Bioethics Research
Bioethics scholarship draws on the work of many disciplines, including philosophy, law, and social and behavioral sciences. It uses conceptual and empirical social science approaches to evaluate the reasons and arguments used in making moral judgments.
Our goal is to address these issues with methodological rigor rather than to advocate for a particular moral or political position. Bioethics can inform regulations and policies at institutional, state and national levels.
Our scholarship aims to:
- Advance the ethical conduct of research in children related to genomics, emerging technologies, maternal and child global health and rare diseases.
- Improve the ethical delivery of pediatric healthcare, such as newborn screening, vaccination, adolescent decision-making, critical care, neonatal intensive care and end-of-life care.
- Raise the visibility for marginalized children, such as children with behavioral and developmental disabilities, and foster children and others without family support, to improve their quality of healthcare.
- Enhance the quality of pediatric bioethics education and consultation by engaging our professional colleagues.
Current Research Projects
Children with disabilities
How should we promote the interests of children with profound cognitive disabilities and their families?
Continuous ethics improvement
How do we measure – and what interventions can improve – ethics quality in an institutional setting?
Genetic testing in children
As the number of potential genetic tests expands, what criteria should be used to decide the tests that children receive?
Global health
How should we promote the participation of adolescents who live in resource-poor settings in health-related decision-making, particularly in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic?
Research recruitment
How much influence is appropriate for researchers to assert when enrolling families in research studies?