Vatican to host conference on molecular biology and regenerative medicine

The Vatican is set to host an international conference in Vatican City that will bring together scientists, physicians, and bioethicists to reflect on the ethical challenges of molecular biology, regenerative medicine, and new biotechnologies from a Christian perspective.

The Pontifical Academy for Life, together with the NCCR Molecular Systems Engineering at the University of Basel and ETH Zurich and the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, is organizing the third ICEEL conference on March 23–24 under the title Quid est homo? Quis est homo? (“What is man? Who is man?”).

The event will explore links among fields including biomedicine and molecular engineering and will feature leading international scientists, bioethicists, and physicians in roundtable discussions on the ethical and social implications of technological innovation from a Christian perspective.

The program includes keynote lectures and panels on science and the human person, the human body, consciousness and spirituality, as well as sessions on responsibility and scientific communication.

Topics will also include the neuroscience of consciousness, regenerative medicine, and the ethics of genetic engineering, with a focus on the moral and social challenges posed by contemporary biotechnology.

According to the organizers, the conference seeks to foster dialogue among science, ethics, and spirituality by combining cutting-edge scientific perspectives with the Christian values promoted by the Church. They said the discussions are intended to help guide future responsible policies and practices in biomedical research and molecular biology.

Among the participants are several prominent researchers, including Maria Chiara Carrozza, an Italian engineer and former education minister known for her work in applied robotics and the ethics of artificial intelligence, and John P. A. Ioannidis, a Stanford University professor and internationally known statistician and epidemiologist.

Also scheduled to participate are Gaia Novarino of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, a neuroscientist specializing in the genetics of neurological diseases, and Bert Gordijn of Dublin City University, a philosopher and bioethicist known for his work on life ethics and biotechnology policy.

Other notable participants include Hope Kean of MIT, an expert in cognitive neuroscience, and Maria Patrão Neves of the University of the Azores in Portugal, whose work focuses on the philosophy of scientific responsibility.

The gathering will conclude March 25 with an audience for all participants with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

This article was originally published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.