Linnaeus University, he is the director of International Center for Mathematical Modeling and organizer of a conference series dedicated to foundations of quantum mechanics.
• Ali Esquembre Kučukalić — PhD Applied physics | Magnetic materials | Scientific communication | Modelling. Universidad Europea de Valencia
• Michèle Finck — Law & Technology, EU AI Act, Data Protection (provisional)
• Kemal Turker — Professor of Physiology at Istanbul Gelisim University Faculty of Dentistry and continuing research on neuronal networks in the human nervous system
• Diego Centonze - Full Professor of Neurology at the Department of Systems Medicine at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Director of the Neurology Unit and the Neurorehabilitation Unit at the IRCCS Mediterranean Neurological Institute Neuromed. He is also Head of the Synaptic Immunopathology Laboratory at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
• Bioethicist — in definizione

Società civile

• Carla Cefalà - Representative of Patients / Citizens — (Trustee UK)

Gli accademici esterni non fanno parte dello staff clinico di Masticationpedia e mantengono piena indipendenza istituzionale: per questo sono considerati External Independent Members nelle valutazioni etiche.

Gli accademici esterni non fanno parte dello staff clinico di Masticationpedia e mantengono piena indipendenza istituzionale: per questo sono considerati External Independent Members nelle valutazioni etiche.

📝 3. Role & Responsibilities of External Independent Members

External Independent Members provide high-level ethical and scientific oversight, with a specific focus on:

• AI governance and compliance with the EU AI Act;
• GDPR and data protection considerations in diagnostic frameworks;
• ethical alignment of AI-based pre-diagnostic tools;
• integrity and transparency of mathematical and conceptual models;
• advice regarding ethical standards required by Wellcome Trust and Horizon Europe.

Workload: extremely light — occasional review of specific points, short written comments when needed, no meetings unless explicitly requested.

Commitment: asynchronous participation; fully flexible.

Independence: no involvement in clinical practice, operations, or decision-making processes of Masticationpedia.

🔧 4. Ambito di supervisione etica

Il MESB fornisce una supervisione etico-scientifica trasversale, con particolare attenzione a:

• modelli matematici e fisici del paradigma Masticationpedia;
• framework concettuali e strutture diagnostiche complesse;
• algoritmi di AI e sistemi di pre-diagnosi;
• procedure di trattamento, anonimizzazione e pseudonimizzazione dei dati funzionali;
• progetti sottoposti a enti finanziatori (es. Wellcome Trust, Horizon Europe);
• iniziative pubbliche e di fundraising, come Open Collective.

Il MESB non approva trattamenti clinici invasivi, né rilascia autorizzazioni regolatorie: la sua funzione è etica, non sostitutiva delle autorità competenti.

🔁 5. Procedura etica asincrona (senza riunioni infinite)

Per rendere sostenibile la partecipazione di accademici internazionali, il MESB utilizza una procedura completamente asincrona online:

1. Notifica interna di un nuovo elemento da supervisionare (modello, framework, AI, progetto).
2. Accesso alla documentazione tramite piattaforma dedicata.
3. Voto individuale attraverso interfaccia digitale (Approve / Conditional / Not approved), con breve commento.
4. Verifica automatica del quorum: almeno 3 membri, di cui almeno 1 esterno.
5. Ratifica finale da parte del Vice Chair.
6. Registrazione della decisione nel Registro EDR.

Questo modello elimina la necessità di riunioni sincrone, mantiene tracciabilità completa e riduce il carico sui membri del Board.

📚 6. Ethical Decisions Register (EDR)

L’Ethical Decisions Register (EDR) è l’archivio pubblico e tracciabile di tutte le decisioni etiche del MESB. Per ogni voce vengono riportati:

• ID della decisione;
• data;
• oggetto (modello, progetto, componente AI, ecc.);
• esito (Approved / Conditional / Not approved);
• link al parere etico;
• note sintetiche del Comitato.

→ Apri il Registro EDR

🌐 7. Allineamento con Wellcome, Horizon e AI Act

Il sistema di governance etica di Masticationpedia è progettato per essere compatibile con:

• Wellcome Trust – requisiti di Ethics & Integrity;
• Horizon Europe – Ethics Self-Assessment ed Ethics Summary Report;
• EU AI Act – classificazione di sistemi AI ad alto rischio in ambito salute;
• GDPR – trattamento di dati sanitari e categorie particolari di dati.

🚀 8. Come richiedere una supervisione etica

Possono essere sottoposti al MESB, su richiesta:

• modelli matematici e strutture diagnostiche complesse;
• componenti AI di pre-diagnosi e supporto decisionale;
• progetti presentati a Wellcome Trust o Horizon Europe;
• iniziative sostenute da Open Collective o da altri partner.

Modalità di contatto:
• tramite LinkedIn (InMail ai membri del Board, pienamente valida a fini documentali);
• tramite email dedicata: ethics@masticationpedia.org.

💬 9. Comunicazioni tramite LinkedIn

Le comunicazioni formali con i membri del MESB possono avvenire tramite LinkedIn InMail. Sono considerate valide e vengono archiviate nel sistema etico interno (e, quando rilevante, nel Registro EDR):

• accettazione dell’incarico come membro del Board;
• commenti o raccomandazioni su modelli e framework;
• osservazioni su aspetti etici, AI e dati;
• conferme di lettura e consenso su decisioni condivise.

   Questa pagina riassume la governance etica e scientifica di Masticationpedia
   ed è pensata come riferimento per enti finanziatori, partner accademici e collaboratori clinici.