Témoignages
Kiarash Aramesh, Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2009:
"Staying at the Brocher foundation gave me an outstanding opportunity to meet my colleagues from other countries, discuss ethical issues with them and design scientific projects for future collaborations. Also, the foundation provided me with facilities for conduction my research project which was of crucial importance to its scientific quality. It was a great opportunity for meeting other experts of my field of study and other active organizations in this field, located in Geneva."
Vilhjálmur Árnason, University of Iceland.
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2010:
" During my stay at the Brocher Foundation, I concentrated on research on the theoretical foundation of my project of scientific citizenship in a democratic society. I am still working on a manuscript of a journal article for publication based on this research. This project has grown since my stay and I have now a grant for
hiring a Ph.D. student for three years to work on a topic related to this research.
During my stay, I also worked on the effects of personalized medicine on systems of solidaristic health care and I am expecting an article to be published in a thematic issue of Ethical Perspectives on genetics and justice.
Finally, I wrote an article on the book Rationality and the Genetic Challenge by Matti Häyry which has been published: ”Nonconfrontational Rationality or Critical Reasoning“, Cambridge Quarterly of Health Care Ethics 20 (2011:2), 228–237."
Dan W. Brock, Harvard Medical School.
Stayed at the Brocher foundation in 2010:
" Having been here nearly a month and a half, I've gotten more research and writing done than in any comparable period I can remember--two papers finished and sent off, and a big chunk of the draft of the book Dan Wikler and I are writing on population level bioethics. On top of that, its an extrordinarily beautiful
setting in which to do the work--fortunately we have another 2 and a half months here because we can't imagine leaving. The interactions with the other researchers, as well as with the attendees at the health inequalities course last month, have been both pleasant and very intellectually stimulating."
Arthur Caplan, University of Pennsylvania
Stayed at the Foundation in 2010:
" I had the privilege of a six-week stay at the Foundation in 2009. I spent some of that time at WHO learning about vaccine ethics issues. The rest I spent reading and writing about vaccine ethics. I was able to begin research program that has resulted in many talks, more than ten publications in peer-reviewed journals
such as The Lancet and Vaccine and chapters in key textbooks. I have hosted three international conferences at my home institution, the University of Pennsylvania (http://globalvaccines202xsymposium.wordpress.com). I am now completing work on a reader/anthology on vaccine ethics with a student of mine which will be published late this year by MIT Press."
Audrey R. Chapman, University of Connecticut Health Center
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2011:
" I spent the month of May in 2011 as a visiting researcher at the Brocher Foundation working on the topic of the ethical challenges of first in human clinical trials with novel and high risk technologies. During my four weeks I was able to write an article, currently under review for publication, anda work on a grant proposal to fund empirical research on the topic. The scientific benefit was two-fold: I was able to focus on my research and writing and thereby be far more productive. Also I think I learned a great deal from my conversations with the other visiting researchers."
Haidan Chen, Zhejiang University (China)
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2011:
" During my stay at Brocher, I can
1. meet my collaborators of “Biomarker Governance” project to discuss our research;
2. attend our project workshop “Biomarker in Practice: Unpacking Pasts, Presents and Futures” on June 6-7;
3. write a paper for this project and submit it to special issue of Biosocieties journal;
4. meet other visitors and have intellectual exchange."
Angus Clarke, Cardiff University
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2008:
" Benefits:
(i) Opportunity to think fresh thoughts in the time and space offered by Brocher, away from the usual
pressures of clinics, teaching and administration.
(ii) Catch up on writing commitments in the ‘ethical and social’ aspects of genetics
(iii) Commence writing my (still unfinished) book ‘Skin Deep’
(iv) Commence drafting of new chapters, grant applications and papers
(v) Improve ability in speaking and reading French
(vi) Enjoy making new friends and meeting old ones, visiting colleagues in Geneva and Lausanne, atten
ding concerts in Geneva and swimming in the lake."
