Name: Aaron Roberts
Department: Philosophy
Supervisor: Professor Claudia Emerson
Tell me a little about your research
My PhD research concerns ethical and policy issues surrounding and arising from novel gene drive biotechnology, particularly regarding its planned use in mosquitoes for the purpose of malaria elimination. I am also a Graduate Research Assistant at McMaster’s Institute on Ethics and Policy for Innovation (IEPI). My PhD research and work at IEPI are very intertwined in a synergistic manner I feel very fortunate to have found.
A few examples of published outputs include:
- I recently had the opportunity to help a leading gene drive research project, namely Target Malaria, to articulate their principles for designing and conducting stakeholder engagement. You can read about it in this blog, or access the peer-reviewed publication.
- I was on the committee which co-organized a panel discussion series co-hosted by IEPI and the US Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) GeneConvene Global Collaborative, entitled “Unsettled Ethical Issues in Gene Drive Research”, and I had the pleasure of participating on the fourth panel of the series.
- Last year I had the privilege of contributing to the ethics and stakeholder engagement section of the WHO’s ‘Guidance framework for testing of genetically modified mosquitoes, second edition’.
What initially inspired you to get into your field? What inspires you now?
I’m fascinated by ethical issues surrounding innovative and disruptive technologies (think: A.I. and gene editing) because they often challenge our existing norms, conceptions, definitions and categories. They force us to return to and examine our axioms and first principles and apply them in new ways.
I love connecting the dots between concrete, real-life challenges, and the most fundamental ethical and philosophical concepts. When I worked in Investigations at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) I became very aware of the value of bioethics within medicine, and this motivated me to return to graduate school to complete a PhD in applied and bioethics.
Who have been some major influences in your life?
My parents raised me to seek and prioritize truth, and my Dad in particular fostered an intellectual curiosity and depth of questioning that I carry with me to this day.
The writings of philosophers Descartes, Hume, Spinoza and Leibniz rocked my world when I was introduced to them during my undergrad and opened my mind to alternative understandings of the nature of reality as well as more rigorous ways of thinking about such questions. This led to shedding rather a lot of dogma I had been living under.
More recently, my PhD supervisor, Professor Claudia Emerson, has been a significant inspiring influence on my decision to put my philosophical curiosity and analytical skills to use in the field of global health ethics and policy.
What do you see as the impact of your work?
I hope that my work contributes to clarifying concepts, thinking more clearly about ethical issues, and communicating the value of careful ethical consideration and analysis as an integrated part of global health policy formulation, particularly as it relates to innovative technologies and methods. I hope that this will in turn lead to a more just and brighter world.
Tell me a little about yourself
I originally hale from the small town of Midland, Ontario, on the shores of Georgian Bay. However, when I was eight years old my family moved to Scarborough, on the east side of Toronto for my Dad’s work. It was a big change moving from a small town to a big and diverse city.
A decade later, at age 18 I moved to Waterloo, Ontario and completed my undergrad degree in Philosophy at Wilfrid Laurier University, followed immediately by an MA at the same institution, with a focus on philosophy of the mind.
After completing my MA, I spent a year in South Korea teaching English as a second language before returning home to Toronto and working at the CPSO for several years.
Now I’m nearing the end of my PhD and setting down roots in Hamilton. My son was born at McMaster Children’s Hospital just a matter of months ago.
If you could meet and chat with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Hmmm… it’s hard to pick just one. But if you twist my arm, I think I’d have to go with Baruch Spinoza, a 17th century Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish descent. Exposure to his thinking and writing was transformative for me, and I’d love to pick his brain and hear his thoughts on all kinds of quandaries I spend my days pondering.
Do you have a motto, meaningful phrase or personal philosophy you could share?
“But, does it work?” This phrase/question/challenge encapsulates the essence of my personal philosophy and brand of truth seeking. I’m a philosophical pragmatist at heart.