Science, Ethics and Society: Introduction

Roland Mertelsmann is a haematologist and oncologist and was professor and chairman at the Freiburg University Medical Center, Department of Oncology and Hematology. Amongst others, Roland Mertelsmann is known for his scientific work in the fields of hematology, oncology and stem cell transplantation. He started his career as a medical student at the Universities of Göttingen, Hamburg and the King’s College School of Medicine, London. After his graduation at the University of Hamburg, he contributed to the isolation of the blood stimulating growth factor G-SCF during his work in Hematology and Clinical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. In 1985, he returned to Germany and became professor and head of the Department for Hematology and Oncology at the University of Mainz and since 1989 at the University of Freiburg. In 1994 he founded the philanthropic Biothera Foundation, which supports education, research and training in the Biomedical Sciences. In 2008, he initiated the International Master Program in Biomedical Sciences (IMBS), a joint program of the Universities of Freiburg, Germany, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, for international students from all continents. Roland Mertelsmann and colleagues founded the JOSHA Group of Journals and is part of the Editorial Board as well as editor for the section “Medicine”. He joined the association IASHA (International Academy for Science, Humanities and Arts e.V.) in 2015 as co-chair. In his presentation he briefly introduces the importance of bioethical aspect in scientific research and the responsibility of the scientist to society.