CCBIO903 – Course in cancer research: ethical, economical and social aspects

Dear all

A kind reminder to all PhD candidates, other students and their supervisors of the deadline February 1 in StudentWeb for the unique and important 5 ECTS course CCBIO903 – Cancer research: Ethical, economic and social aspects, that takes place in Bergen April 8-12 + June 3-6, 2024.

This course focuses on ethical, economical, and societal aspects of cancer and cancer research and aims to equip cancer researchers with tools for reflecting on the limits, challenges, and opportunities of their own research, as well as provide an understanding of the outside-the-lab context, with discussions on the broader ethical, social, economic and political implications of their research.  Such knowledge is not only important on a personal level as a researcher, but also in funding proposals to be able to clarify any ethical issues related to the implementation of projects and be better equipped to provide an explanation of how such issues will be dealt with.

This course gives the opportunity to PhD candidates within cancer research to discuss uncertainties and dilemmas, and to anchor their research in its broader context. The course will focus on difficult questions such as:

  • What is considered as a ‘good biomarker’, and according to who?
  • How can we navigate risks, uncertainties and even ignorance, in processes of research design and clinical decision-making processes?
  • In an era of big data, what are the promises and limits of using real-world data in Health Technology Assessments?
  • How can we enrich the discussions of cancer as a biologically measured disease, with cancer as an illness, an experience owned by the patient?
  • And finally, what does it do to our practices of producing knowledge, caring for patients, and prioritizing cancer, to be guided by a vision of precision oncology?

Course code/name: CCBIO903, Cancer Research – Ethical, Economic and Social Aspects
Dates: Course week 1: April 8-12, 2024, and course week 2: June 3-6, 2024.
Place (on-site participation only, no streaming): campus Haukeland University Hospital
Responsible: Roger Strand and Anne Blanchard are academic responsible for the course. Jiyeon Kang will be bringing in the perspectives from health economics.
ECTS/who: The course provides 5 ECTS and is open to PhD candidates at the University of Bergen and elsewhere, also in the other Nordic countries. Students at the Medical Student Research Programme at the UiB are also welcome.
More info: on this page

Kind regards
Eli Synnøve Vidhammer