Ike Iyioke: Give BEC a chance

HUMA African Epistemologies Advanced Seminar Series

Speaker: Ike Valentine Iyioke (Michigan State University, United States)

Introduction: The concept of bio-eco-communalism (BEC) in research ethics (and bioethics writ large) urges that research ethics in Africa must be "home-grown" and must speak to local cultural needs of the people. While being mindful of the standards that meet international orthodoxy, we must, however, be able to advocate a culturally sensitive research integrity framework or protocol that integrates standard research ethics in ways that reflect the African perspective. It's a crying need requiring urgent attention. 

About the speaker: Dr Iyioke has extensive teaching, research, and administrative experience in the US and elsewhere that span almost two decades. His multidisciplinary background included in BPhil in Philosophy from Pontifical University, Italy; a teaching certificate from the University of Nigeria (UNN); a Master of Science in International Relations from UNN; a Master of Art in Environmental Science Writing from Michigan State University (MSU), US; and a PhD in Bioethics from MSU. He likes to explore questions pertaining to moral philosophy, particularly research ethics. His research interests include issues about research subject/participant selection; biomedical research partnerships between Africa and the West; environmental science and public policy; environmental justice/racism; eugenics; science of life extension; and morality in primitive cultures.

Dr Iyioke has authored many publications, including the book Clinical Trials and the African Person: A Quest to Re-Conceptualize Responsibility (Brill, 2017). Another title, Rethinking Clinical Trials: Redefining Responsibility for Research Participants, is currently in press.