Robert Cook-Deegan, Duke University
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2011:
" While at Fondation Brocher, I have mainly been working to complete one book on US health research policy since World War II and to start one called ConSequences, about the implications of a world in DNA sequencing
will be pervasive and taken for granted. I have also written three articles/chapters based on DNA patenting (particularly access to BRCA genetic testing information), on the structure of the NIH, on "open and collaborative" research models including the history and significance of the Bermuda Principles for rapidly sharing DNA sequence data, and on the implications of gene X environment interactions in behavioral research. Two of those articles are out for review; one is pending translation and publication and two others are in preparation. In coming weeks, I will be working on two more articles with our research associate, Cristina Kapustij. But mainly, my time at Brocher has extended my social network into a broader global group of scholars and has created new relationships with other scholars that will probably prove enduring. One of the most gratifying aspects has been the direct contact with talented graduate students and postdocs early in their careers."
Marion Danis, National Institutes of Health
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2009:
" My stay at the Brocher Foundation served several valuable purposes. I was able to write a paper summarizing 10 years of experience that my colleagues, Susan Goold and Marjorie Ginsburg, and I had had with public engagement in deliberation about health insurance benefits. I was able to begin planning a project to similarly engage the Swiss public in deliberation about their priorities for health insurance benefits. As part of this planning process, Susan Goold, Samia Hurst, and I met with a number of Swiss medical leaders, legislators, and patient representatives to identify key concerns and issues to be incorporated into
this engagement exercise. Finally, Samia Hurst and I were able to convene a Brocher symposium during my Brocher stay, at which we gathered co-investigators of our Values at the Bedside study - a survey we had conducted in 4 European countries that examined physician attitudes and behaviors regarding bedside rationing. This symposium yielded perspectives of invited commentators that are now being incorporated into a book we are editing intended to facilitate the ethical practice of bedside rationing."
Davis Dena, Lehigh University
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2011:
" The project on which I am working while at Brocher has to do with interests of deceased persons in the uses to which their stored DNA is put. Thus it takes into account genetic ethics, research ethics, biobanking, etc. Here at Brocher, in addition to the obvious gift of time to do uninterrupted work, I am helped
enormously by having other scholars to discuss ideas with, to read my work in progress, and so on. I have been the only person working on bioethics at my institution, and that will also be the case in a new position that I have accepted, so this collegial contact is especially valuable.
It is also extremely helpful to be in Europe. I have had easy contact with colleagues in Geneva and Paris, for example, as well as at Leuven."
Katrien Devolder, University of Oxford
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2010:
" I had a very productive and enjoyable two months at the Brocher Foundation in January and April 2010. The amazing scenery, the fantastic office, and the relaxing lunch breaks offered an ideal environment for making significant progress on several chapters of my book about compromise positions in the embryonic
stem cell debate. In January, I presented a summary of my book and received useful comments from the other researchers and the Brocher staff, which I have incorporated in my book now. I also finished two papers during my stay. One paper ‘Complicity in Stem Cell Research: The Case of Induced Pluripotent Stem
Cells’ has now been published in Human Reproduction. The other paper, ‘Wide Selection Principles: Beyond Individualism in Reproductive Selection’, co-authored with Tom Douglas, is forthcoming in The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. The Brocher staff were always so welcoming that the Foundation felt not only like a work place, but also like a home! "
Bianka S. Doerr, University of Zurich
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2009 & 2011:
" My stay at the Fondation Brocher was an extraordinary experience. In an incredibly peace- and beautiful environment I was able to get a great part of my project work done and enjoyed the lively personal and professional exchange with other Brocher Fellows very much."
