Michael J. Selgelid is a

bioethicist Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethics, ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biolo ...

and moral

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

who has written on ethics and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

, and

infectious diseases infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

. He is the current director of the

Centre for Human Bioethics Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

and of the

World Health Organization Collaborating Centre World Health Organization collaborating centres are institutions that work with the World Health Organization (WHO) in disciplines such as occupational health, food safety, and communicable disease prevention. There are over 700 such centres across ...

for Bioethics therein.

Education

Selgelid studied a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, and completed his PhD in Philosophy at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

under the supervision of

Philip Kitcher Philip Stuart Kitcher (born 20 February 1947) is a British philosopher who is the John Dewey Professor Emeritus of philosophy at Columbia University. He specialises in the philosophy of science, the philosophy of biology, the philosophy of mathe ...

Work and awards

While the completing his PhD in San Diego, Selgelid became a research fellow at the European Academy (Europaische Akademie), Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany. In 2003 he worked at the

University of Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...

in South Africa and spent time at the

University of Murcia The University of Murcia () is the primary institute of higher education in Murcia, Spain. With a student population of approximately 38,000, it is the largest university in the Region of Murcia. Founded in 1272 AD, the University of Murcia is ...

in Spain. In 2005 he joined the

Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine The University of Sydney School of Medicine, also known as Sydney Medical School (SMS) is the graduate medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, Australia, and in 2006 he became a senior research fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

(ANU) in Canberra. At ANU he also was the Deputy Director of the National Centre for Biosecurity. Since 2006, Selgelid continued to be involved with the

as an Honorary Lecturer. Selgelid joined the

in 2011, becoming its director. His work in bioethics, specifically in biosecurity and global health, has been recognised by organisations such as the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australia. During the

2014 Ebola Crisis The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in West Africa, was the most widespread List of Ebola outbreaks, outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and Socioeconomics, socioeconomic disruption in the re ...

, Selgelid advised the WHO. The Monash University's Centre for Human Bioethics has been named a WHO Collaborating Centre for Bioethics. In 2004, he was a finalist for the Mark S. Ehrenreich Prize in Healthcare Ethics Research, and has been awarded multiple research fellowships to the Brocher Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland.

Publications

Selected books authored or edited include: * ''Ethical and Philosophical Consideration of the Dual-Use Dilemma in the Biological Sciences'', Dordrecht, NE: Springer, 2008 (with Seumas Miller). * ''Emergency Ethics'' Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2012 (co-edited with A. M. Viens). * ''On the Dual Uses of Science and Ethics: Principles, Practices, and Prospects'', Canberra: ANU E Press, 2013 (co-edited with Brian Rappert).

References

External links

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Articles by Michael J. Selgelid
Living people Academic staff of Monash University Year of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-academic-bio-stub