Warning: Your browser doesn't support all of the features in this Web site. Please view our accessibility page for more details.

Quick Search [?]WHAT IS THIS?
Searches this and other areas of the Web site as you type. Results appear on this page.
Also searches the entire Web site (with results on a new page) if you press enter or click on 'Go'.

Centre Of Bioethical Research & Analysis (COBRA)

Welcome

Welcome to the Centre of Bioethical Research and Analysis (COBRA) web site. COBRA is Ireland’s first Bioethics Centre; established in 2001 as part of the Department of Philosophy in NUI Galway. COBRA endeavors to engage in bioethical scholarship of high calibre that welcomes interdisciplinary enquiry while retaining its philosophical rigour.

In addition to providing a reservoir of resources for professionals and scholars, we are committed to providing accessible and impartial information to anyone interested in contemporary bioethical issues and professional ethics, and offer a growing library of resources to the public.

We seek to enhance the University's value to the community by offering public talks, conferences and seminars on Bioethics. We are also dedicated to strengthening the University curriculum by forging links with a broad range of departments across faculties as diverse as Medicine, Arts, Science and Engineering. Staff at COBRA were instrumental in the introduction of professional ethics teaching for a broad range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. We also provide training sessions and workshops in bioethics to staff, students and professionals outside the university.

Currently, COBRA is actively involved in research, curriculum development, and the organisation of public events on bioethical issues. Our members continue to have an active role in the dissemination of awareness of ethical issues in the University and the wider community.

You can read more about us and our work in COBRA, in our Objectives section below. You can also use the navigation bar on the right to find the topic/information you are looking for.

COBRA's Main Objectives

Our main objectives fall into five broad categories:

Research
Curriculum Development
Ethics Resources
Research Ethics
Network Building

Research

COBRA is engaged in research on important issues in Bioethics and Professional Ethics, with special emphasis on ethical problems that are relevant to contemporary society. It has been successful in obtaining funding for several of these projects.

Some of COBRA's many research projects include:

Ethics committees and ethics review of children’s research in Ireland, commissioned by the Office of the Minister for Children
Ethical issues in stem cell research, with a particular focus on the Irish context, in cooperation with the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI)
Academic ethics and civic responsibility in higher education, with particular focus on the service learning pedagogy, in cooperation with the Community Knowledge Initiative (CKI) at NUI Galway
Disability: ethical issues and public policy
Health Care Ethics and Clinical Ethics

Curriculum Development

Curriculum development demands close cooperation and extensive consultation with members of the host faculties, departments and academic offices. COBRA has been instrumental in developing ethics curricula that draw on innovative teaching methods and encourage students to explore their professional responsibilities in a context that fosters their critical engagement. There is ongoing curriculum development in applied and professional ethics in the following subject areas:

Medical Ethics
Nursing Ethics
Midwifery Ethics
Business Ethics
Engineering Ethics for Biomedical & Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Ethics for Electronic & Computer Engineering
Research Ethics

For some information on Professional Ethics resources in some of the above areas, please go to our Resources and Links: Professional Ethics page.

Ethics Resources

Our goal is to disseminate ethical knowledge within the academic community and the broader community. Our development of ethics resources for the public includes both the collection of printed materials in our developing archive and of internet resources through the COBRA website.

We aim to represent both international and Irish perspectives on bioethical issues. COBRA strives to provide an accessible and impartial information point for anyone interested in contemporary bioethical issues and professional ethics. For an overview of our resources and links, click here.

Research Ethics

COBRA is committed to the dissemination of competence in professional and research ethics throughout the university. Richard Hull and Heike Schmidt-Felzmann are members of NUI Galway’s recently founded Research Ethics Committee. COBRA also provides training sessions and workshops in professional and research ethics in the university that are attended by staff and students.

Public Events

COBRA organises public events on bioethical issues with prominent international ethicists. These events are usually free of charge and open to the public. In addition to organising talks or seminars by visiting bioethicists, COBRA also organises an annual ethics symposium. At these symposia, international and Irish researchers, from philosophy and other relevant disciplines, gather for several days of intensive discussions.

Previous conferences included a symposium on “Genetics and Disability” (2004), “Practical Reasons and Moral Reasoning” (2005) and “Moral Theory and Health Care Practice” (2006). In 2007, COBRA hosted the first Irish Postgraduate Conference in Bioethics, "Ethical Issues at the Margins of Human Life". In 2008, COBRA hosted its 4th conference, on "Issues in Research Ethics". For details of the conference programmes, click here.

Network Building: Working towards a vibrant Irish Bioethics Community

Since its inception, COBRA has been an active participant in the Irish Bioethics community. Many Irish bioethicists attend the COBRA symposia that provide ample opportunity for discussion and networking. In addition to the facilitation of cooperation in bioethical research, COBRA also works towards fostering reflection on the teaching of Bioethics in the Irish context.

The creation of a growing and sustainable Bioethics community in Ireland relies on investing in the bioethicists of the future. COBRA is aware of its responsibilities to students in bioethics. It welcomes the inclusion of students in its activities and pays particular attention to the facilitation of links between established researchers and postgraduate students in bioethics within and outside the Irish context.

For information on Irish bioethics social networks and listservs (e-mail newsletter services), please go to our Networks & Blogs page.

Contact us:

If you have any queries relating to the work of COBRA, feel free to contact Richard Hull or Heike Schmidt-Felzmann. We hope that you will return to this site to keep up to date with current development in bioethics and with COBRA's activities and services!

Centre Of Bioethical Research & Analysis (COBRA)
This page was last updated Thursday, July 21, 2011