Thomas Faunce, Australian national university
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2009:
" Professor Faunce's most recent book arose from his stay at the Brocher Foundation and is coming out with Edward Elgar in 2011. It is entitled 'Nanotechnology for a Sustainable World: Global Artificial Photosynthesis
as the Moral Culmination of Nanotechnology.' The stay at the Brocher Foundation gave Prof. Faunce time and the appropriate environment to reflect on all the various ways nanotechnology could assist global public health and to make the decision to focus on the equitably facilitating the capacity of nanotechnology to improve the process whereby sunlight splits water to produce hydrogen for fuel and absorbs carbion dioxide to make food."
Leonard M. Fleck, Michigan State University
Stayed in the Brocher Foundation in 2011:
" I spent three months at Brocher in 2011. It was both a relaxing and productive experience. I was able to get the first chapter done in a new book I am working on with the title “Justice, Liberty, and Responsibility: Ethics, Genetics, and Public Policy.” The large question I am exploring in this volume is the question of
how our sense of personal and social responsibility for the genetic endowment of future possible children changes as a result of our developing genetic knowledge and related genetic technological capacities. Answering that question adequately also requires exploring how our sense of justice is affected by these changes
as well as our understanding of personal liberty in the making of decisions about the genetic endowment of future possible children. This last question will be especially challenging because of our commitment to preserving the liberal foundations of our society. While at Brocher I also wrote an essay on the issue of personal responsibility for health which will be coming out in the Cambridge Quarterly. We also completed the task of recruiting authors for a volume of essays on ethical issues related to bedside rationing, which came out of a summer conference (2009)at Brocher. While at Brocher I also appreciated the opportunity to do a lecture at the World Health Organization. One of the things all the researchers discovered is that it proved impossible to “lock out” our ongoing academic responsibilities, despite being on sabbatical. This is especially true for the senior researchers who have complex commitments far outside their own academic institutions. Finally, one of the more delightful features of the experience was the opportunity to meet both senior researchers and younger researchers, most of whom were spread across much of the globe. Creating that sort of global network of bioethics researchers is clearly one of the more valuable contributions that Brocher is making to the world of bioethics and health care policy. "
Jesse Goldner, Saint Louis University
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2010:
" My stay at the Brocher Foundation enabled me to have concentrated time, with minimal distractions from University committee work and related obligations and from class preparation, to think, conduct research, and do additional preliminary writing in the area of researchers’ conflicts of interest. In addition, it allowed
me to explore more generally non-U.S. regimes for the regulation of research with human subjects. I particularly enjoyed the largely informal interaction with other researchers from a variety of countries who were working on a broad range of issues related to bioethics, medical technology, and similar areas. The staff support both in terms of office assistance and “creature comforts” was superb. The Brocher Foundation setting is nothing short of spectacular. "
Susan Dorr Goold, University of Michigan School of Public Health
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2009:
" During my stay, I had the opportunity to serve as commentator for the Symposium Rationing Health Care Fairly and will contribute an essay for a volume with the working title “Toward Fair Rationing at the Bedside.”
Also during my stay, I prepared a proposal (ultimately successful) for the Greenwall Foundation, to review the current state of knowledge about doctors’ attitudes and behaviours related to the cost-worthiness of health services, analyze the current practice of physician stewardship, explore what factors at the individual, practice or institutional level might facilitate or hinder ethical stewardship, and propose what policies, practices, and research needs to occur to assure that rationing by physicians proceeds with the utmost integrity and justice.
Finally, and most importantly, I worked closely with Drs. Marion Danis and Samia Hurst laying the foundation for a project to foster ethical deliberation on priorities in the Swiss health care system. In order to focus on questions that would be of the highest possible interest to the Swiss context, during my stay, Drs. Danis, Hurst and I we held preparatory discussions with:
• Thérèse Meyer, member of the Swiss parliament, vice-chair of the commission for social insurance.
• Christian Kind, paediatrician, medical director of the St-Gallen children’s hospital, chair of the Central ethics commission of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences.
• Jean-François Steiert, member of the Swiss parliament, member of the commission of sciences, president of the Swiss patients’ association
• Peter Suter, intensive care physician, former dean of the Geneva University Medical School, president of
the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences
• Jacques De Haller, general physician, president of the Swiss Medical Association Based on these discussions, in collaboration that continues, the three of us have prepared a Swiss version of the CHAT deliberation exercise and selected the most relevant and appropriate survey measures for the project. Dr. Hurst has recently submitted a proposal to the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences to support translations, data collection and analysis. "
Bert Gordijn, Dublin City University
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2007:
" During his three months research stay in 2007 Bert (together with Mark Cutter) established a new book series book series, "The International Library of Ethics, Law and Technology" (Springer) as well as a new peer reviewed journal, "Studies in Ethics, Law and Technology" (Berkeley Electronic Press)."
Michael Hardimon, University of California
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2011:
" The scientific benefits of my stay at the Brocher Foundation were inestimable. Most concretely, I completed a draft of my book, Rethinking Race: The Case for Deflationary Realism, writing three of the book’s ten chapters, while in residence. My work on race profited from fruitful conversations with fellow researchers
about population genetics and race. Listening to the talks of my fellow researchers and having the opportunity to discuss their projects renewed my long-standing interest in the contribution rigorous ethical analysis can make to current problems in health care and resource allocation. The Brocher facilitated contact with people from the W.H.O., which gave me a keener sense of the global dimensions of ethical challenges in health care."
Michael Hoy, University of Guelph
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2010:
" My project involves two lines of research. One is to contribute further to the debate on whether insurance companies should be allowed to use results of genetic tests for underwriting purposes. The other is to continue
work on the question of how best to integrate genetic testing and related medical technologies through private and public health insurance. The growth in knowledge of multifactorial genetic diseases profoundly impacts both of these areas of research. It is my goal to further develop the economic theory about how
insurance markets (firms and consumers) react to such information given alternative regulations about the use of genetic test results by insurers. The outcomes of this analysis are to be assessed using ethical concerns regarding issues of unfair discrimination and distributional fairness. The seven weeks I spent at Fondation Brocher allowed me to focus exclusively on these research topics. Most importantly, I had the opportunity to interact with other researchers in the areas of ethics and philosophy. This has expanded my vision for the work on this topic. "
Peter D. Jacobson, University of Michigan School of Public Health
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2010:
" During my time at the Brocher Foundation, I undertook two projects: I conducted interviews to explore how selected European countries organize, finance, and deliver population health services; and, I examined how to integrate population health into clinical care in the United States. Of the many scientific benefits derived from these projects, three stand out. First, the interviews conducted to understand European public health systems have led to a research proposal to extend the work. Also, I recently met with Canadian public health researchers and practitioners to discuss the possibility of starting an international journal
on public health systems and services research. Second, the project on integrating population health and medical care resulted in several published articles and a research proposal. Third, the individual contacts made through Brocher will be invaluable as the work on these projects continues."
Anne Kauffmann, University of Lausanne
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2009:
" I want to express all my gratitude to the Brocher Foundation that gave me the great opportunity to start my study in the best conditions. In this marvelous and quiet environment, I had the chance to meet and share meaningful discussions with many professors and searchers involved in various disciplines. All this made
this experience extremely rich and valuable."
Michele Loi, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2010:
" During his stay at Brocher, Michele Loi has explored the question of sharing the benefits of potential germline enhancements. This study has culminated in a book in Italian, “Giustizia e Genetica”, which analyzes Rawls's, Farrelly's, Buchanan, Brock, Wickler and Daniels's approaches to justice in genetics and proposes a new theory, as an extension of the Rawlsian approach. He has also published articles in English and Italian that greatly benefited from the exchanges with other Residents. Michele Loi holds a Ph.D in Political Theory from Università LUISS in Rome."
Florencia Luna, Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2013:
" During the paradisiac stay at Brocher Foundation I worked, as planned, in two articles and was able to profit not only of my already existing links with WHO and the University of Geneva, but to know in more depth the work of other colleagues of the University of Geneva and in the region (I also went to Zurich for a lunch-seminar presentation). All these meetings where extremely enriching for me and my present project. In addition, the appealing work of my fellow Brocher researchers lead me to propose a special dossier with articles of some of them in Spanish in the Journal Perspectivas Bioeticas which I direct. So during this
stage an unexpected and very interesting collaboration among my activities in Buenos Aires and the Brocher Foundation were generated which I hope will make a very good publicity among the Latin American public of Brocher Foundation."
Ruth Macklin, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2013:
" In the two months of my residency at the Brocher Foundation I completed two long articles on the topic of my proposed study: ethical issues in preventive HIV microbicide research. One of these articles has been published in the journal, Public Health Ethics; the other is currently in press at the International Journal of
Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (IJFAB). The comfortable facilities at Brocher and the absence of life’s normal distractions enabled me to complete four additional articles: a short opinion piece published in the Lancet; two invited commentaries on target articles in AJOB; and a co-authored introduction to a theme issue of Developing World Bioethics. Although only a few other scholars were in residence, I benefitted from informal exchanges with them and from their presentations at the end of their stay. I had the opportunity to meet with colleagues at the University of Geneva, where I made an informal presentation to members
of the Center for Bioethics; I also traveled to the University of Zurich and presented at the Bioethics Center there. Finally, proximity to Geneva enabled me to attend two monthly meetings of the WHO Ethical Review Committee, of which I was a member at the time, and to make an invited lunchtime presentation open to all at WHO."
Michaela Theresia Mayrhofer, Universität Wien
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2007:
" The stay at the Brocher Foundation allowed her to pen down a substantial part of her dissertation. Moreover, the text benefited from a stimulating and peaceful environment as well as from inspiring exchanges with fellow scholars. Several paper ideas and scientific contacts resulted thereof. Additionally, the stay at
the Brocher Foundation enabled her to meet with Swiss scholars in the field of STS, bioethics, and WHO representatives."
Linsey McGoey, University of Essex
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2011:
" While at the Brocher Foundation, I had a chance to liaise daily with researchers exploring ethical and social implications of biomedical advances relevant to my own research on pharmaceutical research and global health governance. The Foundation provided a highly memorable and rewarding opportunity to engage
with experts at institutions throughout the Geneva region, such as WIPO and the WHO, as well as to work on forthcoming publications in a tranquil environment."
Jessica Mozersky, University College London
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2011:
" The opportunity to be a visiting researcher at the Fondation Brocher has been incredibly stimulating and greatly enhanced my work. While being surrounded by an absolutely stunning and inspirational environment, with extremely supportive and helpful staff, the Brocher offers researchers the chance to focus solely
on their work without any other distractions. The attention the Foundation has paid to ensuring the overlap and cross cutting themes of visiting researcher’s work has enabled a cross fertilisation of ideas and encouraged intellectual discussion. The ability to discuss and seek advice from the diverse mix of scholars including medical geneticists, ethicists, philosophers, lawyers and many other disciplinary scholars has been invaluable. In addition, having both junior and senior scholars in residence has allowed us to benefit from one another’s experience, curiosity and wisdom. Living and working in the same environment stimulates both an intellectual and convivial atmosphere."
Nadia Pacurari, University of Basel
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2019:
"I consider my stay at the Brocher Foundation to have been extremely precious as I was able to benefic from collaborationg with research colleagues from the best universities all over the world".
Diane Paul, University of Massachusetts
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2019:
"Chief among the many delights of my Brocher residency -- including the time for unhurried reading, reflection, and writing, the walks along the lake and through meadows and forest, the attractive and comfortable accommodations, and of course the splendid setting -- was the exceptionally congenial atmosphere. I expect that the close intellectual and personal relationships forged with other researchers will prove to be the most valuable outcome of a truly memorable stay."
