Dr. Françoise Baylis

Françoise Baylis, Distinguished Research Professor, Emerita, is a philosopher whose innovative work in bioethics, at the intersection of policy and practice, has stretched the very boundaries of the field.  Her work challenges readers to think broadly and deeply about the direction of health, science and biotechnology. It aims to move the limits of mainstream bioethics and develop more effective ways to understand and tackle public policy challenges in Canada and abroad.

A public intellectual for the modern age, Baylis brings her ethical sensibilities, informed by best practices, theory and common sense, to a wide range of public issues. With a personal mantra to make the powerful care. 

Baylis is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including most recently the 2022 Killam Prize (Humanities) and the 2023 Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize in Humanities. She is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the International Science Council. She is President-Elect of the Royal Society of Canada (2025-2028).

Baylis, F., & Hasson, K. (2024, October 24) South Africa amended its research guidelines to allow for heritable human genome editing. The Conversation.

Baylis, F. (2024, September 23) Pathogens of pandemic potential: Decision-making by consensus. Impact Ethics  

Baylis, F. (2023) Heritable human genome editing is 'currently not permitted', but it is no longer 'prohibited': So says the ISSCR Journal of Medical Ethics 49:319–321. Online 4 October 2021.

Manca, T., Baylis, F., Munoz, F.M., & Top, K.A. (2022). Prioritise Research on Vaccines for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women The Lancet, 399 (10328): 890-893.

Baylis, F., Darnovsky, M., Hasson, K., & Krahn, T. (2020) Human germline and heritable genome editing: The global policy landscape.  The CRISPR Journal 3(5): 365-377.

Kofler, N. & Baylis, F. (2020). Ten reasons why immunity passports are a bad idea. Nature 581:379-381.

Baylis, F. (2019). Altered inheritance: CRISPR and the ethics of human genome editing. Harvard: Harvard University Press.