Bioética, bioderecho, ética medioambiental

Since 2017, Gonzalo López, a lawyer at the University of Chile, joined the Observatory of Bioethics and Law as a research assistant. He was trained in this research unit in the area of biolaw. Currently, he is an instructor professor and obtained a Master's degree in Bioethics in the program of the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad del Desarrollo and a Master's degree in Philosophy in the Faculty of Philosophy of the Universidad de Chile, in addition to a Diploma in research ethics. He has published several articles with me in recent years. In 2024 he entered, with our support, the Doctor of Law program at the Faculty of Law of the Universidad del Desarrollo.

Another young researcher who has been trained by us is Pablo Lapostol, a lawyer from the University of Chile. Since 2021 he has participated as a research assistant in practically all the projects that we have developed in the Observatory of Bioethics and Law. In the first research project in which he participated, a diagnostic study and proposal for the management of health data in health emergencies for the Council for Transparency (2021-2022). The result of his work consisted in the production of guidelines and strategies for the governance of health data in the public sector, contributing significantly to the development of crucial policies in that context. In this same line of research, Pablo contributed to the project of proposals for legal and technical regulation of biobanks for a body funded by the National Research Agency in Chile, focused on accelerating technology transfer in Chile, the Center for Translational Biotechnology, during the year 2022. And from that year to date, he has participated in the design and implementation of the governance system of a Trusted Research Environment for the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad del Desarrollo.

Juan Alberto Lecaros was co-founder of International Network of Biolaw at Santiago, Chile, which has academics from more than 25 universities in the world (https://redinternacionaldebioderecho.org/). His current group focuses its work on legal innovation in the area of biomedicine and biotechnology, with special emphasis on bench-based science and translational studies. In recent years, the lines of research have been the generation of regulatory proposals to improve and develop national regulation on biomedical research (https://medicina.udd.cl/observatorio-bioetica-derecho/informes-con-propuestas-regulatorias-en-biomedicina/). In 2014, his group published a report with regulatory proposals to improve the regulation of the biomedical research law and update the technical standard in research. This report was the product of a collaborative and interdisciplinary work in association with the National Drug Agency (ANAMED, ISP): Lecaros JA & Del Canto R (2014). Informe Investigacion Biomedica. Nuevas propuestas regulatorias. Registro de Propiedad Intelectual N° 246.677. ISBN 978-956-796-170-2. In 2016, his group published a report with regulatory proposals of use of human biological specimens and biobanks of research: Lecaros JA, Del Canto R (2016). Informe Propuesta Regulatoria sobre obtencion, uso y almacenamiento de muestras biologicas con fines diagnosticos y de investigacion, y creacion de biobancos. Registro de Propiedad Intelectual N° A-269256. ISBN 978-956-374-014-1. Currently, his research is focused on proposing regulatory models for regenerative medicine in Chile (Lecaros JA, Toscano D, LópezG (2018). Informe Regulacion de la Medicina Regenerativa: tension entre la Gobernanza internacional y local. Registro de Propiedad Intelectual N° A-290878. ISBN 978-956-374-021-9) and the development of regulation for research in biomedical informatics, bioinformatics and telehealth (Fundamentos para los lineamientos para la telemedicina y telesalud en Chile. Bien Público Estratégico para la Competitividad 2018-2021 https://lineamientostelesalud.cl/).

In 2021, the Observatory signed a collaboration agreement with the Transparency Council to support health data management policies in the context of health emergencies and developed a report with proposals for “access and processing of health data in the context of health emergencies and for research purposes”. https://www.consejotransparencia.cl/cplt-y-udd-colaboran-en-diagnostico-de-brechas-sobre-tratamiento-de-datos-personales-y-de-salud-en-el-marco-de-emergencias-sanitarias-e-investigaciones/

That same year the Observatory was awarded funds from the Center for Translational Biotechnology, Sofofa Hub, ANID center, to develop a proposal for public regulatory policies on biobanks for research purposes, the product of which was the report Propuesta de regulación para el funcionamiento de Biobancos con fines de investigación biomédica en Chile (https://medicina.udd.cl/observatorio-bioetica-derecho/files/2023/07/informe-regulacion-biobancos-chile_cbt_obd_udd.pdf). Currently, the transfer of this regulatory proposal is being done by the Observatory through the National Cancer Commission and the National Center for Cancer Prevention and Control.