Center for Clinical Bioethics

Bjorn Hofmann

Section: Visiting Scholar Program

Bjørn Hofmann, PhD, visiting scholar October 1-26, 2007, is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor, Section for Medical Ethics at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Research Topic:  What is Biological Material, and How Can We Regulate It?

Primary Objective: to critically assess the traditional regulatory approach to research biobanking and develop alternative ways of conceiving of and regulating research biobank.

Secondary (specific) Objectives:
1) Compare regulations and public debates on biobanking in selected jurisdictions;
2) Analyze the extent to which individual informed consent procedures can be employed to "solve" problems surrounding the entry of materials into biobanks;
3) Explore a range of analogous social institutions where people transfer something to a common institution, and draw out possible implications for biobanking;
4) Assess the validity of employing collective information and consent-procedures in relation to biobanking;
5) Analyze the issue of valid consent procedures in relation to future research projects.

At Georgetown I would very much like to work on a critical assessment of autonomy theories on basis of the challenges identified with regards to informed consent in biobanking.