Semester | Herbstsemester 2025 |
Angebotsmuster | einmalig |
Dozierende | Bernice Simone Elger (b.elger@clutterunibas.ch, BeurteilerIn) Elisabeth Stock (elisabeth.stock@clutterunibas.ch) Olga Vinogradova (olga.vinogradova@clutterunibas.ch) |
Lernziele | The goal of the lecture is for students to learn about, understand and to reflect on several of the contemporary ethical and practical issues in geriatric care, both in Switzerland and globally. These include decision-making, patient autonomy, resource allocation, emergency care, advance care planning, clinical ethics consultations, intercultural competence, and economic considerations. |
Literatur | With a growing aging population, healthcare systems face increasing ethical challenges in providing compassionate, equitable, and effective care for older individuals. This lecture series explores the complex ethical landscape of geriatric care, addressing ethical dilemmas that arise in medical decision-making, patient autonomy, and resource allocation. The series begins with an overview of key ethical issues in geriatric care before delving into specialized topics. It includes ethical considerations in emergency care for older patients, and the complexities of advance care planning in hospital settings. We also examine the role of clinical ethics consultations, the importance of intercultural competence in caring for older individuals, and the economic considerations that shape healthcare decisions. To gain deeper insight into these ethical dilemmas and how they might be addressed, we will hear from leading international experts in the field. The “Contemporary Debates in Bioethics” is a lecture series, which is offered once every semester by the Institute for Biomedical Ethics. It is designed for students of the University of Basel, but also open to the public. Each semester, the lecture focuses on another aspect of current debates and potential ethical concerns and conflicts. During the fall semester of 2025, the focus of the lecture will be on the older population. If you have any questions concerning the format, the learning objectives and/or your participation, please do not hesitate to contact Elisabeth Stock via Email: elisabeth.stock@clutterunibas.ch |
Bemerkungen | Mondays, 12:15 – 13:45 22.09 – 01.12 (no lecture on 24.11, different room on 13.10.2025: USB Gebäude B, Hörsaal 1) USB Gebäude B, Hörsaal 3 Spitalstrasse 21, 4056 Basel |
Teilnahmevoraussetzungen | The seminar series is open to students and the general public. Unibas and EUCOR students who wish to receive 2 ECTS to their transcript have to register to the course on the Course Directory. The lecture is graded as “pass” or “fail”. To receive a “pass” students are expected to: 1. Attend at least 7 out of the 9 lectures and participate actively. University of Basel students: Attend in person; online participation permitted up to 3 times. EUCOR students: Online participation permitted for all lectures; handwritten case evaluation on 1. December 2025 must be in person. 2. Read the suggested preparatory readings for each lecture (uploaded on ADAM). 3. Pass the handwritten case evaluation, scheduled for 1. December 2025, between 12:15 and 13:45. |
Unterrichtssprache | Englisch |
Module | Aufbaumodul (Teil C) (Transfakultäre Querschnittsprogramme im freien Kreditpunkte-Bereich) Basismodul (Teil A) (Transfakultäre Querschnittsprogramme im freien Kreditpunkte-Bereich) Doktorat Bio- und Medizinethik: Empfehlungen (Promotionsfach: Bio- und Medizinethik (Studienbeginn vor 01.08.2025)) Doktorat Pflegewissenschaft: Empfehlungen (Promotionsfach: Pflegewissenschaft (Studienbeginn vor 01.08.2025)) Modul: Biblische und systematische Theologie (Masterstudium: Theologie) Modul: Ethik des Christentums - materiale Ethik, Ethik der Lebensführung (ST/E 2) (Master Studienfach: Theologie) Modul: Ethik des Christentums – materiale Ethik, Ethik der Lebensführung (ST/E 2) (Masterstudium: Theologie) Modul: Praktische Philosophie (Master Studienfach: Philosophie) Vertiefungsmodul Global Europe: Global Ageing and Health (Masterstudium: European Global Studies) Wahlbereich Master Pflegewissenschaft: Empfehlungen (Masterstudium: Pflegewissenschaft) |
Prüfung | Lehrveranst.-begleitend |
Skala | Pass / Fail |
Semester | Frühjahrsemester 2025 |
Angebotsmuster | einmalig |
Dozierende | Sophie Ayoub (sophie.ayoub@clutterunibas.ch) Eva De Clercq (eva.declercq@clutterunibas.ch) Bernice Simone Elger (b.elger@clutterunibas.ch, BeurteilerIn) |
Inhalt | Pediatrics turns bioethics on its head. Children lack the legal competence and sometimes the capacity to fully understand and consent to medical treatments and participation in clinical research. As a result, the field of pediatric healthcare and research raises unique ethical questions that complicate the usual frameworks and principles of bioethics: Can parents and healthcare providers make healthcare decisions on behalf of children? Should we empower children to have a greater say as they mature? How should we balance the child’s best interest with the rights of caregivers? This seminar explores the ethical challenges involved in pediatric healthcare and research through a lecture series on topics such as prenatal genetic testing, neonatal care, child euthanasia, pediatric palliative care, and children’s medical tourism. By engaging with these topics, students will develop a nuanced understanding of the ethical challenges in pediatric healthcare and research, and the ways in which these issues often require a shift in established bioethical frameworks and principles. The “Contemporary Debates in Bioethics” is a lecture series offered once every semester. Each time, it focuses on another aspect of current debates and potential ethical concerns and conflicts. During the spring 2025 semester, the focus of the lectures will be on children and bioethics. If you have questions concerning the format, the learning objectives and/or your participation, please contact Sophie Ayoub (Sophie.ayoub@clutterunibas.ch). |
Lernziele | After having attended this seminar series, you will have gained a better understanding of the ethical complexities involved in pediatric healthcare and research. You will also gain new perspectives on traditional frameworks and principles in bioethics. |
Literatur | Suggested readings will be provided a few days before each session on ADAM. |
