Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy / Research

current Research

ScholarlyCommons@Penn
Visit ScholarlyCommons@Penn for a repository for the scholarly output of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania including the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy faculty. It promotes dissemination of their work, and preserves it in a freely-accessible, long-term archive.

 

Advancing the Race Dialog: Genes, Forensics, and Medicine
Pamela Sankar, PhD
The major goal of this study is to examine how race and ethnicity are used as variables in medical and forensic genetic research.

Bioethics and Biopolitics
Jonathan Moreno, PhD
It has become harder to distinguish between ethics and politics in public discussions about the future of biotechnology. I'm following the ways that these issues are framed by experts and political actors to engage the public.

Emerging Ethical Issues in Criminal Forensic Genetics
Pamela Sankar, PhD
The major goal of this research is to assess the capacity in the forensic genetics field to respond to the ethical challenges posed by the new technology: forensic DNA phenotyping. Learn more about the project here: http://forensicdnaethics.org/

The Ethics of Gene Patenting
Jon Merz, PhD
Center faculty have been studying and writing about the effects of gene patenting for many years. Drs. Jon Merz and Mildred Cho of Stanford, working with Dr. Debra Leonard of Penn and others, have developed a body of empirical work looking primarily at the effects of patents claiming genetic diagnostic tests on the practice of medicine. For the last 3 years, they have had NIH/NHGRI/ELSI funding (HG02034 to Cho et al.) for a large interview-based case study examining the effects on clinical medicine and research of patented genes. A number of smaller studies have also been performed, including work examining licensing practices, and several studies that are currently in preparation looking more in depth at patenting, licensing, and interferences in biotechnology.

High School Bioethics Project
Art Caplan, PhD and Dominic Sisti, PhD
Since 2001, the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics High School Bioethics Project has endeavored to improve secondary education through bioethics. We believe bioethics can not only introduce students to ethical choices they will face in their lives but also stimulate understanding of scientific advances and methods, thereby contributing to lifelong interest in biomedical science. We have sponsored several instructional workshops, intensive summer courses, teacher fellowships, and student internships. Project staff have also partnered with high school teachers who wish to develop bioethics curricula for use in science classes or syllabi for stand-alone bioethics courses. For more information, please visit the High School Bioethics Project website: http://www.highschoolbioethics.org/

Neuroscience and National Security
Jonathan Moreno, PhD
This area continues to attract growing academic and governmental attention. I'm working on several related projects, including the use of technologies like transcranial magnetic stimulation for brain modification and repair.

Scattergood Program for the Applied Ethics of Behavioral Healthcare
Dominic Sisti, PhD and Art Caplan, PhD
The Scattergood Program for the Applied Ethics of Behavioral Healthcare is dedicated to applied research, policy, and scholarship in all areas of behavioral healthcare. Housed at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics, the ScattergoodEthics Program is intended as a regional and national effort that welcomes all those active in the field of behavioral health. The only program of its kind in the country, the ScattergoodEthics Program's activities include research and scholarship in behavioral healthcare ethics, training and educating clinicians and scholars, sponsoring programs and public events, and hosting the ScattergoodEthics website: http://www.scattergoodethics.org. To contact ScattergoodEthics, email spaebh@mail.med.upenn.edu.

Stem Cell Research Ethics
Jonathan Moreno, PhD
I continue to be interested in issues concerning research involving human embryonic stem cells. My special interest currently is the implications of induced pluripotent stem cell technology for ethical practices.

Toward a Framework for Policy Analysis of Microbiome Research
Pamela Sankar, PhD
The primary objective of this research is to develop a method to monitor the emergence of social and ethical issues associated with the Human Microbiome Project.

Vaccine Ethics
Art Caplan, PhD, David Curry, and Jason Schwartz, MBE, AM
Faculty and staff at the Penn Center for Bioethics conduct research on a number of topics related to vaccines and vaccination programs. Recent and ongoing projects have examined the evaluation of risk and benefit in vaccine policy, vaccination school-entry requirements, debates over vaccine safety, and the role of vaccines in planning for pandemics and bioterrorism. The Center for Bioethics also operates VaccineEthics.org, a website providing news, perspectives, and resources on all aspects of vaccine policy and practice, with special attention to related ethical considerations. The Center for Bioethics is also a partner in the Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy, a collaboration with the Wistar Institute Vaccine Center and the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

 

 

Top ↑