The professor of Neurology, Dra. Judy Illes, CM, has been named the UBC’s first Distinguished Fellow in Neuroethics in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of neuroethics.
A pioneer in her field, Dr. Illes, who is also a Distinguished University Researcher and Director of Neuroethics Canada, has made innovative contributions to the ethical, legal, social, and political challenges at the intersection of brain science and biomedical ethics.
Dr. Judy Illes
In this position, Dr. Illes will accelerate applied research, teaching and outreach initiatives in neuroethics aimed at improving the health outcomes of individuals and populations. The position was created at the UBC School of Medicine thanks to a gift from the North Family Foundation.
“I look forward to expanding our work that directly aligns ethics with the discovery, translation, and dissemination of neuroscience,” says Dr. Islands. “This includes involving the public in understanding the functioning of the central nervous system for brain and mental health, anticipating and providing ethically and culturally meaningful approaches to new methods for detecting disease and treatment in the health and commercial sector, and promoting “I am grateful to the North Family Foundation for their support of neuroethics.
As a UBC Distinguished Researcher in Neuroethics, Dr. Illes will work with colleagues at Neuroethics Canada to advance research into some of the most pressing neuroethical challenges facing society, from patents and intellectual property. Until the application of neurotechnology for epilepsy and opioid use disorders. spinal cord injury and more.
Neuroethics Canada currently has centers on the UBC Vancouver campus, the BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital run by Dr. Julie Robillard, and the University of Manitoba run by Dr. Patrick J. McDonald.
“I look forward to expanding our work that directly aligns ethics with the discovery, translation, and dissemination of neuroscience.” Judy Illes
Dra. Islands has a strong focus on justice and diversity in its work through indigenous health research. This follows the successful completion in 2015 of a multidisciplinary initiative with a remote First Nations community around a genetic mutation that causes early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease. More recently, with one of his graduate students, he has been working on exploring indigenous methods for studying the brain and mind. More recently, during the pandemic, he further exemplified this commitment through his research related to the brain health outcomes of vulnerable and marginalized populations affected by COVID-19.
Dr. Illes is a faculty member at the Djavad Mowafaghian Center for Brain Health and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and an associate professor at the UBC School of Population Health and the School of Journalism. Among her many leadership roles, she is Vice President of the Health Research Advisory Board of the Canadian Institutes of the Institute of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addiction, a member of the Ethics, Law and Humanities Committee of the American Academy of Neurology. director general of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and co-director of the Canadian Brain Research Strategy.