Our Coordinators
Heidi Mertes (Faculty of Arts and Philosophy)
Tom Goffin (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)
Griet Verhenneman (Faculty of Law and Criminology)
Griet Verhenneman
Griet Verhennema is an Assistant Professor in Privacy Law at Ghent University. She is a member of METAMEDICA and a member of PIXLES (Privacy, Information Exchange, Law Enforcement & Surveillance).
Looking for more information? Visit Griet’s research profile.
Tom Goffin
Tom Goffin is an associate professor in Health Law at Ghent University and one of the founding members of the interfaculty and interdisciplinary research platform METAMEDICA of Ghent University and vice-president of the interdisciplinary research platform Quality & Safety Ghent of Ghent University.
He has obtained a master in law and a doctor in law (medical law) from the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), where he started his profession experience as a research assistant in the Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law of the Faculty of Medicine (2006-2012). From 2012 until 2018 he worked for the legal service of the National Council of the Belgian Order of Physicians. Since August 2014 until he started at Ghent University in January 2019, he was project manager for the reform of the health professions regulation in Belgium. He is expert on health law of the Belgian Superior Health Council and member of the Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics. Tom is president of the Belgian Federal Commission on Patient Rights, managing editor of the European Journal of Health Law and associate editor of the international encyclopeadia on medical law.
Looking for more information? Visit Tom’s research profile and publications.
Heidi Mertes
Heidi Mertes is an associate professor in Medical Ethics at Ghent University and one of the founding members of both the METAMEDICA consortium and of the Bioethics Institute Ghent.
Her academic research focusses on the ethical implications of innovations in healthcare, with a particular focus on reproductive medicine, genetics, embryonic stem cell research and more specifically ethical challenges at the intersection of these different domains. She has, for example, published articles on the ethical issues related to so-called social egg freezing, embryo research, stem cell derived gametes, genetic parenthood, genome editing, genetic screening of embryos, etc. She is currently the principle investigator of the ERC-funded project DIME, focusing on the impact of disruptive innovation in healthcare on medical ethics and on shifting responsibilities in healthcare.
She is also a member of the Belgian Federal Commission for Medical and Scientific Research on Embryos in vitro and the current coordinator of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology’s special interest group Ethics and Law. Her societal outreach is most tangible in her role as the president of De Maakbare Mens vzw, a non-profit socio-cultural organization that stimulates critical reflection about the individual and societal impact of new medical technologies.
Heidi teaches courses at Ghent University in bioethics, medical ethics, moral philosophy and global health ethics.
Looking for more information? Visit Heidi’s research profile and publications.
Meet the postdoctoral researchers affiliated with METAMEDICA
Seppe Segers
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University (Belgium) and secretary of the Bioethics Institute Ghent (BIG). I currently work on the ‘DIME’ ERC project led by Heidi Mertes, focusing on the impact of disruptive innovation in healthcare on medical ethics.
In 2019 I obtained my PhD in Philosophy with a doctoral thesis on the ethics of stem cell derived gametes. My other research interests include the ethics of reproductive medicine, the ethics of fetal medicine and ethical issues related to genetic parenthood. I teach courses in bioethics and engineering ethics.
A link to my research profile and bibliography.
Kyle McKibbin
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Law and Criminology with expertise in privacy law and health law. I am a U.S. citizen originally from Philadelphia. I received my B.A. in Government and Politics from University of Maryland in 2016. After graduating I worked in the legislative office of a state representative. I received my J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2021. From 2020-2021 I also worked as a research assistant at the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. My current research is focused on the ethical and legal implications of the use of smartphone crowdsourced data for medical research.
A link to my research profile and bibliography.
Michiel De Proost
I am a postdoctoral researcher and teach courses in empirical ethics at the Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University (Belgium) and am a member of the Bioethics Institute Ghent (BIG) and of Sophia, the Belgian Gender Studies Network.
In 2022 I obtained a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Moral Sciences at the Free University Brussels with a thesis on ‘social’ egg freezing, women’s emancipation, and reproductive autonomy. I am currently working on the DIME project, developing normative arguments regarding which principles or theories in medical ethics ought to be reinforced or replaced in the face of disruptive innovations to better cope with the societal challenges ahead.
Meet the PhD students affiliated with METAMEDICA
Sofia Palmieri
My name is Sofia Palmieri, and I joined Metamedica Platform in October 2020 as a Ph.D. student in Health Law.
During my years at the University of Bologna, my interest in the law was refined and became a real passion. Not really for traditional subjects, but for those areas of law that are still struggling to be recognized. I am passionate about that side of the law that makes people discuss at dinner time, which triggers sensibility strings. That`s why I decided to start my PhD in Health Law, hoping to immerse myself in the more thorny issues poised between ethics, medicine and law.
In particular, I will deal Medical AI legal and ethical issues under the supervision of Prof. Tom Goffin, the first to give me the warmest welcome to the University of Ghent.
The road is a long one and I`ve just started, but I hope that no one will be able to extinguish my desire to know, debate and fall in love with what I do.
Jasper Debrabander
After obtaining a bachelor degree in medicine, I studied philosophy. Both as an undergraduate and graduate student I focused on philosophy of science. Especially contemporary discussions in the pragmatic philosophy of science on explanation and understanding proved to be fascinating. A supplementary research master in philosophy was used to explore different, but related areas such as (feminist) science studies. Not knowing, from a methodological point of view, how to pursue philosophy, I postponed my plans to make a PhD and worked a year as the coordinator of the cancer registry at a local hospital. Thereafter, I joined the metamedica platform as a PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Heidi Mertes.
