Projects
Projects
The German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences is engaged in numerous German, European and international research project in the field of ethics in the Life Sciences. Please find more information through the respective project descriptions.
European Ethics Documentation Centre - ETHICSWEBThe project ETHICSWEB, which is being coordinated by the German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences (DRZE) and the University of Bonn and being funded by the European Commission, aims at stimulating an enhanced democratic debate on ethical issues of science and, by means of a comprehensive European information system, to promote a more engaged and informed public. more
European research project on risk taking behaviour in teenagers - IMAGENIMAGEN is a European Research Project which aims to identify and learn more about biological and environmental factors that might have an influence on mental health in teenagers. This knowledge will then help develop better prevention strategies and therapies in the future. IMAGEN is (the first study on this research topic) a major European-Commission funded project, using state-of-the-art technology from the (field of) behavioural neuroscience field, a field where medicine, psychology, physics and biology intersect in the study of human behaviour. mehr
Determining the ethical and legal interests in privacy and data protection for research involving the use of genetic Databases and Bio-banks (PRIVILEGED)PRIVILEGED is a project looking to determine the ethical and legal interests in privacy and data protection for research involving the use of genetic databases and biobanks. It is funded by the European Commission from 2007 to 2009, and has 32 member institutions from the European Union, European Economic Area and three non-European countries Israel, Japan and Taiwan. mehr
European Network of Research Ethics Committees - EURECEUREC, which is being funded by the European Commission, is a European network of research ethics committees whose primary goal it is to promote the exchange of knowledge and information, to disseminate teaching material and to study the newest developments in research. more
Animal Experiments in Research
The discourse project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), aims at providing objective and comprehensive information about the topic “Animal Experiments in Research” that are to stimulate an impartial meditation and judgment regarding the reasons for and the practice of today’s research on animals. more
The discourse project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), aims at providing objective and comprehensive information about the topic “Animal Experiments in Research” that are to stimulate an impartial meditation and judgment regarding the reasons for and the practice of today’s research on animals. more
Learning discourse: Therapeutic CloningThe project DiskursLernen aims at establishing an independent didactic format oriented towards the promotion of the discursive competence of young people. Within the scope of a project week held at three different school in the region of Bonn, students deal with one exemplary bioethical problem regarding “Therapeutic Cloning”. An Internetplatform, which is designed specifically for the purpose of this project, facilitates the group members’ and interested teachers’ access to the material gathered throughout the project. more
Feasibility Study for an Advanced Systematic Documentation, Information and Communication Tool in the Field of Ethical Issues in Science, Research and Technology (FASTER)
The cross-institutional FASTER study was created by the European Commission as a feasibility study for an advanced systematic documentation, information and communication tool in the field of ethical issues in science, research and technology. It has been the purpose of this study to evaluate a new type of infrastructure of ethics which covers not only the field of bioethics but the whole range of ethical issues in research and technology in Europe, and which focuses not only on the question of networking on an academic level, but asks how an infrastructure of ethics can help to facilitate the dialogue between science and society on all levels. It has been a central issue for the study to create a way of making ethical information accessible to a large number of people such as scientists or policy-makers. The FASTER study also aims at promoting a European culture of ethical decision-making on all levels of society. more
The cross-institutional FASTER study was created by the European Commission as a feasibility study for an advanced systematic documentation, information and communication tool in the field of ethical issues in science, research and technology. It has been the purpose of this study to evaluate a new type of infrastructure of ethics which covers not only the field of bioethics but the whole range of ethical issues in research and technology in Europe, and which focuses not only on the question of networking on an academic level, but asks how an infrastructure of ethics can help to facilitate the dialogue between science and society on all levels. It has been a central issue for the study to create a way of making ethical information accessible to a large number of people such as scientists or policy-makers. The FASTER study also aims at promoting a European culture of ethical decision-making on all levels of society. more
Establishment of a European register of local ethics commissions
The establishment of a European register of local ethics commissions is one of the European Commission’s first projects serving the purpose of gaining an overview of the status quo, the organizational structure and the commissions’ job definition as well as of problems ethic commissions are currently being confronted with. The study aims at creating a comprehensive register of local ethics commissions by means of gathering and evaluating existing data (regarding, for instance, the LECs), by means of a first approach and interviewing of the respective experts and selected members of LECs for the design of a database-draft, and by means of the identification of LECs in the countries within the range of analysis. more
The establishment of a European register of local ethics commissions is one of the European Commission’s first projects serving the purpose of gaining an overview of the status quo, the organizational structure and the commissions’ job definition as well as of problems ethic commissions are currently being confronted with. The study aims at creating a comprehensive register of local ethics commissions by means of gathering and evaluating existing data (regarding, for instance, the LECs), by means of a first approach and interviewing of the respective experts and selected members of LECs for the design of a database-draft, and by means of the identification of LECs in the countries within the range of analysis. more
Study on National, International and Professional Training Material for Ethics in Research
The project aims at providing excellent training material for ethics in research in order to achieve an even level of awareness of the ethical dimensions of their activities and thus is committed to promote the researchers’ awareness and integrity. It is the purpose of this study to, amongst others, provide an overview of existing training material for research ethics in target countries, observe the material’s quality and comprehensiveness as well as to identify existing gaps and to draw recommendations for improvement. more
The project aims at providing excellent training material for ethics in research in order to achieve an even level of awareness of the ethical dimensions of their activities and thus is committed to promote the researchers’ awareness and integrity. It is the purpose of this study to, amongst others, provide an overview of existing training material for research ethics in target countries, observe the material’s quality and comprehensiveness as well as to identify existing gaps and to draw recommendations for improvement. more
European Information Network Ethics in Medicine and Biotechnology (EURETHNET)The EURETHNET-project, which comprises 26 institutions from 15 different countries, aims at establishing a European information network, or rather a knowledge-platform, which includes existing databases and other informational resources in the field of European medical ethics and biotechnology. By means of, for instance, an Internet-portal and database-networks the project provides researchers, those professionally dealing with bioethical issues, decision-makers and interested people with relevant and topic-related information. more
School project bioethics
The project aims at developing an interdisciplinary didactic unit "bioethics" in the form of class materials, which deal with the problem of predictive genetic testing using the example of genetic tests for the congenital Huntington-disease. The information material was developed by University and school staff and was specifically designed for the use by teaching staff and secondary school students. It is to serve the purpose of providing people not attending school until the university-entrance diploma with a basic understanding for the particular problems. more
The project aims at developing an interdisciplinary didactic unit "bioethics" in the form of class materials, which deal with the problem of predictive genetic testing using the example of genetic tests for the congenital Huntington-disease. The information material was developed by University and school staff and was specifically designed for the use by teaching staff and secondary school students. It is to serve the purpose of providing people not attending school until the university-entrance diploma with a basic understanding for the particular problems. more
