A global, inclusive take on bioethics
The Atlas Bioethics Center is a research and education center that promotes and engages in rigorous interdisciplinary work in bioethics, from its theoretical foundations and conceptual clarifications to its practical applications and policy implications. We adopt a global, inclusive perspective on ethics focusing on normative and epistemic challenges in human, animal, and environmental health.
Atlas focuses on five main areas of research: biomedical ethics, environment and animal ethics, justice and inclusion, science and technology, and methods in bioethics.
Mission
The Atlas Bioethics Center is a non-profit network that aims to facilitate and encourage interdisciplinary bioethical inquiry and collaboration between scholars of the “North” and the “South” in different continents. It is an international hub where scholars in the broad yet related fields of biomedical, environmental, and animal ethics can meet and exchange. Its main activities include organising workshops, conferences, training programs, and writing retreats. It also favours knowledge transfer and interactions between academic scholars and lay people, public and private organisations.
The Center’s work focuses on five main areas of research: biomedical ethics, environmental and animal ethics, justice and inclusion, science and technology, and methods in bioethics. Bioethics is understood as an interdisciplinary field of reflection and action on the ethical and epistemic dimensions of life sciences, including the normative aspects related to global health promotion –at both the individual and the population level–, equity, and our relation to other species and the environment.
The Atlas Center is strategically based in Andalusia, on the border between the European and African continents, to bring international attention to one of the world’s regions confronting sociocultural, economic, and political impact due to global changes in environment, climate, economy, and other areas that affect health.
People
Mayli Mertens
Founding Director
Mayli is Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the Philosophy Department of the University of Antwerp. She investigates how sense-making, through human and artificial cognition, impacts the physical world. Her main scientific interest is in epistemology and global bioethics. She teaches on bias, critical thinking, and technological innovation.
Maria Cristina Murano
Co-founder
Cristina is Senior Researcher at Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research in Madrid and Associate Researcher at the Science, Philosophy and History Research Unit (CNRS-Université Paris Cité). Her research interests include biomedical ethics, philosophy and epistemology of medicine, critical studies on childhood, disability, and policy.
David Rodríguez Arias
Director
David is Associate Professor of Ethics and Vice-Director of FiloLab-UGR at the Department of Philosophy I of the University of Granada where he teaches Ethics and Bioethics. His main research interests are public health ethics and clinical ethics, with a focus on death determination, end-of-life, and organ transplantation.
Maribel Tamayo Velazquez
Andalusian School of Public Health
Maribel holds a degree in Psychology and a Ph.D. from the University of Granada. Since 2005 she works at the Andalusian School of Public Health where she coordinates the support project for the Bioethics Strategy of the Andalusian Public Healthcare System and conducts research, consulting, and teaching activities on bioethics.
Ivar Rodríguez Hannikainen
University of Granada
Ivar is Ramón y Cajal Fellow at the Department of Philosophy I of University of Granada, where he teaches ethics and experimental philosophy. His primary interests are in moral philosophy and applied ethics. Ivar uses empirical and experimental methods to understand how we reason about moral conflict, especially in medical and legal contexts.
Inmaculada Fernández Agis
University of Almeria
Inmaculada is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Sexology Studies Unit of CiBiS Research Center at the University of Almeria. Her research interests combine sexology and neurophysiology, with a special focus in validation of assessment instruments, neuropsychophysiology of sexology, and positive sex perspectives studies.
Benjamin Herreros Ruiz Valdepeñas
Inst. of Clinical Ethics Francisco Vallés
Benjamín Herreros is director of the Institute of Clinical Ethics Francisco Vallés in Madrid and Director of the Master’s Degree in Clinical Bioethics of the Menéndez Pelayo International University. Physician specialised in Internal Medicine and in Legal and Forensic Medicine, he also has a degree in Philosophy.
Research Tracks
The Center’s members collaborate under different research tracks. Due to the interdisciplinary character of the research there is overlap across the different tracks. The five overarching themes are: biomedical ethics, environmental and animal ethics, justice and inclusion, science and technology, and methods in bioethics.
Clinical Ethics
led by David Rodríguez Arias
Clinical ethics involves discussions on morally challenging topics emerging from the interaction between health professionals and patients. It covers a range of topics that have been mainstream in bioethical debates, including reproductive ethics, end-of-life issues, neuroethics, informed consent and confidentiality, genomic medicine, organ transplantation, and resource allocation. The scope of clinical ethics is being transformed as a result of the involvement of data-based clinical practice, the utilization of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare.
Overarching themes: Biomedical Ethics, Justice and Inclusion, Methods in Bioethics
Environmental Ethics
led by Patricia Benavides Reyes
Human health is dependent on environmental health and, to the extent that humans eat other animals, on animal health too. Yet, with Earth’s ecosystems and climate collapsing, the future of humans and others species on this planet is increasingly uncertain. In this track, we are encouraged to rebuild ethics that reconcile our relationship with the environment, nonhuman beings, and each other. We take on complex philosophical challenges while acknowledging and upholding the many environmental struggles and grassroots organisations.
Overarching themes: Environment and Animal Ethics, Justice and Inclusion, Science and Technology
Epistemologies & Vulnerabilities
led by Maria Cristina Murano
Bioethics is often criticized for adopting dominant frameworks and treating them as universal. Most commonly criticized are its Western-oriented and biomedical stances. This track explores and discusses alternative epistemologies drawing upon critical studies in the humanities and social sciences. It focuses on people commonly defined as vulnerable, e.g. children, elderly people, people with disability, and racialized minorities. It also engages with philosophical discussions on fundamental concepts such as subjectivity, autonomy, and agency.
Overarching themes: Inclusion and Justice, Environmental and Animal Ethics, Biomedical Ethics
Ethics of Risk & Technology
led by Mayli Mertens
Technological advancement has given humanity great strength. Cliché as it may be, we should heed the phrase with great power comes great responsibility. Ought implies can, but the opposite…not so much. Due to uncertainty, each technological development’s first issue is whether or not to employ it. If the answer is yes, other questions quickly follow: for what, when, and how? Researchers collaborating in this track use their expertise to answer these questions.
Overarching themes: Science and Technology, Inclusion and Justice, Biomedical Ethics, Environmental and Animal Ethics
Biomedical Research Ethics
led by Katherine Bassil
Research activities must respect human subjects, their personal data, and biological samples, as well as the welfare of non-human animals and the environment. Throughout history, mistakes and misconduct in the planning, conducting, and reporting of research showed the gravity of misguided research. With science advancing as quickly as it does, the guidelines, principles, and laws that govern research activities require continuous review, balancing, and adjustment.
Overarching themes: Inclusion and Justice, Biomedical Ethics, Environmental and Animal Ethics, Methods in Bioethics
Sex & Reproductive Health Ethics
led by Jenna Marie Strizzi
“Everything in human life is really about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.” Sex and adjacent constructs are frequently at the forefront of public discourse, often in the context of inequalities and/or with important ethical implications. This broad track aims to be a space for interdisciplinary inquiry in ethics and: sex, gender, sexuality, sexology, sexual/human rights, sexual and reproductive health, feminism, and related areas. There is a special interest in underexplored topics.
Overarching themes: Inclusion and Justice, Biomedical Ethics, Science and Technology
Get in Touch
The Atlas Center
Calle Rodaballo 5
04118 San Jose-Nijar
SPAIN
+34 603-278-496
Atlas Bioethics Center 