Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, Department of Community Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary
Dr. Gregor Wolbring
Position: Assistant Professor Qualifications: Diploma, University of Tuebingen, Germany
Ph.D. University of Frankfurt, Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, Germany
Room: online Phone:
- online
Email:
Webpage:
CRDS Homepage:
Research Interests
Key Interests: Ability governance, Social, ethical, legal, economic, cultural and governance issues of new, emerging and converging sciences and technologies (S&T) such as nanoscale S&T (feed, food, water), molecular manufacturing, aging, longevity and immortality research, cognitive sciences, neuromorphic engineering, genetics, synthetic biology, bodily enhancement S&T, in vitro meat, artificial intelligence and robotics; impact of S&T on: marginalized populations especially disabled people; Sports; human security, (food- water- economic- ability- cultural- climate security), social cohesion, human right, personhood, sentient rights; military applications, veterans and new and emerging science and technologies, concept of disability impairment, ableism and transhumanism; models and determinants of health; global health, tele-health, health- (technology assessment, law, care and policies); military and health innovation, policy and deliverance; medical anthropology; foresight studies, bioethics issues, role of different stakeholders and evaluation of existing S&T discourses, biochemistry (had grants for the last 16 years to do benchwork, finished active benchwork August 2008)..
- Research Interest more concret
1) Climate change, energy security (among others impact on marginalized populations)
Paper
Wolbring (2009) A culture of neglect: Climate discourse and disabled people Journal: Media and Culture, Volume 12, Issue 4,
http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/viewArticle/173
Grant
http://www.genomecanada.ca/medias/PDF/EN/int_Metagenomics-for-Greener-Production-Extraction-Hydrocarbon-Energy.pdf
and part of Ethics of Energy Technologies in Asia and the Pacific
WG3: Visions and hopes for the future
http://www.unescobkk.org/rushsap/energyethics/wg3/
not listed yet as member
2) Sport and therapeutic enhancements and identity of sport
Wolbring (2008) 5:1 SCRIPT-ed Journal of Law, Technology and Society 1-226 Oscar Pistorius and the Future Nature of Olympic, Paralympic and Other Sports pp.139-160 http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/ahrc/script-ed/vol5-1/wolbring.pdf
Wolbring (2009) 'Therapeutic', enhancement enabling, assistive devices and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A missing lens in the enhancement regulation discourse Journal of International Biotechnology Law JIBL Vol. 6 Issue 5 page 193-206 (available on request)
3) Performance Enhancement among others impact on professional identity
Coenen Schuijff, Smits, Klaassen, Hennen, Rader and Wolbring (2009) Human Enhancement Study for Directorate General for internal policies, Policy Dept. A: Economic and Scientific Policy Science and Technology Options Assessments, European Parliament
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/stoa/publications/studies/stoa2007-13_en.pdf
SSHRC grant with Prof Ian Kerr University of Ottawa
Building better humans: health, enhancements and human rights
· the examination of various philosophies of enhancement, their underlying values and potential impact of what it means to be “human”
· the impact of human enhancement on: disability, ableism, impairment, rehabilitation, and the delivery of health care
· the development of a series of policy recommendations and a Model Law to harmonize the regulation of enhancement technologies
3a) Anthropology of Enhancement
3b) Enhancements and Veterans
3c) Cochlear Implant enhancement and sign language
3d) Vision and enhancement in preparation
4) Ableism
Wolbring (2008) "Is there an end to out-able? Is there an end to the rat race for abilities?" for Journal: Media and Culture, Volume 11, Issue 3, July. 2008 http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/viewArticle/57
Ableism and Ability Ethics and Governance
http://ableism.wordpress.com/4a) Anthropology of Ableism and various other aspect of Ableism
4b) Various aspects of Transhumanism, ableism and disability such as related to religion and faith
