Reengineering Biomedical Translational Research with Engineering Ethics

Abstract

It is widely accepted that translational research practitioners need to acquire special skills and knowledge that will enable them to anticipate, analyze, and manage a range of ethical issues. While there is a small but growing literature that addresses the ethics of translational research, there is a dearth of scholarship regarding how this might apply to engineers. In this paper we examine engineers as key translators and argue that they are well positioned to ask transformative ethical questions. Asking engineers to both broaden and deepen their consideration of ethics in their work, however, requires a shift in the way ethics is often portrayed and perceived in science and engineering communities. Rather than interpreting ethics as a roadblock to the success of translational research, we suggest that engineers should be encouraged to ask questions about the socio-ethical dimensions of their work. This requires expanding the conceptual framework of engineering beyond its traditional focus on "how" and "what" questions to also include "why" and "who" questions to facilitate the gathering of normative, socially-situated information. Empowering engineers to ask "why" and "who" questions should spur the development of technologies and practices that contribute to improving health outcomes.

Advancing medical technology innovation and clinical translation via a model of industry-enabled technical and educational support: Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute’s Medical Technology Advance Program

“…For example, data sharing between clinical and industrial collaborators may raise privacy protection and ownership issues [3]. Some investigators have recognized the importance of specific ethics education for innovators and investigators in the translation of medical technologies [22,23]. MTAP sought integration with Indiana CTSI training in both translational research bioethics and engineering ethics, specifically focused on the design, development, and deployment stages of medical technologies.…”