Bemerkungen | USB Gebäude B, Hörsaal 3 Address: Spitalstrasse 21, 4056 Basel Time: 12:15 – 13:45 (Central Europe Time) 17.02.2025 24.02.2025 03.03.2025 17.03.2025 24.03.2025 31.03.2025 07.04.2025 14.04.2025 28.04.2025 05.05.2025 |
Teilnahmevoraussetzungen | The seminar series is open to both Unibas students and the general public. Unibas students who wish to receive 2 ECTS to their transcript have to register to the course on the Course Directory and attend in-person in order to get the credit points. If you are not an Unibas student, or do not wish to receive credit points, you may either attend the sessions in-person or over Zoom (a link will be sent a few days before each session). |
Unterrichtssprache | Englisch |
Module | Aufbaumodul (Teil C) (Transfakultäre Querschnittsprogramme im freien Kreditpunkte-Bereich) Basismodul (Teil A) (Transfakultäre Querschnittsprogramme im freien Kreditpunkte-Bereich) Doktorat Bio- und Medizinethik: Empfehlungen (Promotionsfach: Bio- und Medizinethik) Doktorat Pflegewissenschaft: Empfehlungen (Promotionsfach: Pflegewissenschaft) Modul: Biblische und systematische Theologie (Masterstudium: Theologie) Modul: Ethik des Christentums - materiale Ethik, Ethik der Lebensführung (ST/E 2) (Master Studienfach: Theologie) Modul: Ethik des Christentums – materiale Ethik, Ethik der Lebensführung (ST/E 2) (Masterstudium: Theologie) Modul: Praktische Philosophie (Master Studienfach: Philosophie) Vertiefungsmodul Global Europe: Global Ageing and Health (Masterstudium: European Global Studies) Wahlbereich Master Pflegewissenschaft: Empfehlungen (Masterstudium: Pflegewissenschaft) |
Prüfung | Lehrveranst.-begleitend |
Hinweise zur Prüfung | 1. Attend at least 8 lectures and participate actively. In case of unavoidable further absences, please contact us. These can possibly be compensated by an additional assignment (e.g. an additional short essay) 2. Students will be required to write a 1300-word reflection (excluding the bibliography). As part of the assignment, they will use ChatGPT to ask questions on given topics and then critically analyze these AI-generated perspectives in their text. The analysis should incorporate their personal insights, addressing the ethical issues raised and exploring potential solutions. Additional guidelines and detailed instructions will be provided during the introductory class. This assignment aims to develop students' ability to engage with emerging AI tools while deepening their understanding of complex ethical challenges. |
Skala | Pass / Fail |
Semester | Herbstsemester 2024 |
Angebotsmuster | einmalig |
Dozierende | Bernice Simone Elger b.elger@clutterunibas.ch (BeurteilerIn) |
Inhalt | Human Reproduction is a field which has undergone fundamental changes in the last decades due to both technological developments in the field of medically assisted reproduction (MAR) and to socio-cultural changes and beliefs of what makes a family. MAR still undergoes constant changes, with new developments and technological advances frequently arising. These generate both great opportunities (e.g. In-Vitro-Fertilization has permitted many infertile parents to have children), but also ethical dilemmas connected to them. The latter are particularly vast, stretching from questions surrounding abortion and the moral status of a fetus, the availability of surrogate parenthood and social egg freezing, to parental rights and responsibilities when it comes to the child(ren) in question. To explore these ethical dilemmas and how they might be answered to, we will hear from some of the leading experts in the field. We will learn how reproduction has come to be such a technologically developed field, what moral doubts these have created, and what impacts these have both in Switzerland and abroad. |
Lernziele | The goal of the lecture is for students to learn about, understand and to reflect on several of the contemporary ethical and practical issues related to human reproduction and its (technological) evolution, both in Switzerland and globally. |
Bemerkungen | From 12.15 to 13.45 im USB Gebäude B, Hörsaal 1 |
Unterrichtssprache | Englisch |
Module | Aufbaumodul (Teil C) (Transfakultäre Querschnittsprogramme im freien Kreditpunkte-Bereich) |
Hinweise zur Leistungsüberprüfung | The lecture is graded as “pass” or “fail”.
|
Instructor: Prof. Bernice Elger and invitees
Coordinator: Dr. vet. med. Edwin Louis-Maerten and Aoife Milford
Course description
The use of animals in science has been attributed to key developments in many major fields of biology and medicine. So much so that many scientists feel that animal use is indispensable in order to pursue further scientific breakthrough. But the use of animal for experimental purposes (including basic research, translational and applied research, regulatory testing, and education) is a case of heated debates and is being more and more challenged in some countries. For instance, the Swiss citizens filed a popular initiative to ban animal experimentation in Switzerland, which was voted against in February 2022, and a new popular initiative is now on its way. In the European Union, the citizen’s initiative “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without animal testing” was also debated at the Parliament last July. At the moment, the ethical grounds justifying animal experimentation are based on two major tenets that are the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine) and Harm-Benefit analysis. These tenets are enshrined into most national laws and institutional guidelines, as well as in the European Directive 2010/63 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. However, both are subject to increasing contests concerning their relevance with regard to our current understanding of animal welfare science, ethics and law, transparency in their review process led by Animal Ethics Committees, and their actual implementation in the laboratories by the animal research community.
This Contemporary Debates Seminar will dive into the concept of 3R and explore the practical issues involved in implementing them with examples taken from research, education and testing. A broader view on animal research ethics will also be taken, with considerations pertaining to the care of research staff, the scientific validity of animal use, or the moral status of animals being included. In these interactive sessions, course participants will attend presentations from leading international and national experts, and invited to discuss the ethical issues and proposed solutions at the end of each session.
