Twenty undergraduates from across the United States participated in the Undergraduate Biology Research Program’s Bioethics Retreat at the Lazy K Bar Ranch in Marana, Arizona. The retreat generated debate among students and guest lecturers over approaches to ethical issues involving environmental and medical ethics, and professional values in biologically-related fields.

Dr. Charles Putnam, professor of surgery and doctoral student in molecular biology at UA, spoke about common approaches to and problems with ethics in science. He characterized ethics as decisions made that fall within a continuum linking two opposite paths, making it clear that labeling each side as ‘pro’ or ‘con’ can create unnecessary rifts among people and groups.

Dr. Putnam asserted that ethical decisions are often not governed by laws but depend on the personal values and morals of the individual. This was a pertinent point because the student scientists had an early opportunity to understand possible approaches they might use to resolve problems in their research careers. Such training and awareness is important to ensure trust within and of the scientific community.

Dr. Putnam’s points, which were echoed and expanded upon by UA faculty Diane Austin and Lindy Brigham and NIH ethicist Ben Wilfond, created much debate among the students, affirming Putnam’s assertion that ethics are not universally defined and that consensus between people on ethical issues can often be difficult.

Putnam’s presentation concluded with one final take-home message, borrowed from author Richard Dawkin’s book, A Devil’s Chaplin: science cannot solve ethical dilemmas, but it can help clarify the issues surrounding each dilemma.

Through this session and subsequent individual and group discussions, each participant gained a better sense of the importance of integrity in him/herself and his/her peers as well as a common understanding of the ambiguity of ethics.

UBRP is grateful for funding for the retreat which came from the UA colleges of Agriculture, Science and Medicine, the Institute for Biomedical Science and Biotechnology, the UA Cancer Center, the Arizona Research Labs, and the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.

Heidi Hofer, UBRPer in Dr. Stuart Williams’ lab, Biomedical Engineering and Genevieve Cheng, Visiting UBRPer in Dr. Alan Nighorn’s lab, ARL-Neurobiology, from Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania