£2.5 million to boost biomedical ethics research
24 June 2008
Strategic Awards were made to research groups based at King's College London and Oxford University. Each grant is in the region of £800 000 and will be used to strengthen collaboration and support new research fellowships and studentships.
The Wellcome Trust funds research into ethical issues that arise in the development and delivery of healthcare in the UK and developing countries. It also helps to ensure that the findings of biomedical ethics research are passed on to policy makers and healthcare practitioners to help inform their decisions.
Professor Clare Williams, Director of the Centre for Biomedicine and Society at King's College London, with colleagues at King's, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Queen Mary, University of London and Goldsmith's College, is exploring the shifting moral landscapes as research progresses in areas such as human embryonic stem cell research and neuroscience. The team will ask: What are the acceptable boundaries of science and medicine? Will scientific advances change what it means to be human?
Professor Julian Savulescu, Director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, together with colleagues in the UK and US, is looking at the new discipline of neuroethics, which examines problems for ethics, research and clinical practice in areas such as addiction, criminal responsibility, treatment of vegetative patients, medical decision making, and enhancing normal cognitive capacity.
Professor Theresa Marteau, Professor of Health Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, with Professor Richard Ashcroft from Queen Mary, University of London and Dr Adam Oliver from the London School of Economics, will develop a programme of research looking at the use of financial incentives in UK healthcare, by asking when is it right to use financial incentives to improve health. The team will look at this question in the context of obesity, health in pregnancy, medication for psychotic disorders, and substance misuse.
Clare Matterson, the Wellcome Trust's Director of Medicine, Society and History, said: "The nature of biomedical research means it is constantly challenging our ideas about the world, ourselves and our health. Research into ethical issues surrounding medical science and healthcare is essential if our society is going to be able to make informed decisions about research and medicine.
"These significant and strategic grants will allow the successful groups to build on their impressive track records in biomedical ethics research. By providing this level of funding, we expect them to develop future generations of researchers, extend their existing UK and international collaborations, as well as develop new ways of multidisciplinary working."
Contact
Michael Regnier
Media Officer
Wellcome Trust
T +44 (0)20 7611 7262
E
m.regnier@wellcome.ac.uk
Notes for editors
1. The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending around £650 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing.
2. Oxford University's faculty of philosophy is one of the largest in the world, having around 150 members, roughly 60 of whom are permanent post holders.
The Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics was established in 2002 with the support of the Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education of Japan. It is an integral part of the philosophy faculty of Oxford University, one of the great centres of academic excellence in philosophical ethics. Academics at the Centre research a broad range of topics in practical ethics and moral philosophy including neuroethics, bioethics, medical ethics, business ethics, terrorism, and international justice.
3. King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher 2007) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has 19 300 students from more than 130 countries, and 5 000 employees. King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. The College is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an annual income of approximately £400 million. An investment of £500 million has been made in the redevelopment of its estate.
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences, the health sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres - more than any other university.