Expertise:  With a background in psychology (MSc, 2011), applied ethics (MA, 2014), and biomedical ethics (PhD, 2018) Michael Rost is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Basel, Switzerland. His main research interests include autonomy in birth, decision making surrounding palliative care in pediatric oncology, and the concept of normality in medicine. He has profound expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research as well as in research synthesis and accessibility analysis. He gave lectures on various ethical subjects, such as behavioral ethics, coercion in medicine, research ethics, autonomy in birth, and pediatric palliative care.   

Main Publications:  Michael Rost’s publications in several peer-reviewed journals include work on pediatric palliative care, decision-making capacity, accessibiliy of health care, informed consent, the concept of normality in medicine, as well as decision-making and autonomy in birth. He has disseminated the results of his research at international conferences in the area of both clinical medicine and medical ethics.

Memberships:  Michael Rost served as a member of the ethics council of the Systemic Society Germany in Berlin (2015-2021), advicing the executive board in cases of complaints against members of the Systemic Society. Amongst others, Michael Rost is a member of the Quality Maternal and Newborn Care Research Alliance and of the Justice and Equity in Perinatal Services Cluster at the University of British Columbia.

Stations of work:  Michael Rost was was a visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at the Birth Place Lab at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (2020-2021). He has worked as an expert witness in the field of family psychology for the Society for Scientific Forensic Psychology Germany (2011-2014), writing reports on child custody, decision on contact, and welfare of a child for family courts.

Acquired funding: Michael Rost has been awarded the following grants: SNF Agora, SNF Spark, SNF Exchange, Swiss Cancer League, Cancer League Basel, University of Basel's Research Fund Junior Researchers, and Käthe Zingg-Schwichtenberg Fund.

Current projects as PI: (A) Confronting Ideas of “Normality” in Birth - A Project to Impact and Raise Awareness on Rights-Based Perinatal Care, (B) Towards the Alleviation of Moral Distress among Swiss Midwives: Examining Extent, Determinants, and Strategies to Move Forward.