My PhD focusses on questions at the intersection of philosophy of science and ethics. I study clinical decision support systems that make therapy recommendations in oncological care and their relation to autonomy and responsibility, thereby closely intertwining questions about knowledge production with normative concerns.
Paulien Walraet
During my law studies at UGent, I developed a special interest in health law. I decided to follow an additional postgraduate course in Medical Law and Medical Ethics at UAntwerpen, as well as a Master in Management and Policy in Healthcare at UGent. After this, I worked for two years as a legal advisor at the Health, Innovation & Research Institute at Ghent University Hospital. Since the beginning of 2021, I have been working as a PhD student under the supervision of prof. dr. Tom Goffin on a number of interesting projects on current medico-legal topics. Very grateful for this opportunity and very excited about the upcoming years.
Chloé Mayeur
Graduated with a Master’s degree in Bioethics at the ULB, I started working as a bioethicist at the Cancer Center of Sciensano, the scientific institute of public health in Belgium. Based on my two years and a half of experience in public engagement surrounding the ethical, legal, and societal issues in genomics (e.g. citizen forum, online debate), I decided to start a PhD at UGhent under the supervision of Heidi Mertes. Through a critical approach of public engagement initiatives and focusing on citizens’ values identified in those initiatives, my goal is to understand and demonstrate the input of public engagement in bioethics and why citizens should be considered as fundamental stakeholders in this field, both by experts and policymakers.
Maria Christofidou
I am currently an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) based at the European Institute for Innovation Through Health Data (i-HD) working on data protection and information governance. Simultaneously I am one of the successful applicants and a current ESR under HELICAL, a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network, and I am currently undertaking a PhD at the Ghent University focusing on the interconnections between GDPR and health data research. Prior to this, I had graduated from the University of Kent with a LLB in Law (2012-2015), followed on to study at the University of Edinburgh where I graduated with an LLM in European Law (2015-2016) and then successfully passed the LPC at the University of Law (2016-2017). I went on to work in an international law firm in London on Intellectual Property law (2017-2019), become a stagiaire at the Legal Service of the European Commission dealing with Competition Law (2109) and then joined a consultancy where I worked on EU public affairs relating to healthcare and life sciences (2019-2020).
Brandon Ferlito
Brandon Ferlito received his MSc(Med) in Bioethics and Health Law from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. In his dissertation, he conducted a bioethical analysis of dual loyalty and human rights in South Africa. Brandon has published several feature articles and a number of peer-reviewed articles on medical ethics, health law, and health policy. His research interests include applied ethics in the areas of private and public life, the professions, health, technology, and law. He also has research interests in applied animal ethics, public health, and health policy. Brandon previously worked as a bioethicist for the South African Medical Association (SAMA) and is currently a reviewer for the South African Journal of Bioethics and Law. He joined the METAMEDICA platform as a PhD student in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Heidi Mertes. His PhD will focus on critically analysing the shifting moral responsibilities in healthcare as a consequence of disruptive innovations, with particular emphasis on responsibilities shifting from healthcare providers to data collectors.
Jesse Gray
Jesse is currently working on the ‘DIME’ ERC project led by Heidi Mertes. He will be focused on the shifting responsibilities among the health care team and other actors, as the practices and norms of traditional medicine are being altered by mobile health technologies. In 2020, Jesse completed his MA in philosophy at Colorado State University. In addition to the DIME project, Jesse is completing an MSt in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford. These projects allow him to explore his research passions, which lie at the intersection of philosophy, biology and technology. They further allow him to engage with policymakers, professional bodies, and other interested parties who aim to improve the health care experience.
Outside the current project, Jesse has published on human enhancement, genetic engineering, and the relationship between authenticity and nuerointerventions. He has a special interest in how these biotechnologies affect the moral status of human beings, and the interests of nonhuman animals subject to these technological interventions.
Patricia Cervera de la Cruz
I am a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Law and Criminology. I hold a Bachelors in Philosophy and Psychology from Durham University and an LLM in Medical Law and Ethics from The University of Edinburgh. After my Masters, I worked at KU Leuven as an associate researcher developing a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) about Research Ethics. At UGhent, I will be working as a PhD student under the supervision of Mahsa Shabani. My research will focus on the secondary uses of health data for research purposes. I will look into the emerging legal frameworks that aim to change data sharing rules in the EU and, consequently, affect data protection rights for its citizens
Magdalena Kogut-Czarkowska
I am a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Law and Criminology, under the supervision of Professor Mahsa Shabani. My academic interests focus on legal aspects of sharing and using data, in particular personal data for biomedical research. After obtaining a Master of Law degree from Jagiellonian University (Cracow, Poland), I gained professional experience as an IPTech lawyer at an international law firm in Warsaw. Currently, I work as an attorney at a Brussels law firm Timelex BV/SRL, where I specialize in data protection and IP matters and support European research and innovation projects in the areas of privacy, e-health and artificial intelligence.
Dorian Accoe
I am a PhD researcher at the Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University under the supervision of Professor Heidi Mertes and member of the Bioethics Institute Ghent (BIG) and METAMEDICA. I obtained a master’s degree in Moral Sciences at Ghent University in 2021.
My research focuses on the ethics of reproductive medicine, particularly ethical issues concerning the management of (suspected) genetic conditions in gamete donation.
A link to my bibliography.