Dr. Françoise Baylis
Email: francoise.baylis@dal.ca
Additional Information
Bio
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).
Select Recent Publications
Baylis, F., & Hasson, K. (2024, October 24) South Africa amended its research guidelines to allow for heritable human genome editing[A1] . The Conversation https://theconversation.com/south-africa-amended-its-research-guidelines-to-allow-for-heritable-human-genome-editing-241136
Baylis, F. (2024, September 23) Pathogens of pandemic potential: Decision-making by consensus[A2]. Impact Ethics https://impactethics.ca/2024/09/23/pathogens-of-pandemic-potential-decision-making-by-consensus/
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.
Select Conference Videos
Altered Inheritance: The Era of Designer Babies. [A1] Carlton College, Minneapolis, USA. 4 April 2024. https://www.carleton.edu/convocations/archives/convocation-with-francoise-baylis-altered-inheritance-the-era-of-designer-babies/
Human Genome Editing: Ethics, Politics & Policy. [A2] UCLA Health Weinberger Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture, [Online] 14 November 2023. https://www.uclahealth.org/programs/ethics-center/ethics-center-lectures
The Lady Vanishes: Redux (h/t Donna Dickenson). The Perfect Baby?: The Dangers of Gene Editing in Assisted Reproduction, [Online] 9 August 2022 (at 10:44).
Heritable Human Genome Editing: Science, Ethics and the Art of Policymaking (1 June 2021). Plenary lecture by Francoise Baylis. CRISPR 2021. [On-line]
Select Public Speaking Videos
Copy, Paste: What Can (and Should) Gene Editing Do? [A1] (14 June 2023) Viva Technology, Paris, France. Panel including Françoise Baylis. https://vimeo.com/836108776?share=copy
Vaccine Diplomacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic (12 April 2021). WHO Epidemic Ethics webinar. [on-line] Panel including Francoise Baylis.
Designer Babies: All You ever Wanted to Know (and More), (10 February 2021) A presentation by Francoise Baylis. Wayne Morse Chair for Law and Politics. [On-line]
The Genome Engineering Revolution: CRISPR and SHEEFs
Synthetic biology: blurring boundaries to create new realities. (16 Sept 2017). me Convention Frankfurt, Germany.
Breaking the wall between gene science and ethics: How philosophy can provide frameworks for a global biotech revolution. (9 Nov 2016). Falling Walls Conference, Berlin, Germany.
Select Interviews (Podcasts, Radio, TV & Video)
S3-E1: Dr. Françoise Baylis – The Ethical Implications of CRISPR and Beyond MindUnplugged Show with Dragos Radu, April 1, 2023
Episode 040: Françoise Baylis: Philosophy Bioethics Podcast or Perish, October 3, 2022
#199 Should We Use Gene Editing to Make Better Babies? Intelligence Squared US, 18 February 2022
Should We Use Gene Editing to Make Better Babies? Open to Debate[A1] , February 17, 2022. https://opentodebate.org/debate/use-gene-editing-make-better-babies/
The Promise (and Potential Problems) of Genetic Engineering. With Françoise Baylis TOA On Air, December 7, 2021
Bioethics on Health and Novel Human Genetic Technologies – A Detailed Conversation with Françoise Baylis Finding Genius Podcast. June 27, 2021