Wolbring (2007)The triangle of new and emerging technologies, disabled people and the World Council of Churches; Able-ism: A prerequisite for transhumanism published as e-book by the World Council of Churches available http://www.bioethicsanddisability.org/wcc.htmlWolbring (2007)"New and Emerging Sciences and Technologies, Ableism, Transhumanism and Religion, Faith, Theology and Churches" in Madang; International Journal of Contextual Theology in East Asia, Vol. 7 (June 2007) 79-112 available upon request
Wolbring (2010) Nanoscale science and technology enabled transhumanization of health and related areas for (2) Daniel Lee Kleinman, Jason Delborne, Karen Cloud-Hansen, and Jo Handelsman (eds.), Controversies in Science and Technology, volume (2) 1. Leibert Publishers in print; available upon request (permission to prepublish the paper)
Wolbring (2006) "The triangle of Enhancement Medicine, Disabled people and the concept of Health: A new challenge for HTA, health research and health policy"a 220 page report. Published by the Health Technology Assessment Unit of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for medical research http://www.ihe.ca/documents/HTA-FR23.pdf5) Synthetic Biology
a) in general work on the ethical, environmental, economic, legal and social issues of synthetic biology
For example three of my student Sibat Khwaja, Niklas Bobrovitz, Daniela Navia (all UofC) looked at the E3LS issues of synthetic biology: at iGEM 2008 http://2008.igem.org/Team:Calgary_Ethics
b) Health and Wellbeing vision and impact of synthetic biology
6) Culture of Care
7) Veteran Health
8) Impact of Anti-Aging technologies
Wolbring (2007)Should we 'cure' aging? Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology Vol 1 Issue 1
http://www.bepress.com/selt/vol1/iss1/art7/
9) Science and technology discourses and disabled people
among others
Wolbring (2010) Nanoscale science and technology and social cohesion for International Journal of Nanotechnology Vol. 7, Nos. 2/3, 2010 pp 155-173
Wolbring (2007)"Nano-Engagement: Some critical issuesJournal of Health and Development (India)Vol. 3 No 1-2, pp. 9-29 (available upon request)
10) Tele-health
Dr. Gregor Wolbring, Healthcare Technology Futurist (University of Calgary)
"The Future of Tele-health, Medicine and Care"
http://www.albertatelehealth.com/content.asp?category_id=87&root_id=87
http://www.albertatelehealth.com/library/Wolbring.pdf
http://www.innovationwatch-archive.com/choiceisyours/choiceisyours-2008-07-15.htm
http://politicsofhealth.org/wol/2008-8-30.html
Courses Taught
Core 591.26: -------Bioethics and Disability (still taught every fall)
Core 691.44----- Bioethics and Disability (still taught every fall)
Core 591.28: -------Health research, emerging technologies, governance of science and technology and marginalized groups (still taught every winter)
Core 691.42----- Health research, emerging technologies, governance of science and technology and marginalized groups (still taught every winter)
Core 305: ----------History of Disability Service Organizations
Core 591.34: ------Health Foundations: Disability Across Life Span (not taught any more)
Core 205 ----------History and Systems in Community Rehabilitation /Now called Introduction to disability studies (still taught every fall)
Core 207------Introduction to Community Rehabilitation Practice now called introduction to community rehabilitation (still taught every winter)
Student Projects
Name
Degree
Topic Three undergraduates
Synthetic Biology; Won A Bronze Medal at iGEM 2008 http://2008.igem.org/Team:Calgary_Ethics
Publications:
Over 25 book chapters, 2 e-books, 40 peer reviewed article, 70 non peer reviewed article and reports, and over 240 lectures given
Please go here for my writings
Academic and other writings
My new blog on Ableism Ethics and Governance
Column on new and emerging technologies and social concepts
Blog about new and emerging science and technologies:
What Sorts of People Blog:
For other appointments
Please go here
Full CV here
Grants finished
Alberta Ingenuity: Synthetic Biology Work
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research: Health Technology Assessment unit: Emerging technologies, imagery and situation of disabled people and the field of health technology assessmentÂ
Biochemistry: grants and awards for nearly 20 years
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