Aims
After successfully completing this seminar series, you will gain a better understanding the ethical and practical issues related to animal research. You will also gain new perspectives and approaches to analyze ethical challenges in the context of animal experimentation.
Evaluation (for registered students)
1. Only one unexcused absence will be allowed. An additional absence may be allowed only if satisfactory reasons are provided.
2. Students are expected to write a 1,300 words essay (bibliography excluded) on one of the topics presented during the seminar, and include their personal thoughts on the ethical issues raised and the solutions discussed. Essays are to be written in English (Arial, font size 11 and 1.5-line spacing). More details will be provided at the introductory class.
Participation requirement:
The seminar series is open to both Unibas students and the general public.
Unibas students who wish to receive 2 ECTS to their transcript have to register to the course on the Course Directory and attend in-person in order to get the credit points.
If you are not a Unibas student, or do not wish to receive credit points, you may either attend the sessions in-person or over Zoom (a link will be sent a few days before each session).
Registration is now closed. Please send an email to the course coordinators if you are interested in attending a specific session.
Literature
Suggested readings will be provided a few days before each session on ADAM.
Location
USB Gebäude B, Hörsaal 1
Address: Spitalstrasse 21, 4056 Basel
Time: 12:15 – 13:45 (Central Europe Time)
Course dates
Date | Presenter | Lecture Name |
26.02.2024 | Edwin Louis-Maerten and Aoife Milford University of Basel, IBMB | Animal research ethics and the 3Rs: Introductory lecture |
04.03.2024 | Nick Jukes International Network for Humane Education (InterNICHE), UK | Humane innovation and replacement in education |
11.03.2024 | Dr. Bernhard Völkl University of Bern | How many mice make a robust outcome? |
18.03.2024 | Pr. Adrian Smith Norecopa, Norway | The roles of 3R in planning animal experimentation |
08.04.2024 | Pr. Hanno Würbel University of Bern | The principles of rigorous and responsible animal research |
22.04.2024 | David Lauras Novartis, Basel | The roles of animal technicians in ensuring the 3Rs in the laboratory |
29.04.2024 | Dr. Penny Hawkins and Dr. Marine Barnabé RSPCA, Animals in Science Department, UK | The culture of care in animal experimentation |
06.05.2024 (no Zoom) | Edwin Louis-Maerten and Aoife Milford University of Basel, IBMB | How to write an essay in bioethics |
13.05.2024 | Dr. Kathrin Herrmann Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, USA | Beyond the 3Rs: how can we change the animal research paradigm? |
Instructor: Prof. Bernice Elger and invitees
Coordinator: Aoife Milford, David Azilagbetor and Dr. Lester Darryl Geneviève
Course Description
Following the tragic police killing of George Floyd in 2020, public and scientific attention have been reignited on the topic of racism in general, and on structural racism in particular. Structural racism does not limit itself to law enforcement, all domains including medicine and biomedical research have also been affected. Historically, medicine has always been rooted in scientific racism, which led to the propagation of racist beliefs and prejudices, many still persisting to this day with negative influences on access and the quality of care offered to minority patients (as recently evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, with disproportionate hospitalization and mortality rates for racial and ethnic minorities). With regard to medical research, racial and ethnic minorities were often viewed as easily accessible and expendable experimental subjects. Relatively recent examples include the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (1932-1972), Nazi medical experimentation on Jews and other minorities (1942-1945), the case of Henrietta Lacks in 1951, the experimentation of dangerous chemical compounds on the skin of black prisoners in the 1950s-1970s or the exploration of a link between aggressive behavior and genetics in black children in the 1990s. Such discriminatory actions and past historical abuses have created a complex climate of distrust, minority exclusion and widening of racial health disparities that cannot be tackled from only one perspective but necessitates a holistic approach, cognizant of the need for reconciliation and restorative justice.
Therefore, this fall’s Contemporary Debates Seminar will introduce the concept of race as a social construct, introduce the different forms of racism, and explore their effects and the ethical issues they raise in medicine and biomedical research. The seminar will subsequently discuss solutions to ensure that these fields promote health equity and social justice, and debate the need for an antiracist agenda. In these eight interactive sessions, course participants will attend presentations from leading international and national experts, and invited to discuss the ethical issues and proposed solutions at the end of each session.
Aims
After successfully completing this seminar series, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of various manifestations of racism, their profound effects on healthcare and research, as well as the ethical dilemmas they pose. Additionally, you will be equipped with insights into antiracist strategies and approaches.
Evaluation
1. Only one unexcused absence will be allowed. An additional absence may be allowed only if satisfactory reasons are provided.
2. Students are expected to write a 1300 words essay (bibliography excluded) on one of the topics presented during the seminar, and include their personal thoughts on the ethical issues raised and the solutions discussed. Essays are to be written in English (Arial, font size 11 and 1.5-line spacing). More details will be provided at the introductory class.
Participation requirements
None
Literature
Suggested readings will be provided a week before each session on ADAM.
