Claudia von Vacano Joins Science Ethics Panel

BCNM Executive Committee member Claudia Natalia von Vacano recently participated in the Schmidt Science Fellows Visit to UC Berkeley, joining a panel on Science, Ethics, and the Public at the Grimes Engineering Center.

The discussion centered on building ethical considerations into research from the ground up—what Claudia described as cultivating an “ethical radar” in the design process itself. Drawing on the Digital Health Equity Framework (Figueroa et al., 2022), she emphasized that digital health technologies interact with structural factors such as access to care, digital literacy, language, economic resources, and historical inequities. She highlighted that bias in innovation does not begin with algorithms alone, but emerges earlier in problem selection, data collection, and assumptions about users.

By applying this framework, researchers can anticipate who benefits, who is burdened, and who may be excluded before deploying new technologies. The goal is to move ethics upstream—engaging communities, integrating contextual knowledge, and designing evaluation practices that measure impact on equity, not just performance.

Claudia also noted the value of small-group discussions with Schmidt Science Fellows, including Poppy Oldroyd and Aman Ishaqat, whose interdisciplinary perspectives underscore the importance of collaboration across fields for the future of science. She expressed gratitude to the Schmidt Science Fellows program, the UC Berkeley Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public, and fellow panelists Jodi Halpern, MD, PhD, Ann Keller, and moderator Daniel Fletcher for the thoughtful conversation.

Read more about the discussion and von Vacano’s reflections on LinkedIn!