New Council members

14 December 2007

The Council is delighted to announce that Professor Jonathan Wolff and Dr Amanda Burls have been appointed to the Council.

Professor Jonathan Wolff

Jonathan Wolff is Head of the Department of Philosophy at University College London. His research interests include political philosophy, Marx and ethics. He was a member of the Council’s Working Party on the ethics of animal research.

Dr Amanda Burls

New Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics

14 December 2007

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is delighted to announce the appointment of Albert Weale, Professor of Government at the University of Essex, as Chair of the Council, from 1 January 2008. He will hold the post for five years.

Public health: ethical issues report launch

26 November 2007

The Council launched its report Public health: ethical issues at a public seminar held in Westminster, London on 13th November 2007. Find out more about this report.

Around 200 people attended, including policy makers, academics, students and others interested in the topic. Working Party members presented the findings of the report and took questions from the audience.

Professor Peter Lipton

26 November 2007

It is with great sadness that we announce that Professor Peter Lipton died suddenly on 25th November.

Peter was a popular, dedicated and highly respected member of Council, whose articulate and lively contributions to our debates will be sorely missed.

He chaired the Council’s Working Party on pharmacogenetics from 2002-2003, before becoming a full member of Council at the end of 2003.

The forensic use of bioinformation: ethical issues report launch

19 November 2007

The Council launched its report The forensic use of bioinformation: ethical issues at a public seminar held in London on 18 September 2007. Find out more about this report.

Government and industry not doing enough for our health

Press Release

13 November 2007

The Government and industry are not doing enough to help people live healthy lives, says the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in a report on public health ethics published today. The report, which highlights the importance of reducing health inequalities, looks specifically at alcohol, obesity, smoking, infectious disease and fluoridation of water.

DNA of innocent people should not be kept by police

Press Release

18 September 2007

DNA profiling is an increasingly valuable tool for detecting and prosecuting offenders, but more safeguards are needed to protect the liberty and privacy of the innocent, according to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

One of the safeguards recommended by the Council is that the police should only be allowed to keep the DNA of people who are convicted of a crime. Currently, the police can permanently store DNA taken from people who have been arrested even if they are later found to be innocent.

New Director

7 February 2007

The Council is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Director, Mr Hugh Whittall, who joined the Secretariat on 1 February 2007.

New Council members appointed

25 January 2007

We are pleased to announce that five new members have been appointed to the Council:

Professor Sian Harding
Professor of Cardiac Pharmacology at the National Heart And Lung Institute, a Division of the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London. Member of the Central Ethical Review Committee for Animal Studies and a Designated Person for administration of the Human Tissue Act. Scientific interests include gene and cell therapy for heart disease.