My Program: Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, http://www.crds.org

My Department of Community Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary http://www.ucalgary.ca/communityhealthsciences/

Flyer for our degree

a) for high school students

b) for people that work as professionals and want to have an undergraduate degree or people who want to have another undergraduate degree

c) graduate degree

Dr. Gregor Wolbring

a picture of Gregor Wolbring

Position: Assistant Professor
Qualifications:
Diploma, University of Tuebingen, Germany
Ph.D. University of Frankfurt, Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, Germany;

Part Time Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Canada;
Distinguished Scholar, Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University, USA;
Adjunct Faculty Critical Disability Studies York University Canada;

President elect of the Canadian Disability Studies Association

Room: TRW 3d31
Phone:
1-403-210-7083

Email:

All output:

 

 

 

 

Webpage:

Other pages:

gwolbrin@ucalgary.ca

His non biochem output 1998-2010 25 book chapters, one ebook,34 Peer reviewed journal article; 3 encyclopedia contributions (10 more accepted) 70 non-peer reviewed article; 80 columns; 161 talks to academic audience; 104 talks to non-academic audience  all articles here ;
Webpage

Ableism and Ability Ethics and Governance blog: here 
Nano Bio Info Cogno Synbio Blog here
He contributes also to the What Sorts of People blog: here

Full CV here here

 

 

 

Research Interests

His interests cover among others Ability and ableism ethics and governance; History of thalidomide and thalidomiders; Disability Studies; Social, ethical, legal, economic, environmental, cultural and governance issues of new, emerging and converging sciences and technologies (S&T) such as nanoscale S&T, molecular manufacturing, aging, longevity and immortality research, cognitive sciences, neuromorphic engineering, genetics, synthetic biology, governance of 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, climate, water, energy…), human right, personhood, sentient rights; concept of disability impairment, ableism and transhumanism; models and determinants of health; global health, tele-health, health- (technology assessment, law, care and policies); medical anthropology; foresight studies, history, bioethics issues, biochemistry,

 

Research areas(some of it with output others with output in preparation)

1) Climate change, energy security, water security (among others impact on marginalized populations) and Oil and gas discourse
Grant
http://www.genomecanada.ca/medias/PDF/EN/int_Metagenomics-for-Greener-Production-Extraction-Hydrocarbon-Energy.pdf

Paper (selection)
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
Lit reviews generated by the GEEELS group I lead in this  Genome Canada grant Literature Review on Energy from Hydrocarbon Discourse; Literature Review on Metagenomics; Literature Review on Water Discourse; Literature Review on Energy and Climate Change Discourse; Literature Review on reaction to Copenhagen COP 15

Contributing to various working group reports  of the Ethics of Energy /Climate change of UNESCO Bangkok http://www.unescco.org/rushsap/energyethics

2) Sport and therapeutic enhancements and identity of sport (selection)

 

Wolbring (2010) Transcript of a Podcast live 14th January for Intellectual Muscles Series for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic games: Title "Who will be the future Olympic and Paralympic Athlete Subtitle Advances in science and technology, bodily assistive devices and the future face and purpose of Sport

Wolbring (2008) Human Future: One World One Dream Andy Miah, Mike Stubbs & Laura Sillarsin eds in Human Future Liverpool University Press http://humanfutures.fact.co.uk/ linked to the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad

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

 

3) Performance Enhancement among others impact on professional identity  

SSHRC grant with Prof Ian Kerr University of Ottawa  Building better humans: health, enhancements and human rights

Papers (selection)

Wolbring (2010) Obsolescence of bodily assistive devices Dilemata International Journal of Applied Ethics (Spain) accepted

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 press

Wolbring (2010) Commentary on therapeutic enhancement for PM&R Vol 2 Issue 4 p 296/297 PM&R is journal of American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

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)

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

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.pdf

3a) Anthropology of Enhancement

3b) Enhancements and Veterans

3c) Cochlear Implant enhancement and sign language
3d) Vision and enhancement in preparation

4) Ableism

Papers (selection)

Wolbring (2010) Ableism and Favoritism for Abilities Governance, Ethics and Studies: New Tools for Nanoscale and Nanoscale enabled Science and Technology Governance Susan Cozzens and Jameson M. Wetmore (eds.) The Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society, vol. II: The Challenges of Equity and Equality (Springer 2010). in press

