Welcome to the Institute for Biomedical Ethics
The Institute for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Basel (IBMB) is a vibrant centre for research on and teaching about ethical issues in medicine and the biosciences. The Institute was founded in 2011 and is affiliated with both the Science and Medical Faculties at the University of Basel – a unique situation for an ethics institute in Switzerland.
The IBMB has over a dozen PhD students and a team of senior researchers and post-docs working on a wide variety of projects in biomedical ethics. The IBMB’s researchers are committed to an interdisciplinary endeavour aimed at finding ethical solutions to dilemmas raised by both new and traditional practices in biomedical ethics, including cutting-edge technologies, organ donation, palliative care, and research in developing countries, to name only a few. Our research combines empirical fieldwork, including interviews with stakeholders and members of the public, and normative, theoretical analysis. IBMB researchers have won several grants from the SNF, SAMW and other major funders and frequently publish in major bioethics, medical and science journals.
IBMB members are also highly involved in teaching, providing ethics courses for undergraduate students and postgraduate scientists and doctors. A variety of courses are open to the public, including the twice-yearly “Contemporary Issues in Bioethics” lecture series that integrates a lively dialogue with visiting speakers.
If you are interested in collaborating with us, are looking for a PhD student or post-doc job, need ethical input on your own project, or would like us to provide ethics related courses/workshops for your students or research team, please get in touch with us!
New manuscript by Andrea Martani, Marta Tomasi, and Carlo Casonato: RE: “I think it’s been met with a shrug:” Oncologists’ views toward and experiences with Right-to-Try
At first sight, ‘Right-to-Try’ legislation seems to promise unconstrained access to experimental drugs. But is this really the case? For a reflection on the distance between ‘law-in-books’ and ‘law-in-action’ check this brief contribution…Ten simple rules to fight fake news during the Coronavirus pandemic
"Coronavirus and our duty to fight fake news: 10 simple rules", a new contribution to the Journal of Medical Ethics Blog by Dr. David Shaw.New article: First do no harm: An exploration of researchers’ ethics of conduct in Big Data behavioral studies by Maddalena Favaretto, Dr. Eva De Clercq, Prof. Jens Gaab and Prof. Bernice Elger
Research ethics has traditionally been guided by well-established documents such as the Belmont Report and the Declaration of Helsinki. At the same time, the introduction of Big Data methods, that is having a great impact in behavioral…New article: Embedded Ethics Could Help Implement the Pipeline Model Framework for Machine Learning Healthcare Applications. Fiske A, Tigard D, Müller R, Haddadin S, Buyx A, McLennan S.
The field of artificial intelligence (AI) ethics has exploded in recent years, with countless academics, organizations, and influencers rushing to consider how AI technology can be developed and implemented in an ethical manner (Jobin et…New article: AI ethics is not a panacea. McLennan S, Lee MM, Fiske A, Celi LA
From machine learning (ML) and computer vision to robotics and natural language processing, the application of data science and artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to transform health care (Celi et al. 2019). While the rapid…Studie zu selbstfahrenden Autos. Ihre Meinung ist gefragt!
Wie sollen autonome Autos und andere intelligente Fahrzeuge Entscheidungen treffen, die sich darauf auswirken, wer bei Unfällen lebt und wer stirbt? Sollen die Fahrzeuge menschliche Reaktionen nachahmen oder sollen gesellschaftliche…New Article. Understanding access to professional healthcare among asylum seekers facing gender-based violence: a qualitative study from a stakeholder perspective, by Mirjam D. Rodella Sapia, Tenzin Wangmo, Stéphanie Dagron and Bernice S. Elger
When it comes to gender-based violence (GBV), migrant women and girls represent the most vulnerable group. GBV can happen at any stage of migrants’ flight and/or during the asylum process. It has severe consequences on their life and…New Publication. Data protection and biomedical research in Switzerland: setting the record straight, by Andrea Martani, Dr. Philpp Egli, Dr. Michael Widmer and Prof. Bernice Elger
Ensuring the protection of privacy and the compliance with data protection rules have become central issues for researchers active in the biomedical field. Data protection law is often perceived as very complex and difficult to interpret,…New article: Data protection during the coronavirus crisis, by Christophe Olivier Schneble, Prof. Bernice Simone Elger, and Dr. David Martin Shaw
The SARS‐CoV‐2 virus has caused a worldwide pandemic with many deaths (WHO, 2020b) and healthcare systems being pushed to their limits. This makes it all the more important to identify infected people early on and to ensure that people…New Article: Invisible Enemies: Coronavirus and Other Hidden Threats by Dr. David Shaw
To say that coronavirus is highly visible is a massive understatement in terms of its omnipresence in our lives and media coverage concerning it, yet also clearly untrue in terms of the virus itself. COVID-19 is our invisible enemy,…
Contact and Address of the
Institute for Biomedical Ethics
Bernoullistrasse 28 - 2nd Floor
4056 Basel
Switzerland
Tel: +41 61 207 17 86