Welcome to the NIH Department of Bioethics

Featured Training

Multinational Capacity Building

We have several initiatives designed to build capacity in low- and middle-income countries, including:

• Mentored research program for early career bioethics scholars from low- and middle-income countries
• International workshops in health policy and research ethics for researchers, governmental officials, and IRB and Ethics Committee members
• International workshops to support a network of young scholars in bioethics from low- and middle-income countries
• Three month IRB training program that brings participants from resource poor settings to the NIH for training in ethics and IRB review
• Joint NIH-University of Bergen Ph.D. program for candidates from low- and middle-income countries. Please contact the Department or Reidar Lie for more information [disclaimer] about this program
• Of the fellowships that we offer, the two-year postdoctoral training program is open to both international and domestic participants. The post-baccalaureate training program is open only to domestic participants.
• Short-term appointments for visiting scholars and researchers from around the world

Fellowship Opportunities

The NIH Department of Bioethics welcomes applications for fully funded two-year postbaccalaureate and postdoctoral research fellowships. Fellows will:

• Be centrally involved in the daily activities and intellectual life of our interdisciplinary department.
• Participate in weekly bioethics seminars, case conferences, ethics consultations, IRB deliberations, and other educational opportunities at NIH.
• Study ethical issues related to biomedical research, clinical practice, genetics, biotechnology, public health, health policy, and other important issues in bioethics.
• Conduct mentored theoretical and empirical research. For a typical fellow, this research yields multiple first-authored publications in academic journals.

We do not require or expect bioethics experience and encourage anyone with a strong interest to apply.

Featured Projects

COVID-19: The duty to take reasonable precautions against infection
A new blog post in Journal of Medical Ethics by David Wendler & Tina Rulli
Read more [disclaimer]

A New Ethical Framework for Assessing the Unique Challenges of Fetal Therapy Trials
Saskia Hendriks, Christine Grady, David Wasserman, David Wendler, Diana Bianchi, & Benjamin Berkman
Read more [disclaimer]

Principles of Animal Research Ethics
Tom Beauchamp and David DeGrazia (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Read more [disclaimer]

Maximizing the Value of Human Biospecimens: Lessons from the Coronavirus and the Seattle Flu Study
David Wendler and Benjamin E. Berkman. AJMG (2020)
Read more [disclaimer]

COVID-19 and Parenting Study
The National Institutes of Health's Bioethics Department is conducting research to capture the experiences of frontline workers and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you would like to share your story, please go online [disclaimer] or scan the QR code in the ad to take a brief survey that will determine your eligibility for an in-depth interview. Please contact Skye Miner (skye.miner@nih.gov; 301-435-8724) with questions.

"The Moral Foundations of Parenthood"
Joseph Millum. (Oxford University Press, 2018)
Read more