KEI offers a unique 3-week, 6 credit Bioethics Cross-cultural Education Program (BioCEP) in cooperation Dr. John Loike, researcher and professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Touro College.

The program’s primary objective is to help students understand how culture and religion influence controversial issues related to Bioethics and medical ethics including: emerging infections (Swine flu, HIV, SARS, and malaria), the integration of Western and Eastern medicines, medical tourism, stem cell research, organ transplantation, informed consent, malnutrition, abortion, public health, genetic testing, and reproductive medicine. Students enroll in a Cross-Cultural Bioethics course (3 credits).

The course is divided into a 1-week online component (optional for students who have taken a bioethics course) and a 2-week in-country component. The curriculum combines lectures, seminars, professional visits and clinical mini-internship. Lectures and seminars are led by professors and guest speakers from Columbia University, Mahidol University  and various organizations in Thailand.

BioCEP is an ideal opportunity for students and faculty to experience bioethics and public health in another country and to view, on-site, the impact of diverse cultural and religious attitudes on global public health education and delivery. Issues in medicine and bioethics are becoming cross-cultural as more countries debate genetic engineering, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, sex selection, abortion, designer babies, euthanasia, end of life and scientific research funding. Ethics education develops the knowledge and strategic thinking skills needed to address common dilemmas that exist today and in the future, as new biotechnologies emerge.

BioCEP participants come from diverse educational backgrounds including undergraduate students interested in law, business, health sciences and health-related fields as well as graduate students in public health, bioethics, biotechnology, dentistry and medicine. Equally important, these students represent different cultural and religious backgrounds. Since BioCEP’s inception in 2007 over 150 students and 20 professors have participated in the program.

BioCEP Executive Committee

• Ruth L. Fischbach, Director of the Center for Bioethics, Columbia University
• John D. Loike, Director of Special Projects, Center for Bioethics, Columbia University
• Brian Phillips, Assistant Dean, International Relations, Mahidol University International College
• Eduard Mandell, Managing Director, Knowledge Exchange Institute