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Date: 1 Nov 2022 (Tuesday)
Time: 11am - 12pm Format: Zoom Webinar (registration is required) Hosted by: Tamra Lysaght, National University of Singapore |
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Speaker's information
Rachel ANKENY University of Adelaide, Australia "Testing Commons-Based Models for the Future of Research and Therapeutics in Australian Stem Cell Research" |
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ABSTRACT
Practices associated with stem cell research and therapeutics in Australia are at a crossroads: there is increasing urgency for crafting replicable, open, and trustworthy science and fostering responsible innovation practices in the stem cell domain. This will require researchers and clinicians to be aware of the need to be accountable and actively engage with stakeholders. However, many issues in the field are hotly contested, with considerable conflict amongst researchers and practitioners, leaving regulators, funders, publics, and other stakeholders frustrated and unclear about how to find accurate and reliable information, and how to contribute to shaping the future of this field for the benefit of all Australians. We have an opportunity to provide robust guidance based on stakeholder identification of the main factors that must be addressed to build trust in and to support potential acceptance and uptake of stem cell research and therapies, and how to establish equitable distribution methods for publicly funded stem cell lines and processes for setting priorities. In this paper, we introduce a model for transparency and trust in medical research/therapeutics known as a ‘commons.’ We discuss our ongoing project to use interdisciplinary methods including conceptual and empirical research to explore the shared values, goals, and priorities of diverse stakeholders (including researchers and other experts, industry, patients, regulators, and publics) that might be supported with a commons-type model (which has been used for medical information, particularly for genomics, but not in this type of domain) and assess the prospects for such a model in the Australian context.
BIO
Rachel A. Ankeny is Professor of History and Philosophy at the University of Adelaide, and team leader of the NHMRC MRFF project “Enabling Openness in Australian Stem Cell Research” (see https://www.eoar.com.au/). Rachel’s research covers several fields including bioethics, history and philosophy of biomedical and biological sciences, food studies, and science/medical policy. Her work in bioethics has been particularly focused on deliberative approaches particularly in contested domains and in association with new technologies.
Practices associated with stem cell research and therapeutics in Australia are at a crossroads: there is increasing urgency for crafting replicable, open, and trustworthy science and fostering responsible innovation practices in the stem cell domain. This will require researchers and clinicians to be aware of the need to be accountable and actively engage with stakeholders. However, many issues in the field are hotly contested, with considerable conflict amongst researchers and practitioners, leaving regulators, funders, publics, and other stakeholders frustrated and unclear about how to find accurate and reliable information, and how to contribute to shaping the future of this field for the benefit of all Australians. We have an opportunity to provide robust guidance based on stakeholder identification of the main factors that must be addressed to build trust in and to support potential acceptance and uptake of stem cell research and therapies, and how to establish equitable distribution methods for publicly funded stem cell lines and processes for setting priorities. In this paper, we introduce a model for transparency and trust in medical research/therapeutics known as a ‘commons.’ We discuss our ongoing project to use interdisciplinary methods including conceptual and empirical research to explore the shared values, goals, and priorities of diverse stakeholders (including researchers and other experts, industry, patients, regulators, and publics) that might be supported with a commons-type model (which has been used for medical information, particularly for genomics, but not in this type of domain) and assess the prospects for such a model in the Australian context.
BIO
Rachel A. Ankeny is Professor of History and Philosophy at the University of Adelaide, and team leader of the NHMRC MRFF project “Enabling Openness in Australian Stem Cell Research” (see https://www.eoar.com.au/). Rachel’s research covers several fields including bioethics, history and philosophy of biomedical and biological sciences, food studies, and science/medical policy. Her work in bioethics has been particularly focused on deliberative approaches particularly in contested domains and in association with new technologies.