Rachel Ankeny
  1. Current research activities

    2. I have ongoing research projects focused on philosophical and ethical issues associated with the development and use of tissue engineering, particularly stem cell technologies and transplantation medicine (cadaveric, live, xenografts, and artificial organs), in their sociohistorical contexts. I use research techniques from several disciplines (e.g., history, philosophy, and sociology) to provide analysis of the contexts within which medical and scientific research has developed in these areas. I have examined local and wider decisionmaking processes with regard to patient/subject access and use of emerging technologies, including perceptions of risk and benefit. In addition, my research examines the public understanding of these technologies and how the public together with scientific experts and other stakeholders contribute to policy debate and development in Australia as well as in major research centres abroad.

  2. Keywords

    3. Bioethics; philosophy of biomedical sciences; history of biomedical sciences; policy development; patient decisionmaking.

  3. End-user applications

    • Education of policymakers and the general public about the ethical/social implications of tissue engineering and related research
    • Information and education for ethics committees on relevant scientific, sociohistorical, and ethics issues associated with tissue engineering research
    • Broader perspectives on tissue engineering for scientists/clinicians particularly concerned with social/ethical impacts of their research and practice

  4. Key publications

    5. I. “No Real Categories, Only Chimaeras and Illusions: The Interplay between Morality and Science in Debates over Embryonic Chimaeras,” American Journal of Bioethics 3(3): 31-33, 2003
    II. “The Moral Status of Preferences for Directed Donation: Who Should Decide Who Gets Transplantable Organs?” Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 10: 387-398, 2001
    III. “Multiple Listing: Autonomy Unbounded or a Reasonable Solution in Light of Organ Scarcity?” Cambridge Quarterly Journal of Healthcare Ethics 8(3): 330-339, 1999
    IV. Jan Manzetti, Rachel Ankeny, and David Miller, “Psychosocial and Ethical Issues in Surgical Approaches to End-Stage Lung Disease,” Clinics in Chest Medicine 18(2): 383-390, 1997
    V. Rachel Ankeny Majeske, “Transforming Objectivity to Promote Equity in Transplant Candidate Selection,” Theoretical Medicine 17(1): 45-59, 1996

  5. Outreach activities

    6. I have given public talks to community audiences through the Centre for Continuing Education and the Sydney Science Forum at the University of Sydney; and the Science Teachers’ Forum on Genetics (related to HSC syllabus teaching), as well as at meetings of professional organisations and industrial and university-based research groups (in Australia, Italy, and the United States) as well as media interviews to promote broader awareness and understanding of bioethical and social issues associated with tissue engineering and related technologies.

  6. Key organisation membership

    7. None as yet

  7. Early career researcher?

    8. No.

  8. Young investigator?

    9. Yes .

  9. Skills and expertise

    • Bioethics
    • History/Philosophy of Biomedical Sciences, 20th c.
    • Social/Political Analysis of Technology
    • Clinical Ethics experience
    • Public Understanding of the Biomedical Sciences
    • Public Education/Communication of Science

  10. Specialist equipment and infrastructure

    • Director of a Unit for History and Philosophy of Science which
      has particular strengths in the history, philosophy, and sociology
      of the recent biomedical sciences (in the Faculty of Science at the
      University of Sydney)
    • Access to expertise in qualitative research methods including
      interviewing, archival research, and policy/research document
      analysis

© 2004

back