Biomedical Ethics

Overview

The Biomedical Ethics Research Unit at Mayo Clinic assesses and addresses difficult questions about right and wrong in medicine and biomedical science. Its members conduct rigorous research, teach and engage in policy discussions about ethical questions.

As scientific discoveries are made and health care evolves, the values at stake in biomedical science and health care are contested and debated. The solutions to these debates are rarely straightforward and involve complex trade-offs for scientists, clinicians and health care organizations. How such questions are answered strikes at the heart of what it means to conduct biomedical science and deliver health care with human decency and fairness.

Established in 2005, the Biomedical Ethics Research Unit has developed an infrastructure to address ethical, social and policy issues in:

• Emerging scientific fields, such as genomics and stem cell research
• New developments in clinical care, such as new medical devices and procedures, and individualized medicine
• Translational research areas, including community engagement activities

The unit welcomes collaborations with investigators, both inside and outside of Mayo Clinic, who would like to study the ethical implications of their research.