Location
USB Gebäude B, Hörsaal 1
Address: Spitalstrasse 21, 4056 Basel
Course dates:
Date | Presenter | Lecture Name |
9.10.2023 | Aoife Milford and David Azilagbetor, University of Basel, IBMB | "Racism in Medicine and Research: Navigating Through Wicked Problems: Introductory Lecture" |
16.10.2023 | Prof. Patrick Bodenmann, UniSanté, Université de Lausanne | "Where are you really from?" |
23.10.2023 | Prof. Charlene Galarneau, Harvard University, United States | "Racism & Anti-Racism in U.S. Bioethics" |
13.11.2023 | Prof. Raj Bhopal, University of Edinburgh, Scotland | "Does Racism have an Important Impact on the Health Status and Healthcare Of Ethnic Minority Groups?" |
20.11.2023 | Dr. Isabel Straw, University College London, England | "Algorithmic discrimination and AI Bias in Healthcare" |
27.11.2023 | Dr. Denise Efionayi-Mäder, Université de Neuchâtel | "Equitable healthcare must address systemic racism" |
04.12.2023 | Dr. Lester Darryl Geneviève, University of Basel, IBMB | "Precision Health: The rising tide of promised health benefits will not necessarily lift all boats" |
11.12.2023 | Dr. Tanja Gangarova, German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), Germany | "Researching Racism through Community-Based Participatory Health Research: Reflections on research methodology and research ethics" |
Instructor: Prof. Bernice Elger and invitees
Coordinator: Caterina Montagnoli and Michael Rost
Course Description
Pregnancy and childbirth are rites of passage into new spheres of self-construction and self-conception. This transition to new identity is not only characterized by social and biological vulnerabilities but also by bioethical complexity. The act of reproduction comes with a series of responsibilities: towards the pregnant person, the fetus, the family, and the professionals working in this field.
In this lecture series we will be guided by international experts through contemporary examples of ethical issues surrounding pregnancy and childbirth. These include but are not limited to decision-making in birth, autonomy and informed consent in birth, informal coercion in birth, choice of place of birth, relationality of the birthing person, migrants’ access to obstetric care, and respectful maternity care.
Most lectures will take place on Mondays from 12:15 to 13:45. If the sanitary situation allows, we will have all in person sessions according to the university of Basel current regulation (the Hörsaal 1, Klinikum 1, in the University Hospital (Spitalstrasse 21)
If you have feedback, questions or input that might be interesting for other members of the course, please bring them to the discussion at the end of each lecture.
Feel free to contact us via email: caterina.montagnoli@clutterunibas.ch or michael.rost@clutterunibas.ch We are also happy to meet with you on Zoom or to have a phone conversation.
Aims
Upon the completion of this course, you will (1) be familiar with ethical issues surrounding pregnancy and birth and (2) have a better understanding of the underlying reasons (e.g. socio-cultural, political, and medical contexts along with respective norms, narratives, and power structures).
Evaluation
Participation requirements
none
Literature
Readings for each session will be made available online on ADAM.
Course dates:
Date | Presenter | Lecture Name | Location |
20.02.23 | Dr. Michael Rost (University of Basel) | "Introduction and “Swiss perinatal care providers’ perceptions of and attitudes towards decision-making in birth” | Basel |
06.03.23 | Julika Hudson, MSc (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) | "Informed Consent and Refusal of Treatment in Pregnancy and Birth in post-Repeal Ireland" | Basel |
13.03.23 | Dr. Stephan Oelhafen (Bern University of Applied Sciences) PD Dr. Manuel Trachsel (USB Basel) | "Coercion in psychiatry and informal coercion during childbirth" | Basel |
20.03.23 | t.b.a. | t.b.a. | |
27.03.23 | Prof. Inge Van Nistelrooij (University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, Netherlands) | “Re-imagining maternal relationality: A rethinking of reproductive care from a care ethics perspective” | Basel |
03.04.23 | t.b.a. | t.b.a. | |
17.04.23 | Prof. Claudia Hanson (Karolinska Institute Stockholm, Sweden) | “Challenges in ethics and equitable partnerships: experience from the ALERT multi-country implementation science project to support hospital maternities” | Basel |
24.04.23 | Dr. Elena Brodeala (University of Zurich) | “Debates on Reproductive Autonomy and Home Birth before the European Court of Human Rights" | Basel |
01.05.23 | t.b.a. | t.b.a. | |
08.05.23 | Dr. Orli Dahan (Tel-Hai College, Israel) | “Birthing consciousness: The power of 'set & setting' parameters to significantly improve modern childbirth's physiological and psychological outcomes" | Basel
|
15.05.23 | Caterina Montagnoli, MSc (University of Basel) | “Irregular migrants’ access to maternal and child health in the first 1000 days” | Basel
|
22.05.26 | t.b.a. | t.b.a. |
Instructor: Prof. Bernice Elger and international guest lecturers
Coordinator: Yi Jiao (Angelina) Tian
Purpose of the Lecture:
As a quintessential part of biomedical ethics research, clinical ethics is a practical discipline that provides a structured approach to assist health professionals in identifying, analyzing and resolving ethical issues that arise in clinical practice. Ongoing developments in medical technology, particularly at the beginning and end of life, may raise awareness of, or concerns about the ethical dimensions of clinical care. In face of changing social, cultural and public attitudes towards healthcare professions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical ethics tries to address the conflicts that arise when the values of parties involved are at odds. In this lecture series, we have invited one guest lecturer per week to speak on this wide dimension of topics.
Intended Learning outcomes:
With the progression of these lectures, students are able to first grasp the foundational principles that guide clinical ethicists, understand the critical issues for various population groups, and participate in lively discussions on specific anonymized cases. Together with internationally renowned experts, we will uncover questions such as: What do clinical ethicists do? How could they help healthcare professionals and patients in face of moral distress and difficult situations? What set-backs have they encountered during the pandemic? How could they help the healthcare field be more culturally-sensitive?
Course Requirements:
For University of Basel students, to pass this course you are required to:
Course Structure
Most lectures will take place on Mondays from 12:15 to 13:45 (see timetable for exceptions). When the situation permits, we will try to have in-person lectures on 19.09, 03.10, 17.10, 14.11 following all the regulatory constraints by the University of Basel. All other sessions are held over Zoom.
