Professor Clare Williams: The ethics of translational research: from 'unnatural entities' to experimental treatments, LABTEC
Funded by a Strategic Award in Biomedical Ethics
This research focuses on key developments in human embryonic stem cell research and neuroscience as critical instances of the translational interface between research and treatment, between science and medicine - including the use of inter-species embryos, boundaries and overlaps between experimental research and treatment, and non-human primate research for neurological treatments.
The central ethical question is the acceptability of changing what it means to be human and/or a person, but others include: the impact on human/animal rights; the interests of future generations; the interpretation of safety and risk; the relationship between personal beliefs and professional demands and responsibilities; the place of values in patient choice; and the shifts in moral landscapes as research progresses.
The London and Brighton Translational Ethics Centre (LABTEC) research programme expands an established, interdisciplinary team that has an outstanding track record of working and publishing together on ethical issues relating to new medical technologies. It builds capacity and adds value in three interlinking domains: providing research training/academic career development; developing innovative methodological approaches combining normative and empirical ethics; and undertaking substantive work on the ethics of translational research.
LABTEC aims
- To generate a vibrant, responsive, innovative and internationally esteemed interdisciplinary biomedical ethics research programme and Centre.
- To build research capacity and expertise in interdisciplinary biomedical ethics, adding significant value to previous work.
- To establish and cultivate local, national and international collaborations and networks.
- To mutually engage with policy makers, users and publics, and contribute to public debates and the policy process.
- To make a significant contribution to empirical and normative biomedical ethics, and to the Wellcome Trust's profile in this area.
Image: Astrocytes and oligodendrocytes from neural stem cells; Yirui Sun, Wellcome Images