/BN, Duppé/ On April 30, Professor Susanne Schreiber was appointed as one of the 24 members of the German Ethics Council by the President of the German Bundestag, Wolfgang Schäuble.

The chairwoman of the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience is looking forward to this new duty. She is hoping to add the perspective of basic neuroscientific research and the mathematical modelling of biological systems to the proceedings of the Ethics Council. “As a biophysicist, I investigate the electrical activity in our brain and examine the connections between individual cells and larger neural networks which determine our cognitive capabilities and our reasoning.”

Susanne Schreiber is convinced that new insights can best be gained thinking outside the box. In this light, she is anticipating the responsibility as one of the members of the highest German institution dealing with the fundamental ethical questions of our times.

The German Ethics Council

In accordance with its legal mandate, the German Ethics Council shall address the questions of ethics, society, science, medicine and law and the probable consequences for the individual and society that result in connection with research and development, in particular in the field of the life sciences and their application to humanity. With its opinions and recommendations, it provides orientation for society and politics.

The German Ethics Council chooses the topics for its work programme on the basis of its own determination. However, the Council may also work on a certain topic on request of the Federal Government or the German Bundestag.

Currently, the Ethics Council is dealing with the issue of an immunity passport for COVID19 as per request of the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn. The Council is expected to deliver an assessment on how to proceed in this matter after its meeting on May 28.

(quoted from the profile of the German Ethics Council, https://www.ethikrat.org/en/)