Wolbring (2009) Die Konvergenz der Governance von Wissenschaft und Technik mit der Governance des "Ableism" The convergence of science and technology governance with the governance of Ableism in TECHNIKFOLGENABSCHÄTZUNG – Theorie und Praxis Herausgeber: Institut für Technikfolgenabschätzung und Systemanalyse (ITAS) Technology assessment Theorie and Praxis. Publisher Institute for Technology assessment and system analysis ITAS

 

Wolbring (2009) What next for the human species? Human performance enhancement, ableism and pluralism p. 141-163 in Development Dialogue No 52 August 2009 called What Next Vol II The case for pluralism publisher Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

 

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/

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.html

Wolbring (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

Expert opinion for the Study Commission on the Law and Ethics of Modern Medicine of the German Bundestag with the title "Folgen der Anwendung genetischer Diagnostik fuer behinderte Menschen" (Consequences of the application of genetic diagnostics for disabled people)

5) History of Disability and work 2010 summer student project
6) History (through New York Times archives) today and future of abilities expected from children 2010 summer student project
7) Gaps in the education for sustainable development 2010 summer student project

8) 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 

Papers

Wolbring (2007)Bio-tech, NanoBio-Tech, SynBio-tech, NanoSynBio-tech? The changing face of biotech law? (Part I) Journal of International Biotechnology Law JIBL Vol. 4 Issue 5 September 177-186

Wolbring (2007)Bio-tech, NanoBio-Tech, SynBio-tech, NanoSynBio-tech? The changing face of biotech law? (Part II) Journal of International Biotechnology Law JIBL Vol. 4 Issue 6 November 221-227

b) Health and Wellbeing vision and impact of synthetic biology Master Student THesis

9) Culture of Care  PhD student thesis

10) Veteran Health  Master student Thesis

11) 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/

12) Science and technology discourses

Papers (selections)
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 issues Journal of Health and Development (India)Vol. 3 No 1-2, pp. 9-29 (available upon request)

13) 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





 


 
 
 

Courses (all three credits):
Calgary
CORE 591.26/691.44 Bioethics and people with disabilities undergraduate and graduate course taught online

CORE 591.28/691.42 Health Research, Emerging Technologies and Marginalized Group" undergraduate and graduate course taught online

CORE 205 History of Disability Service Organizations now called Introduction to Disability Studies

CORE 591.34 Health Foundations: Disability Across Life Span taught online once for someone as a substitute

CORE 207 History and Systems in Community Rehabilitation now called Introduction to Community Rehabilitation

CORE 691.03 Foundations in Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies Course taught by all CRDS faculty

CORE 691.13 Leadership an Innovation Co-developed with Dr. Susan Cran

 

in development: Courses on Metagenomics; ethical, environmental, economic, legal and social issues of water;ethical, environmental, economic, legal and social issues of energy

Ottawa Faculty of Law
CML –4104D – Studies in Public Law: Emerging Sciences and Technologies: Legal, Ethics, Governance and Policy Discourse 

Fresno California State University
IT 284 New and emerging science and technology

