The National Core for Neuroethics at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

was established in August 2007, with support from the

Canadian Institutes of Health Research The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; french: Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the M ...

, the Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, the

Canada Foundation for Innovation The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI; french: Fondation canadienne pour l'innovation, ''FCI'') is an independent not-for-profit organization that invests in research facilities and equipment in Canada's universities, colleges, research hospital ...

, the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, the

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

s program, the UBC Brain Research Centre and the UBC Institute of Mental Health. Co-founded by

Judy Illes Judy Illes, , PHD, FRSC, FCAHS, (born April 30, 1960) is Professor of Neurology and Distinguished University Scholar in Neuroethics at the University of British Columbia. She is Director of Neuroethics Canada at UBC, and faculty in the Brain Res ...

and Peter Reiner, the Core studies

neuroethics In philosophy and neuroscience, Neuroethics is the study of both the ethics of neuroscience and the neuroscience of ethics. The ethics of neuroscience comprises the bulk of work in neuroethics. It concerns the ethical, legal and social impact of n ...

, with particular focus on ethics in

neurodegenerative disease A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic ...

and

regenerative medicine Regenerative medicine deals with the "process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human or animal cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function". This field holds the promise of engineering damaged tissues and organs by st ...

, international and cross-cultural challenges in brain research,

neuroimaging Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incre ...

and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

, the neuroethics of enhancement, and

personalized medicine Personalized medicine, also referred to as precision medicine, is a medical model that separates people into different groups—with medical decisions, practices, interventions and/or products being tailored to the individual patient based on the ...

. The Core's major research projects are focused on the use of drugs and devices for

neuroenhancement Neuroenhancement or cognitive enhancement refers to the targeted enhancement and extension of cognitive and affective abilities based on an understanding of their underlying neurobiology in healthy persons who do not have any mental illness. As su ...

, ethics in neurodegenerative disease and regenerative medicine research, brain research, neuroimaging in the private sector, and the ethics of personalized medicine, among others. Members of the Core also lead initiatives aside from their research projects. Considerable attention has been given to the Core by both the scholarly and non-academic media, with the Core featured in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', the ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', on the ''

Canwest Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting an ...

Global Newshour'', and in the journal ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

'', amongst others. As an effort to engage the public in neuroethics discussion, the Core has recently started an online blog.

Mission

The National Core for Neuroethics strives to "tackle the ethical, legal, policy and social implications of frontier

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...

through high impact research, education and outreach to ensure the close alignment of innovation and human values".Lau P., Chahal, N. Lombera, S. National Core for Neuroethics Annual Report 2007-2008. 2008, Vancouver, BC.

People

The Core is led by

, PhD, Canada Research Chair in Neuroethics and Professor of Neurology at the University of British Columbia. Peter Reiner, VMD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, is a Senior Faculty Member with the Core.

Funding

The Core receives financial support from the

, Institute of Mental Health and Addiction,

, the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, the

s program, the UBC Brain Research Centre, the UBC Institute of Mental Health, the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

, the

Vancouver Coastal Health Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is a regional health authority that provides health services including primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care, home and community care, mental health services, population and preventive health and addictio ...

Research Institute, the British Columbia Rural and Remote Health Research Network, the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center's Foundation for Ethics and Biotechnology, the North Growth Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, the Stem Cell Network, the

Dana Foundation The Dana Foundation (Charles A. Dana Foundation) is a private philanthropic organization based in New York dedicated to advancing neuroscience and society by supporting cross-disciplinary intersections such as neuroscience and ethics, law, polic ...

, the Canadian Dementia Knowledge Translation Network, and

Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent ...

Inauguration

In September 2008, the Core celebrated its first anniversary with an inauguration celebration held at the

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated within the natural landscape of the campus and is surrounded by evergreens and rhododendro ...

at the University of British Columbia. In attendance were international dignitaries in the field of neuroethics, including

Joseph Fins Joseph J. Fins, M.D., D. Hum. Litt., M.A.C.P., F.R.C.P. (born 1959) is an American physician and medical ethicist. He is chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College, where he serves a ...

(Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College), Dr.

Barbara Sahakian Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, is Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Research Council (MRC)/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge. She is also an Ho ...

(Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine), Eric Racine (Director,

Neuroethics Research Unit The Neuroethics Research Unit was created in 2006, at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), which is affiliated to the Université de Montréal. The Unit is one of the pioneer units in Canada in this area of research. Neuroethic ...

, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal), and Dr.

Rémi Quirion Rémi Quirion, (born January 9, 1955) is a Canadian scientist. He is the first Chief Scientist of Quebec. Born in Lac-Drolet, Quebec, Quirion received a Ph.D. from Université de Sherbrooke in 1980. He was a Professor of Psychiatry at McGill Uni ...

(Scientific Director, Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA)).

References

External links

Neuroethics Research Centres
National Core for Neuroethics

Neuroethics Imaging Group, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics

Neuroethics Research Unit

NovelTechEthics

Neuroethics.upenn.edu

The Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania
Neuroethics blogs
Neuroethics at the Core blog

Neuroethics and Law blog

BrainEthics blog
Neuroethics journals *
Neuroethics
' *
The American Journal of Bioethics
'
The American Society for Bioethics and Humanities

Neuroethics societies * ttp://www.cogneurosociety.org/ Cognitive Neuroscience Society*

International Neuroethics Society The International Neuroethics Society (INS) is a professional organization that studies the social, legal, ethical, and policy implications of advances in neuroscience. Its mission is to encourage and inspire research and dialogue on the responsible ...

Website
Neuroethics literature databases
neuroethics.uni-mainz.de Portal for Neuroethics

Neuroethics resources
Bioethics Resources from the NIH

The President's Council on Bioethics
{{authority control Bioethics Ethics of science and technology Neuroscience research centres in Canada University of British Columbia Research institutes in Canada