OU College of Medicine to Honor International Expert in Neuroethics

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine will present its biennial award in biomedical ethics during an event Wednesday, April 3, at the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.

The award, called the Patricia Price Browne Prize in Biomedical Ethics, is presented to a person who demonstrates high standards in the medical or professional ethics fields. The prize is named for an Oklahoma champion of women’s and children’s health, the late Patricia Price Browne. The honor comes with a $10,000 award.

This year’s recipient is Judy Illes, Ph.D., a professor in neurology and neuroethics at the University of British Columbia. She also serves as director of Neuroethics Canada, and is a faculty member at the Centre for Brain Health as well as the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.

Illes will give a lecture titled “Where the Children Lie in the Neuroethics Eye” during the OU College of Medicine’s Pediatric Grand Rounds at 12:15 p.m. April 3 in the Samis Education Center on campus. The awards presentation will follow.

“The Patricia Price Browne Prize in Biomedical Ethics recognizes eminent leaders who guide the national discourse regarding the most complicated biomedical issues of our time,” said John Zubialde, M.D., interim executive dean of the OU College of Medicine. “Dr. Illes is an international leader in the ethics that guide our profession, and we are pleased to honor her and welcome her to campus to speak.”

Illes received her doctorate in hearing and speech science and in neuropsychology at Stanford University. She became a pioneer in the field of neuroethics that was formally established in the early 2000s. Her research, teaching and outreach initiatives are devoted to ethical, legal, social and policy challenges at the intersection of the brain sciences and biomedical ethics. She has made groundbreaking contributions to neuroethical thinking for neuroscience discovery and clinical translation, specifically in the areas of neurodevelopment, neurodegeneration, brain and spinal cord injury, and more broadly to entrepreneurship in biomedicine and the commercialization of healthcare.

She is past president of the International Neuroethics Society and is a prolific writer, including her latest book, “Developments in Neuroethics and Bioethics.”

During her time at the OU Health Sciences Center, Illes also will visit with faculty, residents and students to discuss ethics in medicine.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Illes to campus and to hear her insights on issues that are important to all of us in medicine,” said Morris Gessouroun, M.D., chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the OU College of Medicine. “Her lecture represents one of the most important topics that physicians face today.”

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