Blog25th July 2024
Making Ethics Matter: A new perspective from my internship at the NCOB
Chisi Whyte
At the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB), the commitment to “embed ethics at the centre of decisions about biomedicine and health” is not just a statement – it’s a practice. During my internship at the NCOB, I have observed first hand how the principles of ethics extend beyond laboratory boundaries, influencing various aspects of life across both temporal and spatial scales.
When I began my internship in June, my understanding of ‘ethics’ was quite rigid. As a geographer who studied at the University of Oxford, my exposure to research ethics as an undergraduate often felt underwhelming. I feel as though I can speak for many of my peers when I say that the topic of research ethics, or the benefits that ethical approaches can bring, did not feature much in our lectures, leading it to seem distant and unimportant. However, my experience at the NCOB, especially working closely with the Executive team, has profoundly reshaped my perspective on ethics. Their insights and approaches have enriched my understanding, showing me the importance of considering ethical issues across different areas of research and practice and the ways in which researchers and those who make policy decisions can benefit from ethical analysis and advice.
I have learnt that ethical approaches to research not only promote diversity by integrating multiple perspectives, experiences, and opinions, but can also provide crucial protections that prevent harm and ensure best practices. Although familiar with some better-known instances of ethical controversy in research, like the Tuskegee experiments and the use of the HeLa cell line, I didn’t fully grasp their significance until they were framed in terms of potential harm. Learning about the repercussions of failing to adhere to ethical standards in research and particularly how this can perpetuate inequalities has deepened my understanding of the vital need to follow best practice in research and weigh up benefits versus harms.
The NCOB designed a rotational internship that allowed me to engage with multiple priority areas and workstreams introduced as part of its new five-year strategy, Making Ethics Matter. Through this, I was able to experience working on their ‘Environment and Health’ and ‘Mind and Brain’ priority areas, and their Horizon Scanning and Foresight workstream. This approach was an ideal introduction to bioethics, starting with a domain I was familiar with as a recent geography graduate. My first assignment involved working on a recently launched project focused on tackling the ethical challenges associated with addressing the impacts of climate change on health. This topic is relatively new to the NCOB, so this work provided me with an almost limitless exploration of various ethical considerations found within research and policy approaches to addressing climate change, the environment, and health during the initial stages of this work. During this phase, I had the privilege of participating in stakeholder meetings with scientists, ethicists, academics, and researchers.
Following this work, I focused on supporting the NCOB’s horizon scanning and foresight programme, a new area of interest for me. My tasks included summarising and critically evaluating futures tools that are currently available to policymakers and research for the NCOB’s annual horizon scanning longlist which feeds into the development of the annual infographic. This exploration and exposure not only broadened my understanding of ongoing scientific and medical developments but also enhanced my analytical skills.
In the final stage of my internship, I worked with the Mind and Brain workstream on their neural organoids project. Here, I learned about the challenges of constructing ethical frameworks and regulations that need to anticipate the potential societal implications of rapidly developing technologies.
I am immensely grateful for all that I have learned through my time at the NCOB. As a recent graduate, I occasionally fall into the mindset that my formal education is complete, especially regarding subjects I studied at university. However, my exposure to a wealth of new and specialist knowledge at the NCOB has changed my perspective. What was once a rigid view of ethics has evolved into a deep appreciation for it as a ‘protective layer’, one that the NCOB and similar organisations diligently develop. This ‘protective’ approach is not only vital in biomedicine health research but, I believe, should also influence how ethics is taught more broadly.
My internship at the NCOB not only highlighted the critical role of ethics in research but also helped me reconceptualise life post-university and my entry into the career market. I learnt that the possibilities open to me are far broader than I had ever realised. The stories shared by my colleagues at the NCOB have reassured me that it’s perfectly acceptable to navigate my career without a clear, predetermined path.
Looking ahead, I am eager to see the influence and impact of the NCOB’s future endeavours and am grateful for the opportunity to have contributed towards this work. As I continue to reflect on my experiences and the insights gained, I am filled with anticipation and optimism about the impact we can make in the field of bioethics.