This years Applied Ethics Day/Honors Program Nath Lecture at West VirginiaUniversity will feature a provocative discussion on the timely issues of stem cell research, germ-line genetic engineering, and the ethics of making interspecies hybrids. Visiting professor Jason Scott Robert, Ph.D., will present”Creatures Great and Weird: Octo-Parrots, Glowing Monkeys, and Superhumans,”at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, in Room G-15 of the new Life Sciences Building. This lecture, which will include several slides and video clips, is free and the public is welcome.
According to WVU Professor of Philosophy and bioethicist Dr. Mark Wicclair,”This event offers students, faculty, staff and Morgantown residents a rare opportunity to transcend �€~sound bitesand hear in person a recognized expert examine timely and controversial ethical issues associated with genetics, such as stem cell research and germ-line genetic engineering.”
Robert, assistant professor of philosophy at DalhousieUniversity (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), is the recipient of a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. His research areas include philosophy of biology as well as the ethical implications of biology and bio-medicine.
His current work is on conceptual foundations of evolutionary developmental biology; concepts and methodologies in behavioral genetics; genomics and population health; novel genetic technologies; and post-genomic bioethics. His campus visit is sponsored by the WVU Department of Philosophy, the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the Honors Program.
Earlier in the day, a faculty colloquium, entitled”From Diagnosis to Design: Ethical Aspects of Reproductive Technologies,”will examine ethical issues associated with prenatal diagnostic technologies and preimplantation genetic diagnosis and manipulation (coupled, generally, with IVF ). The colloquium will be in room 121 Woodburn Hall from 4:30-6 p.m. Graduate students with interests in the area of the faculty colloquium are also welcome to attend.
To view Jason Scott Roberts web site, go tohttp://www.dal.ca/~jsrobert/. For further information on the public presentation or the faculty colloquium, please call Dr. Richard Montgomery, philosophy department chair at 293-3641, ext. 301.