The MBD is a master's degree of the University of Barcelona, which is taught in Spanish and remotely. It's part of the UNESCO Training Program in Bioethics (120 ECTS credits, two academic years); it provides comprehensive training, from an interdisciplinary approach, in bioethics and human rights in the fields of biomedicine, biotechnology and related technologies.
This event is free and open for anyone interested in attending or joining live; it will be held in a hybrid format: in-person and online (prior registration is required).
Date and time: Wednesday, September 21, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Spanish time, UTC+2)
Access the document "Guidelines for reviewing health research and innovation projects that use emergent technologies and personal data" (available in English, Spanish and Catalan)
Access the infographic of the document "Guidelines for reviewing health research and innovation projects that use emergent technologies and personal data" (also available in Spanish and Catalan)
Mar España's lecture/presentation [PDF] "AEPD: an effective commitment to health research"
Health resources of the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD)
The pre-registration period for the new edition of the Master in Bioethics and Law of the University of Barcelona (2022-2024) is open.
In addition, each year a series of face-to-face sessions of great value are organized and condensed into two weeks. These sessions take place at the Faculty of Law of the University of Barcelona between January and February and are of voluntary attendance.
This Master from the University of Barcelona is adapted to 120 ECTS credits (two academic years). The studies will allow you to obtain interdisciplinary training in the study of bioethical issues, forming a framework of reflection in respect for recognized human rights, and acquire solid training for the analysis and decision-making in situations of ethical conflict.
The new edition starts in October 2022 and the pre-registration period is now open. You can check all the required documentation at this link.
In the following two videos, you can hear the experiences and opinions of various students of the Master in Bioethics and Law: with very different professional backgrounds. They explain the importance of studying bioethics, the professional opportunities it offers, and some of the topics covered during the course, etc.
The XVI International Seminar of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics of the University of Barcelona will be held on February 10, 2022 under the name of "Emerging technologies and personal data protection in health".
The writer and journalist Marta Peirano, author of the book "El enemigo conoce el sistema: Manipulación de ideas, personas e influencias después de la economía de la atención" ("The enemy knows the system: Manipulation of ideas, people and influences after the attention economy"), will give the inaugural conference "Icontrol: la frontera de los datos médicos en el mundo post-covid" ("Icontrol: the frontier of health data in the post-covid world"): health data is the most protected data in the world. For this reason, large platforms fight to conquer this field through applications, DNA testing kits and agreements with administrations to assist in the health management of a world marked by the pandemic.
Next, a round table will be held with the participation of: Jesús Rubí Navarrete, representative of the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD); José Luis Molina, professor of Anthropology and president of the Ethics Committee on Animal and Human Experimentation (CEEAH) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona; Robert Rubió, head of the Office of the Data Protection Officer of the TIC Salut Social Foundation and associate professor at the University of Barcelona; and Itziar de Lecuona, associate professor of the Department of Medicine and director of the Bioethics and Law Observatory of the University of Barcelona.
The event will also feature a tribute to Ana Sánchez-Urrutia, who passed away last August, and who played a significant role in the creation of the Bioethics and Law Observatory and the start of the Master in Bioethics and Law of the University of Barcelona.
María Casado, Esther Mitjans, Mónica Navarro, Andrea Moreno and Víctor Méndez will participate in this tribute and, in addition, the creation of the Ana Sánchez-Urrutia Scholarship to study the Master in Bioethics and Law will be announced, which will be awarded starting at the next edition.
The seminar will be free, with prior registration.
Day and time: Thursday, 10th February, 2022, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Spanish time, UTC+1)
Place: hybrid format: in-person (limited capacity) in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Law of the University of Barcelona, and online
To connect virtually (live broadcast): form is closed
To attend in person: form is closed
The biomedical research project "NOVEL TREATMENT OF ACUTE ON CHRONIC LIVER FAILURE USING SYNERGISTIC ACTION OF G-CSF AND TAK-242" (A-TANGO), funded by the European Union programme Horizon 2020 and coordinated by EF Clif, has carried out the mandatory data protection impact assessment (DPIA) stipulated by the General Data Protection Regulation using the methodology and tool developed by an interdisciplinary team of the Observatory of Bioethics and Law (OBD), a research centre of the University of Barcelona, and the Office of the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the TIC Salut Foundation, Government of Catalonia, coordinated by the Dr. Itziar de Lecuona.
The tool, available in open access in three languages -Spanish, Catalan and English-, responds to the specific needs of the health care system to evaluate the processing of personal data in research and innovation processes.
The DPIA allows the exercise of proactive responsibility and an adequate risk assessment in the processing of personal data, as established by the applicable data protection regulations. The DPIA developed by the OBD and the TIC Salut Foundation helps the data controller and the agents involved in the decision-making process with automated suggestions and allows a detailed analysis of the life cycle of the personal data involved. Likewise, the tool includes specific sections to evaluate the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Finally, the tool incorporates mechanisms to collect the result of the advice and assessment of the corresponding Data Protection Officer. Teresa Miquel, lawyer and Data Protection Officer of EF Clif, provided assessment and reviewed the DPIA.