Joining over Zoom for in-person lectures is available for participants who have exceptional reasons and cannot participate in-person. Please let Angelina (Angelina.tian@unibas.ch) know if you cannot participate in-person for these sessions, otherwise students are expected to arrive on-site.
As this course is given to the University of Basel students for credit with requirements to pass, no restrictions for attendance and credit points are given to non-University members. Registration required for location/Zoom access via Angelina Tian (Angelina.tian@clutterunibas.ch)
Support for Students:
All readings and presentation material (if given permission by the lecturer) will be uploaded on ADAM.
If you have feedback, questions or input that might be interesting for other members of the course, you are very encouraged to bring them to the discussion at the end of each lecture. If you prefer, you are always free to contact the coordinator via email: (angelina.tian@clutterunibas.ch)
Course dates:
Date | Lecture Name | Presenter | Location |
19/Sept/22 | Introduction to Clinical Ethics | PD Dr. med. Dr. phil Manuel Trachsel.
Position: Head of the Clinical Ethics Unit at the University Hospital of Basel, the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel, and the Geriatric University Clinic Felix Platter Basel, Switzerland. | Basel (Zoom accessible) |
26/Sept/22 | Autonomy and SCD : General and Primary Care | Dr. med. John Spicer
Position: Senior Clinical Lecturer in Medical Ethics & Law at St. George’s University of London | Online (Zoom) |
03/Oct/22 | Issues in Physician-Patient Relationships | Prof. Dr. Autumn M. Fiester
Position: Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania; Director of the Penn Program in Clinical Conflict Management | Basel (Zoom accessible) |
10/Oct/22 | Clinical ethics considerations in Pre-natal and Pregnancy Care | PD Dr. Dagmar Schmitz
Position: Research Associate at the Institute for History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine at the University Hospital of Aachen; Physician and clinical ethicist; Managing Director of the Clinical Ethics Committee at the University Hospital RWTH Aachen; Trainer for Ethics Consulting in Health Care (AEM) | Online (Zoom) |
17/Oct/22 | Consent of Children and Adolescents in Clinical Practice | Dr. med. Magdalena Balcerek
Position: Resident physician at the Klinik für Pädiatrie m. S. Onkologie/ Hämatologie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin | Basel (Zoom accessible) |
24/Oct/22 *12h-13:30h | Theoretical dimension of Palliative Care: Decisions-to-limit- treatment | Prof. Dr. Eva Winkler
Position: Group Leader at Ethics and Patient oriented Care in Oncology (NCT-EPOC), National (German) Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) at the University Hospital Heidelberg | Online (Zoom) |
31/Oct/22 | Practical dimension of Palliative Care: Daily operations at a nursing home | Mrs. Melissa Gaule
Position: Director of Palliative Care and Provider Management at Hospice Savannah, USA; MA, HEC-C Healthcare Ethics Consultant | Online (Zoom) |
07/Nov/22 (TBA) | Vaccine Ethics | Dr. Kyle Ferguson
Position: Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies; Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Medical Ethics, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine | Online (Zoom) |
14/Nov/22 | Clinical Ethics and COVID | Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Ehni
Position: Deputy director at the Institute for Ethics and History of Medicine at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen | Basel (Zoom accessible) |
21/Nov/22 *18h15-19h45 | Nursing Ethics | Dr. Georgina Morley
Position: Nurse Ethicist and Director of the Nursing Ethics Program at Cleveland Clinic | Online (Zoom) |
Instructor: Prof. Bernice Elger and invitees
Coordinators: Nadine Andrea Felber and Laura Arbelaez
Upon the completion of this course, you will be able to think critically about technology - both its narratives and concepts - to identify challenges and opportunities of Artificial intelligence (AII that are only seldom discussed while reflecting on alternative views of what is necessary for AI in healthcare to be fair and safe.
New generations of medical doctors, scientists, philosophers and ethicists will increasingly have to interact with AI. This development will have an impact on how we seek health, how we work in healthcare and how we live in society. Although AI is often an over-discussed topic in academia and media, there are specific opportunities and challenges that are equally often overlooked, undervalued or underestimated. For example, the positive and negative impact of AI in health inequalities, how to advocate for good AI, the threats of AI to a more just healthcare, among others. Therefore, these lectures will aim to broaden your perspective on AI by providing you with a critical analysis that brings you a more complete view and starts preparing you for the AI future.
To pass this course you are required to
If anything is on your mind, please let us know via one of the following channels:
If you have feedback, questions or input that might be interesting for other members of the course, please bring them to the discussion at the end of each lecture.
Feel free to contact us via email: laura.arbelaezossa@clutterunibas.ch or nadine.felber@clutterunibas.ch
We are also happy to meet with you on Zoom or to have a phone conversation.
Most lectures will take place on Mondays from 12:15 to 13:30 (except the lectures on the 28th of February and 14th of March). When the situation permits, we will try to have hybrid sessions with in person meetings following all the regulatory constraints by the university of Basel.