Hristina Petkova, University of Exeter
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2008:
" My stay at Brocher continued for six months from January to June 2008. During this time I completed my PhD thesis on the translation of new genetic testing into routine patient care. I also established contact with key members of the World Health Organization, where I began collaboration on a global project "Medical Devices: Managing the Mismatch". The final report of this initiative was launched in September 2010, to which I contributed with two background papers, and several consultations (http://www.who.int/medical_devices/access/en/).
Upon my return to the UK, I defended successfully my PhD award and secured a full-time position as a research associate in the department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation at King's College London.
My first role in the team was as co-editor of the WHO guide "Palliative care for older people: Better practices" led by Prof. Irene Higginson.
Following this, I engaged in conducting a one-year comprehensive systematic literature review of the preferences for place of care and place of death of patients with non-cancer conditions, funded by the NIHRSDO scheme. My current post as health economics and research training fellow at King’s College London involves analysis of end-of-life care costs and modelling cost projections for the future."
Robin Pierce, Delft University of technology
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2009:
" My stay at the Brocher Foundation provided the opportunity to develop and finalize several publications in journals such as Social Science and Medicine, Journal of Medical Ethics, and Studies in Law, Politics, and Society. (One of these articles benefited from very valuable comments from a more senior visiting researcher
also at Brocher.) Additionally, my time in Hermance provided the opportunity to immerse myself in the scientific landscape of dementia research, one of my key areas of research. Moreover, my stay at Brocher enabled me to participate in numerous European conferences, workshops, and symposia that I would not
have otherwise been able to attend given my residence in North America. These events provided opportunities for networking that has proven invaluable to me professionally, particularly since I have taken a faculty position in Europe."
Reed Pyeritz, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2011:
" During my six-month sabbatical at the Brocher Foundation I am working on two book projects. First, I am one of three co-editors of Principles and Practice of Medical Genetics and we are preparing the 6th edition. I have been able to complete the five chapters that I write myself and thoroughly edit most of the other
60 for which I am responsible. Second, I am writing a book on the interface of genomics and personalized medicine. I have managed to write two of the chapters and collect the research material for the other seven. Were it not for the (nearly) uninterrupted time at the Brocher neither of these important projects would be nearly as far along as they are."
Catherine Rhodes, University of Bradford
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2008:
" For my research project during my stay I looked at the issue of how international organisations cooperate in the governance of biotechnology. I was able to conduct interviews in the World Health Organisation and World Trade Organisation during my stay, which provided insight into the practical realities of interorganisation
cooperation, and prompted later development of a case study of cooperation in the governance of genetic resources. The research conducted led firstly to two analysis papers published online in May and August 2008 (see http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/sbtwc/gateway/monitor/genomicsmonitorindex.html) and to a journal article published last year – “Opportunities and Constraints for Cooperation between International Organisations” Nordic Environmental Law Journal, 2: 175-187. The benefits have been long-term and are ongoing – I am now working on a book proposal on governance of genetic resources."
Philip M. Rosoff, Duke University Medical Center
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2010:
" The ability to have a prolonged and uninterrupted period of time to quietly read, think and write without disturbance was inspiring. I was able to write the drafts of three article manuscripts, one of which has already been published, and the other two of which are in review. I was also able to seriously consider the outline of a book proposal, a project that I am continuing. I only wish I could repeat the experience!"
William Schneider, Indiana University-Purdue University
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2010:
" The team of Preston Marx, Ernest Drucker, and William Schneider worked for two weeks in early March 2010 at the Brocher Foundation on their book about the serial passage origins of AIDS. They also planned an international symposium that was held in Paris in June 2010, attended by dozens of international scholars
working on the question of the origin of AIDS and other new viruses. This was only the second such meeting held on the subject. (For a full report including all presentations, see http://www.simianvirusesandemergingdiseasesinhumans.org)
Schneider continued work at the Brocher Foundation through May 2010 on a related part of the project: a monograph on the history of blood transfusion in sub-Saharan Africa. A new working group of African historians has been created to look more generally at the historical context of the origin of AIDS. Two reports
from this work were published in Lancet and Clinical Infectious Diseases."