Both the methodology and the tool have been previously tested in the biomedical research projects DECISION and MICROB-PREDICT, funded by the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union and also coordinated by EF Clif, in which the OBD leads the work packages on ethical, health and socioeconomic aspects.
More information about the projects DECISION and MICROB-PREDICT, in which Dr. Itziar de Lecuona participates.
On May 11, 2021, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), together with Obra Social "La Caixa", is organizing the debate "Social, Ethical and Technical Challenges of Sex and Gender Bias in AI and Healthcare".
Dr. Itziar de Lecuona, director of the Bioethics and Law Observatory and professor at the Master in Bioethics and Law and at the Department of Medicine of the University of Barcelona, will participate in this event.
Date and time: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.
Place: broadcast in Spanish and English (simultaneous interpretation)
Watch the video of the debate: in English / in Spanish
Read and download the final report "Sex and gender bias in artificial intelligence and health": in English / in Spanish / in Catalan
The "Handbook of Secular Bioethics (I). Key issues" is now available in open access; a book by Dr. María Casado, founder of the Bioethics and Law Observatory, chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics at the University of Barcelona, and director of the Master in Bioethics and Law; and Dr. Manuel Jesús López Baroni, professor of Philosophy of Law at the Pablo de Olavide University and coordinator of the Master in Bioethics and Law of the University of Barcelona.
This handbook, published by Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona, is the result of many years dedicated to teaching and research; an accumulated experience that has made possible to collect and synthesize the key and essential questions that revolve around bioethics as a field of knowledge, always from a secular and interdisciplinary perspective: from its origins to the analysis of the ethical, legal and social consequences of biotechnology and biomedicine, developing the most relevant topics in this regard: sexual and reproductive health, voluntary interruption of pregnancy, assisted reproduction, euthanasia, organ transplantation, and the environment.
This book is aimed at anyone interested in bioethical issues, and can be a good tool as a basis for teaching in regulated academic studies, as it provides the necessary information and arguments for students on degree and post-graduate courses in this subject.
This publication is part of the Bioethics Collection of the University of Barcelona's Bioethics and Law Observatory, with the Quality Seal in Academic Edition (CEA-APQ). You can access the rest of books from the collection here.
It is available in Spanish and English.
In September 2021, the prestigious publishing house Springer has published the book "Axiological Pluralism. Jurisdiction, Law-Making and Pluralisms", coordinated by Lucia Busatta and Carlo Casonato from the Faculty of Law of the University of Trento, Italy, and part of the book series "Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice".
This book analyses the features and functionality of the relationship between the law, individual or collective values and medical-scientific evidence when they have to be interpreted by judges, courts and para-jurisdictional bodies. It carries out an in-depth review of the role of jurisdictions and the means available to them for properly handling new legal demands arising in plural societies. In addition, it presents an innovative roadmap for the proper legal interpretation of social and scientific progress.
Dr. Itziar de Lecuona, director of the Bioethics and Law Observatory and professor at the Master in Bioethics and Law and at the Department of Medicine of the University of Barcelona, has written one of the book's chapters: "Research Ethics Committees" (pages 57-72).
Dra. Lecuona focuses her analysis on research ethics committees in biomedicine: she examines their international legal framework in order to define them, identifies their functions and studies their possible instrumentalisation. To draw conclusions and make proposals, she also provides some practical information related to her experience as a member of two research ethics committees in Spain: the Bioethics Committee at the University of Barcelona and the Research Ethics Committee at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.
As part of the results of the research project NESTORE (Novel Empowering Solutions and Technologies for Older people to Retain Everyday life activities), funded by the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union and coordinated by the Politecnico di Milano, the prestigious publishing house Springer has published the book "Digital Health Technology for Better Aging. A multidisciplinary approach".
This publication provides an overview of technological and digital innovations to improve care and quality of life for aging populations.
Dr. Itziar de Lecuona, director of the Bioethics and Law Observatory and professor at the Master in Bioethics and Law and at the Department of Medicine of the University of Barcelona, has participated in the NESTORE project and has written one of the chapters of the book: "Ethical, Legal and Societal Issues of Research and Innovation in NESTORE"; in the section "Aspects of Ethics and Data Management in Healthy Ageing Digital Services", on pages 313-324.
Aging populations are one of the 21st century's biggest challenges. National health systems are forced to adapt in order to provide adequate and affordable care; to do so, they need to face the challenges imposed by demographic change, increasing care demand and personnel shortage in care.
This book, coordinated by Giuseppe Andreoni and Cinzia Mambretti, describes the multidisciplinary approach needed to tackle better aging. Innovation, driven by digital technology, is a key to improving quality of life and encouraging healthy living.
The Bioethics and Law Observatory (OBD) - UNESCO Chair in Bioethics at the University of Barcelona has signed an agreement with the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) with the aim of analyzing the ethical, legal and social implications regarding data protection in the use of artificial intelligence and big data in the field of health research and innovation.