We will use the same Zoom during the entire semester :
https://unibas.zoom.us/j/64327244788?pwd=MGc2MERkUCtucUcvdjhsYktYT05Ldz09
Date | Topic | Presenter |
28/Feb/22 *(at 15h to 16:30) | Health Innovation with AI | Hema Lakkaraju |
07/Mar/22 | Holiday (fasnacht) | |
14/Mar/22 *(at 13:00 to 14:30) | Advocating and volunteering for humanity AI | Ryan Carrier |
21/Mar/22 | AI, traveling and covid-19 | Ajintha Pathmanathan |
28/Mar/22 | Empathy and AI | Prof. Angeliki Kerasidou |
04/Apr/22 | Blindsided by privacy and private companies | Prof. Tamar Sharon |
11/Apr/22 | Holiday (Easter break) | |
18/Apr/22 | Holiday (Easter break) | |
25/Apr/22 | AI and aging populations | Prof. Anja Leist |
02/May/22 | The Rights of Personal AI’s: How Relational Ontology Can Reframe the Turing Test | Dr. Stephen Milford |
09/May/22 | AI ethics and the need for diversifying the voices | Nadine Felber and Laura Arbelaez |
16/May/22 | Justice, Women in digital health (intersectionality) | Dr. Tereza Hendl and Dr. Bianca Jansky |
Since the 1960s, opportunities for women and men to manage, limit, prolong or augment their fertility have increased dramatically through methods such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), social egg/sperm freezing, surrogacy and other strategies to reorder human reproduction in the laboratory. This major advance, which medically assisted reproduction has made over recent decades, involved the development of a wide range of technologies, which enabled people who were formerly incapable of procreating to have biologically- and/or genetically-related offspring. Such technologies intervene at various points in the reproductive process by replacing or enhancing “natural” biological functions. This no longer occurs only in cases where a person is infertile owing to illness, but also in cases of social infertility owing to age, sexual orientation, career plans, etc.
However, these technologies and practices also raise numerous and enormous ethical, regulatory and social challenges, e.g.: Should we genetically engineer “better” people? What are the ethical issues related to human embryo research? Who should have access to assisted reproductive technologies; for example, are age limits ethically justified? What is it actually about the desire to have a genetically related child? To what extent could this wish be critically challenged? Is maternal autonomy always ensured during pregnancy and childbirth in Switzerland?
This seminar will critically engage with these and many other crucial questions from interdisciplinary perspectives. A number of different technologies and practices such as uterus transplantation, human embryo research, CRISPR genome editing technologies, social egg/sperm freezing, mitochondrial replacement techniques, prenatal tests, in-vitro gametogenesis etc. will be used as case studies to discuss the ethical, social and political challenges and implications of their development and application. Speakers will be leading international experts from the fields of reproductive medicine, ethics, law, etc.
Location: Online class. ZOOM link is provided via ADAM or by writing to Johanna Eichinger (johanna.eichinger@clutterunibas.ch)
Date | Topic | Who |
8.3.2021 | Introduction | Prof. Dr. Bernice Elger Johanna Eichinger, Research Assistant and PhD Candidate, Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, CH |
15.3.2021 | Reproductive Autonomy Dimensions, scope and limits, with particular reference to pregnancy and birth | Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Andrea Büchler |
29.3.2021 | Prenatal tests and disability | Prof. Jackie Leach Scully PhD, FAcSS, FRSA Visiting Professor, Policy Ethics and Life Sciences Research Centre |
12.4.2021 | The origin of gametes and parenthood | Prof. Dr. med. Christian De Geyter |
26.4.2021 | In vitro gametogenesis: ethical issues | Dr. Seppe Segers Secretary of Bioethics Institute Ghent, BE |
10.5.2021 | Involuntary Childlessness, Suffering and Equality of Resources: An Argument for Expanding State-Funded Fertility Treatment Provision | Dr. Giulia Cavaliere |
17.5.2021 | Transnational Surrogacy | Dr. Annika König |
31.5.2021 | Social Freezing | Prof. Dr. Veerle Provoost |
The current COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to contain it have led to an absolutely exceptional situation in large parts of the world and are challenging our society in an unprecedented way. There has not been any experience with similar health risks in the last decades. Also, the current rigorous liberty-limiting governmental measures are unprecedented. What seemed impossible a short while ago has suddenly become a reality: a dramatic capacity-overload of health systems in the middle of Europe, the shutdown of practically all public life, curfews and border controls, schools and universities closed, etc.
This crisis has opened up a multitude of serious ethical questions and conflicts, it requires difficult political and social decisions: If there is a shortage of medical resources such that not all seriously ill patients can be treated adequately – based on which criteria should patients be prioritized? Are, for example, age, belonging to medical staff or likelihood of recovery good or at least the best possible criteria for those choices? How are different governmental approaches – such as aiming for herd immunity, isolating particularly vulnerable groups, or even a (almost) complete social lockdown – to be ethically assessed? How are the positive effects of the lockdown (e.g. slowdown of the infection rate, reduction of deaths) to be balanced against its negative effects (e.g. financial crises of companies and private households, psychosocial crises, worsening of social inequalities, etc.)? How can the competing high moral goods (e.g. freedom, protection of life, human dignity) be fairly weighed against each other? What are the moral implications for example of calls for social/physical distancing? How does the current pandemic influence our understanding of health and disease? How is the media coverage to be evaluated? What global justice issues are arising in the crisis?
This lecture series will critically address these and many other crucial questions from transdisciplinary perspectives. During the acute crisis, many difficult decisions had to be made under great time pressure; in the lecture, however, the various aspects can be reflected upon in greater detail; especially against the background of which lessons can be learned for possible future similar pandemics – whether as political decision-makers, members of the health care system or responsible citizens of a democratic state. The speakers will be leading international experts in ethics, medicine, public health, law, etc.
This course will explore the roles of family and friends at the end of life. There, family and friends often become informal caregivers and provide a major part of care for their loved ones who are in need of support. Informal caregiving covers a range of different care tasks, depending i.a. on the level of frailty or kind of illness, the situation at home, and employment status of informal caregivers. For example, informal caregiving for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias proves very different to care for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Not only do informal caregivers look after the patient's physical and psychological needs, they further take a key role in decision-making at the end of life. In case of the patient’s legal incompetence, they might be set up as guardians or they might be involved in the patient’s preparation of assisted suicide. Additionally, with a high burden of care they might be in need of support themselves. Furthermore, informal caregiving at the end of life does not end with the patient’s death, meaning, that bereavement is often overlooked as an essential phase in the caregiving trajectory.
