Consortium on Neuroscience, Ethics, Legal and Social Issues

The Center for Neurotechnology Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is proud to announce the launch of the Capital Consortium on Neuroscience, Ethics, Legal and Social Issues (CCNELSI) on Friday September 4, 2009. This greater Washington DC area Consortium brings together faculty and student scholars from colleges and universities in monthly lecture-based meetings to present and discuss their work and its implications for research, health care and public life. The active participation of local area academicians, researchers and students is invited and encouraged, as CCNELSI serves as a platform for interests and ideas to be expressed and addressed. The CCNELSI series will also feature presentations by international guest lecturers, providing a collaborative nexus between DC-area scholars and the broader neuroethics community.

Scheduled meetings are held at the Potomac Institute for Public Policy (901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA; www.potomacinstitute.org/cns), from 4:00 – 6:00 PM; each meeting will consist of a focal presentation of forty-five minutes, followed by a fifteen minute Q&A discussion, with additional discussion to continue during a one-hour wine and cheese reception that follows. Admission is free of charge to faculty and students from academic institutions participating in CCNELSI, and is $15 to the general public.

The inaugural talk in the series will be held Friday September 4, 2009 and features Professor Alberto Garcia, PhD, UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights, of the Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum (APRA) in Rome, Italy. His talk is entitled “Global Biopolitical Overview of the United Nations on Neurotechnologies and Human Rights in Dialogue.” He will discuss the consideration of socio-cultural values and needs for sensitivity to these values for neurotechnological applications within differing social, economic and political contexts.

 http://www.potomacinstitute.org