The papers from the 2000 symposium of the Royal Society of Canada explore the crucial relationship between science and ethics. In the six papers, presented by scholars and practitioners in fields as varied as psychiatry, law, philosophy, and ethics, the contributors address the central place of ethics in scientific policy, research, and practice.

Historic decisions like the place of the 1947 Nuremberg Code, adopted by the International War Crimes Tribunal to establish the foundational ethical principals of research involving human subjects; contemporary policy concerning, and institutional responsibility for, the protection of human subjects; science, technology, and copyright laws in Canada; xenotransplantation (the process of grafting living cells, tissues, and organs from animals to human beings); the privatization of biomedical research; and the relationship between ethics, policies, and research experts: these are the topics under discussion in this timely collection of papers.

A professor in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta, Patricia Demers is the author or editor of eleven books and over fifty articles. Her research interests range widelyâ??from early modern womenâ??s writing, Shakespearean and Jacobean drama, feminist hermeneutics, and childrenâ??s literature to contemporary Canadian womenâ??s writing. She is the recipient of a Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and a McCalla Research Professorship. In September 2005 she was awarded the University Cup, the University of Albertaâ??s highest recognition for outstanding teaching and research. In 2006, she was appointed University Professor.

Patricia Demers' profile page