This course discusses a broad range of these ethical questions from the perspective of family and friends, as well as how to best support caregivers in critical situations, what the role of informal caregivers in advanced care planning is, or whether it is ethical to facilitate death talk among patients and their loved ones. positions during lectures and homework. The lecture series will feature leading national and international experts in the field.
Location: Klinikum 1, Hörsaal 1, University Hospital Basel (Spitalstrasse 21)
Date | Topic | Who |
23.9.2019 | Introduction to the topic and presentation and discussion with Martine Verwey | Christopher Poppe & Martine Verwey |
30.9.2019 | Informal caregiving in specialist palliative care for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis | Dr Miriam Galvin, Dublin |
7.10.2019 | flegende Angehörige zwischen Arbeitswelt und Sterbebegleitung | Prof Dr Marc-Antoine Berthod, EESP Lausanne |
14.10.2019 | Self-study day |
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21.10.2019 | Young carers | Prof Dr Agnes Leu |
28.10.2019 | The role of informal caregivers in advance care planning | Prof Dr Tanja Krones, UZH |
4.11.2019 | When the Beginning is the End: Suffering of Parents Whose Extremely Preterm Baby Died in the NICU | Dr Manya Hendriks, |
11.11.2019 | Handlungs- und Bewältigungsstrategien von Angehörigen in der häuslichen Palliativversorgung | Dr Christiane Kreyer, UMIT Tirol |
18.11.2019 | Therapieentscheidungen durch stellvertretende Angehörige | Prof Dr Dr Ralf Jox, Uni Lausanne |
25.11.2019 | Self-study day |
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2.12.2019 9.12.2019 16.12.2019 | Parents balancing life during their child’s end-of-life and beyond Using motivational interviewing to facilitate death talk in end-of-life care Pflegende Angehörige und Sterbefasten | Dr Karin Zimmermann Dr Isra Black, Uni York Prof Dr André Fringer |
The pervasiveness of information and communication technologies is changing medical and public health research landscapes at an unprecedented rate, by promoting massive and dynamic health data collection and sharing among different stakeholders involved in the healthcare sector. These activities fall under the realm of so-called big data, and have the potential to make healthcare systems smarter by incorporating fragmented data from a myriad of sources into more meaningful units. These would allow the implementation of better cost-effective individualized health services and policies by eliminating the current “one-size-fits-all” approach while reducing under- and over-use of health services. Nonetheless, such endeavor faces numerous challenges (e.g. technical, ethical, legal challenges, etc.), which need to be addressed carefully. For instance, what are the barriers to health data collection and sharing? Is data harmonization the way forward? Is our current anthropocentric approach to ethics adapted to these technology-driven fields? What are the limitations to informed consent and data protection? Is the legislative oversight adjusted or outdated?
This fall’s Contemporary Debates Seminar will thus explore these factors influencing health data collection and sharing in the big data era, discuss the ethics of precision medicine and digital disease surveillance, and cover the interlinked roles of digital ethics, governance and regulation in enhancing health system efficiency. In these eight interactive sessions, participants will attend presentations from leading national and international experts in the field and they will be invited to discuss these ethical issues at the end of each session.
Date | Title of Presentation | Speaker |
17.09.2018 | Introduction to Smarter Healthcare | Lester Darryl Geneviève & Andrea Martani (University of Basel) |
19.09.2018
| Less waste, more value in healthcare delivery: promises and challenges of digital medicine | Prof. Antoine Geissbühler (University of Geneva and University Hospitals of Geneva) |
15.10.2018 | Ethical issues in assessing emergent technologies | Prof. Björn Hoffmann (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and University of Olso) |
29.10.2018 | Governance and quality management systems in smarter healthcare | Dr. Jörg Willers (University of Basel and University Hospital Basel) |
12.11.2018 | Precision Global Health, a new approach aiming to benefit from the digital revolution to better target interventions in public and global health | Prof. Antoine Flahault (University of Geneva) |
26.11.2018 | The ethical oversight of smarter healthcare | Dr. Stuart McLennan (University of Basel) |
10.12.2018 | Paying it forward in medicine: learning healthcare systems and the PIRATE Project | Dr. Angela Huttner (University of Geneva and University Hospitals of Geneva) |
17.12.2018 | The E-general consent project: facilitating the utilization of routinely collected Swiss health data for research | Prof. Christiane Pauli-Magnus (University of Basel and University Hospital Basel) |
The increase in genetic medical knowledge and technologies brings many challenges that need to be addressed. Technological advancements such as Next Generation Sequencing or CRISPR-Cas9 let the genetic research findings explode. More and more genetic tests and applications reach the clinical setting around the world. For example, predictive genetic testing to assess a person’s inherited cancer risk. Or pharmaco-genomic testing, performed in order to tailor drugs to genetic predisposition. Or preimplantation genetic testing, a topic which was publicly discussed in Switzerland in 2015/2016 due to public votes. Or genetic testing that can be ordered online – and gives every paying customer information about genetic traits and risks directly on their computer. These examples illustrate how broadly genetic testing is already used today – and with the technological and research advancements, we certainly will have even more in a couple of years’ time. This opens a large variety of ethical questions, challenges and dilemma, such as: How reliable is genetic information? Who should have access to genetic testing, when does it make sense? How do we provide appropriate information and counselling prior and after genetic testing? How should doctors deal with incidental findings during a genetic test? How do people deal with disclosed risks and the uncertainty? How do they disclose information to their family members? And to what extend could the targeted editing of the genome lead into the slippery slope of Eugenics?
