Bioethics is the study of ethical, social, and legal issues that arise in biomedicine and biomedical research. In short, it is how we apply ethics and philosophy to matters involving science and medicine. As we learn and create more, more questions arise about how we ought to use that information/technology. Medical Ethics can be considered a subsection of bioethics and rests on the same four base principles.
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During my time as an undergraduate, I took an ethics course to fulfill a general education requirement and it stoked an interest that I have kept ever since. Ethical questions continued to arise in other classes within the curriculum for my B.S. degree. So, I decided to complete a doctoral certificate in Bioethics through the Emory Center for Ethics while pursuing my Ph.D. This led to me teaching a few “science & society” style courses and a masters level course where we looked at classic thought experiments as metaphors for various bio-ethically related topics. For example, we used Ludwig Wittgenstein’s “Beetle in the Box” thought experiment as a metaphor for pain and the ethical issues related to pain management in healthcare.

Now, I conduct research ethics and responsible conduct of research training for researchers and students of all levels. I use case studies and active learning to make the topic more engaging than it is typically taught, and we embrace the ambiguity that exists in these scenarios. Please let me know if you would be interested in me conducting a research ethics or bioethics seminar for your program or class!

The Photos above are from Emory University’s SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience) program Responsible Conduct of Research Training Session. Summer 2022.

Example syllabus from my Spring 2022 Special Topics Course: Bioethical Issues of the 21st Century. The class covered contemporary and future issues in bioethics, focusing on issues with changing ethical landscapes based on advancing scientific landscapes. For instance, in a world where “mother” can mean genetic mother, gestational mother, and/or social mother, how have our ethical attitudes toward motherhood changed?