Dr John Noel Viana

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About

I have a Ph.D. in Bioethics (Society and Culture Program) and a Graduate Certificate of Research from the University of Tasmania, with a thesis exploring ethical and societal issues in clinical trials of deep brain stimulation, cell implantation, and gene therapy for people with Alzheimer's disease. I also have a NEURASMUS Erasmus Mundus master's degree in Neurosciences from the University of Bordeaux and VU University Amsterdam and a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of the Philippines Diliman. In addition, I was a visiting bioethicist at the Brocher Foundation and a visiting student in neuroethics at Monash University, University of British Columbia, University of Washington, and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. I have also completed the 2017 Sherwin B. Nuland Summer Institute in Bioethics at Yale University. While at the University of Tasmania, I have assisted in teaching units in Nursing Ethics, Exploring Science and the Humanities, and Reasoning Skills.

 

Affiliations

Research interests

For my postdoc, I am investigating ways to promote  greater diversity, inclusivity, and equity in health research, policy, promotion, and communication. Moreover, I am interested in determining the ethical, legal, regulatory, and societal issues in personalised and population health research involving culturally and linguistically diverse populations. My work involves engagement with laboratories/groups conducting biomedical/health research to investigate the perspectives of researchers on equity and diversity questions, to examine organisational cultures and social infrastructures that impact participant and researcher diversity, and to facilitate reflexive discussions among scientists on how to make their current and future projects more inclusive and culturally sensitive. The first three years of my postdoc was supported by both the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at the Australian National University and the Responsible Innovation Future Science Platform of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. I have also collaborated with researchers at CSIRO's Precision Health Future Science Platform and the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness and colleagues at the ANU College of Health and Medicine and ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences.

In addition to my passion for equity, diversity, and justice in precision health research, I have a great interest in the societal aspects of neuroscience and biotechnology development. My PhD investigated ethical, legal, and societal issues associated with clinical trials of invasive neurosurgical procedures for people with Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, I have worked on other bioethical issues such as media portrayal of novel technologies, application of new neuroimaging modalities, and patient experience and perception of neurotherapeutic interventions.

Publications

  • Viana, J, Raman, S & Barber, M 2021, 'Responsible Innovation For and From Ethical Integration', American Journal of Bioethics, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 94-97.
  • Viana, J, Raman, S & Barber, M 2021, 'From Paternalism to Engagement: Bioethics Needs a Paradigm Shift to Address Racial Injustice During COVID-19', American Journal of Bioethics, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 96-98.
  • Ryan, J, Viana, J, Sellak, H et al. 2021, 'Defining precision health: A scoping review protocol', BMJ Open, vol. 11, no. 2.
  • Jurgens, A, Fiadotava, A, Tscharke, D et al. 2021, 'Spreading Fun: Comic Zombies, Joker Viruses and COVID-19 Jokes', Journal of Science and Popular Culture, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 39-57.
  • Orthia LA, McKinnon M, Viana JN & Walker GJ 2021, 'Reorienting science communication towards communities', Journal of Science Communication, 20(3): A12. DOI: 10.22323/2.20030212
  • Gilbert, F, Viana, J & Ineichen, C 2020, 'Deflating the Deep Brain Stimulation Causes Personality Changes Bubble: the Authors Reply', Neuroethics, pp. -.
  • Viana, J, McInerney, F & Brodaty, H 2020, 'Beyond Cognition: Psychological and Social Transformations in People Living with Dementia and Relevance for Decision-Making Capacity and Opportunity', American Journal of Bioethics, vol. 20, no. 8, pp. 101-104.
  • Luchicchi, A, Pattij, T, Viana, J et al. 2020, 'Tracing goes viral: Viruses that introduce expression of fluorescent proteins in chemically-specific neurons', Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

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