This Spring semester’s Contemporary Debates Seminar will try to shed a light into some of the mentioned aspects. In eight lectures, participants will get introductions into and will discuss about different ethical issues in genetics. The lectures will feature leading international experts in the field.
Location: Klinikum 1, Hörsaal 3, University Hospital Basel (Spitalstrasse 21)
Date | Topic | Who |
26.02.2018 | Introduction Genetics in the public discourse | Bettina Zimmermann, Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel |
12.03.2018 | Genetics and personalized medicine | Prof. Dr. Barbara Prainsack, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna (AT) |
19.03.2018 | Ethical issues in gene editing | Dr. Heidi Howard, Centre for Research Ethics and Bioethics, Uppsala University (SE) |
26.03.2018 | Challenges in patient-provider communication regarding hereditary cancer risk | Prof. Dr. Maria Caiata Zufferey, Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Southern Switzerland SUPSI |
09.04.2018 | Ethical issues around non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) | Dr. Lidewij Henneman, Associate professor, Dept of Clinical Genetics, section Community Genetics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam (NL) |
23.04.2018 | The search for ethics in genetics guidelines | Dr. David Shaw, Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel |
07.05.2018 | Ethical issues of research with genetic material | Dr. Gaia Barazetti, Faculté des Lettres, Faculté de Biologie et de Médecine, Université de Lausanne, CHUV |
14.05.2018 | Regulations and policy of genetics: a European perspective | Prof. Dr. Silvia Salardi, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
Estimates suggest that 90% of the current amount of digital information has only just been produced in the past four years. This is not surprising given the rapid expansion of information technology and the internet into various domains of everyday life. Data is therefore not only produced at higher velocity, but also data types and data quality vary increasingly and generates huge data sets that can be linked via the internet. This phenomenon is known as “Big Data”.
In the field of health research, not only digitalized medical records and biomedical data but also health relevant data generated through mobile electronic devices and social media has opened up new ways to gain knowledge about the well-being and behavior of various populations. However, in accessing, exploring and examining vast amounts of data, a number of questions arise regarding potential harms and benefits of this kind of research:
What new insights can Big Data research provide? What are their limitations? Who owns the data? How can an individual’s privacy be protected in a digitally interconnected world? How can informed consent be realized regarding use, re-use and storage of personal data? Should Big Data research be regarded as human subject research?
This Autumn Semester’s Contemporary Debates aims to explore these and other questions posed by Big Data research from multiple disciplinary perspectives. We therefore invited eight international experts from the fields of Law, Ethics, Medicine and Informatics to give a talk on their work related to Big Data research. For a fruitful exchange, participants are encouraged to engage in a lively discussion following each talk.
With the unprecedented progress in the basic sciences of mind & brain and in the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders, comes an expanding role of neuroscience and neurotechnology in our society. These advancements also raise novel ethical challenges.
What light does neuroscience shed on how human beings make moral judgments? Might neuroscience show that we cannot be responsible for our behaviors? What are the ethical limits of neurosurgery? Is it permissible for healthy people to enhance their cognition with drugs? What is the ethical use of assistive technologies among older adults with dementia? For what purposes should it be allowed to use brain stimulation and what implications arise from its use? Do we have a right to brain privacy which protects our private thoughts? Should defense agencies fund neurotechnology research for military purposes? What neuroscientific evidence should count as proof in courts? Do neuroscientists have a duty to data sharing? Is there any moral difference between natural and Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
These are just a few examples of ethical questions raised by advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology in our modern society.
This Spring semester’s Contemporary Debates Seminar brings together a series of lectures that will explore and examine a broad range of current ethical issues and challenges posed by advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology.
The seminar will provide both theoretical perspectives and practical approaches with the aim of delineating the current neuroethical landscape. There will be eight presentations with a short class discussion following each one. The lectures will feature leading international experts in the field.
Contemporary Debates: Neuroethics
Monday, 12:15 – 13:45 Universitätsspital, Spitalstrasse, Klinikum 1, Hörsaal 2
Date | Speakers | Topic |
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20.02.2017 | Marcello Ienca, MSc, MA, Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel | ”Brains, Computers and Society: Introduction to Neuroethics” |
27.02.2017 | Dr. Fabrice Jotterand, PhD, Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel and Medical College of Wisconsin | “Neuroethics in Practice: Ethical Analysis of the Therapeutic Use of Moral Bioenhancers and Neurostimulation Technologies” |
13.03.2017 | Dr. med. Philipp Kellmeyer, M.D., Universitätsklinikum Freiburg/University Medical Center Freiburg, Klinik für Neurochirurgie/Department of Neurosurgery | „Ethical challenges from emerging neurotechnology: Humans and intelligent devices in interaction” |
03.04.2017 | Prof. Ralf Jox, PhD, Institute for Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University München (Germany) and Lausanne University Hospital (Switzerland) | “Ethical challenges in disorders of consciousness” |
10.04.2017 | Prof. Pim Haselager, PhD, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University (The Netherlands) | “Neuroimaging, brainreading and freedom of thought” |
24.04.2017 | Prof. Jens Clausen, PhD, Ethics and Lifesciences and their Didactics, University of Education Freiburg (Germany) | “Ethical challenges in neurosurgery and neuromodulation” |
08.05.2017 | Prof. Christian Ruff, PhD, Neuroeconomics and Decision Neuroscience, Department of Economics,University of Zurich | “Moral sensitivity and the neural mechanisms of ethical decision-making” |
22.05.2017 | PD Dr. Roberto Andorno PhD, Rechtswissenschaftliches Institut, University of Zurich | “Neurolaw" |
Monday, 12:15 – 13:45 Universitätsspital, Spitalstrasse, Klinikum 1, Hörsaal 2