Ethics in Translational Medicine II

Translational research introduces new organisational, ethical, and legal challenges.

It also demands interdisciplinary collaboration and communication – particularly among experts in omics, big data analytics, and drug development – while maintaining a strong commitment to the rights and dignity of research participants. Addressing these challenges requires ethical awareness that is grounded in both professional standards and personal values.

This course focuses on fostering ethical self-reflection among researchers. Participants will be encouraged to critically examine their roles, values, and positions within their respective fields. They will explore how their relationships – with colleagues, patients, clinics, laboratories, research subjects (including cells and animal models), and society – inform their moral perspective as researchers. The reflective process aims to deepen participants’ awareness of their moral agency and enhance their ability to address ethical challenges within their projects.

Lectures will broaden participants’ understanding of both normative and empirical ethics, providing a comprehensive framework for navigating ethical decision-making in translational research.

On Day 2, the course will take place at the Medical Museion. In the morning, participants will engage with historical artefacts as tangible tools for ethical reflection, examining the values and dilemmas embodied in these objects. The afternoon will be devoted to preparing the individual presentations for Day 3.

Course objectives

To understand the moral aspects of translational medical research by:

• Acquiring competencies that will help identify, assess, and resolve ethical and legal questions, and provide a conceptual framework for addressing ethical questions
• Ascertaining the interrelationship between ethical issues and the production of translational knowledge
• Developing dialogical competencies that will support the collaborative effort in generating data, developing clinical therapeutics, and improving patient care.