Background: Data protection is considered being an important issue for research ethics in Europe and also a fundamental human right. It is not known to what extent ethics committees and data protection officers deal with the issue of personal data protection in research. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze how research ethics committees handle personal data protection issues in the research protocols they evaluate, whether they collaborate with data protection officers regarding personal data protection in research, and whether they have received any dedicated education or training regarding personal data protection issues. Methods: The study was conducted via in-person or online interviews among two groups of participants, including heads (or delegated representatives) of research ethics committees and data protection officers. Interviews were audio-recorded and all audio-recorded materials solely used for help to collect answers are fully and irreversibly erased after transcription of fully anonymized results of the interview results in the electronic document. Participants were asked to provide the informed consent via e-mail prior to interviews. Results: Ethics committees mostly did not know who the data protection officer was in their institution (54,84%). 64,52% of them never contacted the data protection officer. The majority of ethics committees (61,29%) stated that the institution did not offer them any training in the field of personal data protection. As an obstacle in relation to personal data protection, ethics committees (26,09%) mostly highlighted the lack of a clear protocol for assessing personal data protection issues while data protection officers (29,63%) mostly highlighted researchers’ lack of knowledge about personal data. Conclusion: Ethics committees and data protection officers hardly cooperate when it comes to the protection of personal data in research protocols. Continuous education of data protection officers and members of ethics committees in the field of personal data protection and the creation of appropriate manuals and guidelines on personal data protection procedures are imperative when creating future personal data protection strategies for academic and scientific research institutions.