Some topics covered in the courses

  • Models and determinants of health, disease, disability, impairment, medicine, rehabilitation
  • Concept of Ableism and transhumanism and transhumanization of the concepts of week 2
  • Models of measuring health and disability DALY, QUALY, HEALY, HUI)
  •  Nano and bio-engineering/Bionic and Sports
  •  Geo-engineering/Climate Change Discourse: Adaptation and Mitigation
  •  Cognitive/neuro sciences applications: Neurodiversity versus DSM-IV and V
  • Nanosensors, and privacy/What bodyfunctions to monitor? Tele-health
  • Aging, longevity, immortality research/ The Elderly
  • Nanomedicine:The dynamics of medicalization and 'transhumanization of medicalization'; augmentative/enhancement medicine
  •  Social Determinants of Health in the light of the content of this course:  
  •  Governance, Sustainability,  Global Health, 10/90 health research gap
  • Impact on disabled people  and what role should they play/do not play….. ; on the fields of disability studies, rehabilitation, medicine, health policy ;  on disability studies, rehabilitation, medical, health policy students ;their goals, their visions, their understanding of their role. 
  • Bioethics as a field of study; historical roots of bioethics, how bioethicists are identified, their role and views about disabled people
  • The situation of disabled people in the world; statistics, doubly marginalized (women, indigenous, poor)
  • Key bioethics theories
  • The concept of personhood
  • End of life issues: Euthanasia, mercy killing, infanticide, do not resuscitate
  • The case of non treatment of newborns/futile care
  • The case of research on ‘non-competent’ people
  • The case of organ transplantation
  • The case of access to water and sanitation
  • The case of genetic testing
  • Why is Disability Studies exciting and important. How does it relate to community rehabilitation and other health and rehab professions
  • Historical and future of perspectives of disability and impairment  and disability studies, defining disability and impairment and disability studies, lenses of Disability and impairment and disability studies The future of the meaning and scope of disability studies. Who are disabled and impaired people, health, transhumanism, ableism
  • Global/local situation of disabled people; Violence and abuse: Women with Disabilities; Inclusive education and employment; Housing and poverty;
  • Academic links: Disability Studies lens for  humanities, , social work
  •  Perception of disabled people/self perception of disabled people Media and Images,
  • Academic links:  Academic links: Disability Studies lens for medicine rehab
  • Academic links: Disability Studies lens for engineering (bio/nano/geo/…,
  • Academic links: Disability Studies lens for   law The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities/ ethics
  •  Academic links: Disability Studies lens for  for social group studies, communication and culture / history
  • Academic links: Disability Studies lens for Sport related areas and Architecture, urban design
  • Academic links: Disability Studies lens for economics and policy studies
  • Introduction to Canadian history of Rehabilitation
  • Global community Rehabilitation
  • Global Human Security, Food water….
  • Poverty/ Homelessness 
  • Human Service Models
  • Needs Assessment
  • Values
  • Needs  Intervention
  • Community service to   Policy
  • Community Inclusion Strategies or Planning
  • Defining Innovation and Leadership
  • Challenges for  & Future of Innovation and Leadership
  • Science & Technology and Innovation and Leadership
  • Social Group Leadership roles & dynamics
  • Global & Local level of leadership (glocalization)
  • Leadership in non profit organizations        
  • Social innovation, leadership and change

 

Student Projects

Students can all the time contact me if they are interested in the topics I cover and they can also suggest topics. In order to work with me as an undergraduate there are two ways

1) you submit an internal PURE or USRP undergraduate award research proposal with me for the spring/summer or fall/winter term

2) You do a 6 credit research inquiry course with me through spring/summer.

 

So far my students
 
 

Name

Degree

 Topic

 2008 Three undergraduates

Alberta Ingenuity funded

  Synthetic Biology; Won A Bronze Medal at iGEM 2008 http://2008.igem.org/Team:Calgary_Ethics

2010 Two undergraduates

one USRP funded;

one research inquiry course

 work through spring/summer 2010 topics here upon completion

 

Grants: (non biochem)

(2010-2015) SSHRC CURA grant as Co-applicant Living Archives on Eugenics in Western Canada; PI Rob Wilson U of Alberta

(2009-2012) SSHRC operating grant as Co-PI with Ian Kerr, University of Ottawa on Building better humans? Health, enhancement and human rights?

(2009-2014) Genome Canada grant as Co-Investigator; PI: Gerrit Voordouw, University of Calgary Metagenomics for Greener Production and Extraction of Hydrocarbon Energy: Creating Opportunities for Enhanced Recovery with Reduced Environmental Impact As Ethics Team Leader investigating Energy, water and climate discourse and ethics of metagenomics

(2008-2013) Human Enhancement, ETAG project: Principal Investigator; Sponsorship Details: Karlsruhe University; Grant in Aid
 
(2008) Principal Investigator, Alberta Ingenuity Grant for iGEM on ethical, environmental, economic, legal and social issues of synthetic biology
 
(2005) Collaborator, National Science Foundation. Nanotechnology and Society. Purpose: Establishment of a Centre for Nanotechnology and Society at Arizona State University.

(2005) Principle Investigator, Health Technology Assessment Unit Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research,. To write a background paper on the relationship between emerging technologies, imagery and situation of disabled people and the field of health technology assessment 

(2001) Principle Investigator Expert opinion for the Study Commission on the Law and Ethics of Modern Medicine of the German Bundestag with the title "Folgen der Anwendung genetischer Diagnostik fuer behinderte Menschen" (Consequences of the application of genetic diagnostics for disabled people)

Grants (biochem)

(1999-2010) Continuous Funding by Celgene to work on the biochemical mechanism of thalidomide (Contergan) and derivatives
(1994-1998) Post Doc Fellowship from the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation, Canada
(1992-1994) Post Doc Fellowship from Lichtenstein

 

 

 

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