Michael J. Selgelid, Australian national university
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2007 & 2009:
" A primary benefit of my visits to the Brocher Foundation in 2007 and 2009 was the facilitation of collaboration with the WHO and other colleagues in Europe. The initial purpose of my 2007 visit was to update my research on eugenics and work on revising an existing manuscript into a book, which remains a work-inprogress.
Meanwhile, relevant research lead to the publication of an article in Studies in Ethics, Law and Technology and a chapter in Medical Enhancement and Posthumanity (Springer 2008). During that visit, I also co-organised a conference on Infectious Disease Ethics with Julian Savulescu and Angela McLean at
University of Oxford. Much of my 2009 visit involved work on editing a Special Issue of the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry produced from the conference proceedings. An expanded version of this was published as a book titled Infectious Disease Ethics: Limiting Liberty in Contexts of Contagion by Springer in 2011.
My 2007 visit also enabled the promotion of collaboration with the Department of Ethics, Equity, Trade and Human Rights and Stop TB Department at WHO—especially regarding ethical and policy issues associated with tuberculosis. Relevant discussions with WHO in 2007 lead to my becoming involved in a WHO Task Force on “Addressing Ethical Issues in TB Control Programmes”. The primary purpose of my 2009 visit was to work on this project, for which I co-authored a background paper (with Lee B. Reichman). A condensed version of this was recently (2011) published in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. I was also an author of the final document resulting from the Task Force’s work: “Guidance on Ethics of Tuberculosis Prevention, Care and Control”, published Dec. 2010 (available here:
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241500531_eng.pdf). My 2009 visit also facilitated my involvement with a WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) Working Group on H5N1 Vaccine and helped bring about my (later) involvement with a WHO project on Responsible Life
Science Research. My ongoing collaboration with WHO—which was largely promoted by Brocher visits— played a major role in bringing about the 2009 designation of the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) at the Australian National University as a WHO Collaborating Centre (CC) for Bioethics
(for which I have served as Director)."
Jan Helge Solbakk, UNESCO/ University of Oslo
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2008 & 2009:
" Thanks to generous funding from the Brocher Foundation in 2008, Solbakk edited (with S. Holm and B. Hoffmann) a book entitled The Ethics of Research Biobanking, Springer Verlag. Likewise, in 2009, a research stay at the Brocher Foundation greatly facilitated the editing of Solbakk JH, Nortvedt P and Nome P
(Eds.), Contemporary Issues in Medical Ethics, Vol 1, UNIPUB, Oslo. A third project, also undertaken at the Brocher Foundation, DNA-testing, ethics and migration, is still work in progress."
Yeyang Su, BIONET Project
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2009:
" During the period of 8th June to 8th July 2009, I stayed at the Brocher Foundation, to continue my BIONET research on public engagement in genomic research in Switzerland and other European countries. The stay provides me with exceptional opportunities to deepen and widen the horizon of my research, and
to expand my professional network in and beyond the Foundation. The outcomes of my stay surpass my expectations, which had been mainly set on drafting research report for my BIONET project. In particular, my visits at the World Health Organization, the South Centre, and meetings with colleagues in and outside
Switzerland, shed innovative lights on my research, and impact my career in the long run."
Temple-Smith Meredith, University of East Anglia
Stayed at Brocher Foundation in 2019:
Brocher gave me time to think, the chance to exchange ideas, to learm from others, and to teach. Best of all, it gave me long, delicious hours of time to write.
Mary Walker, King's India Institute, King's College London
Stayed at the Brocher Foundation in 2019:
During my stay at Brocher, I was able to engage with researchers from other health-related ELSI disciplines over the course of months and in a much deeper way that is usually possible, allowing a kind of cross-disciplinary discussion I hadn't experienced before, but found incredibly valuable.