University of California, Los Angeles

This one-year fellowship will provide a unique training opportunity for early career neuroethics researchers and offers dedicated neuroethics support for the Implantable Brain-Computer Interface Collaborative Community (iBCI-CC).  

Despite growing recognition of the value of participant engagement in other areas, the field of implanted neurotechnology research has only recently, and vaguely, explored its significance. When the concept is invoked, it is often without clear distinction from “community engagement” and “patient engagement”, and with little emphasis on practical guidance. In fact, there has been no systematic and interdisciplinary investigation into what participant engagement ought to mean for implanted neurotechnology research, why it should be done, and how best to do it. This lack of collective practical guidance is especially consequential for brain-computer interface early feasibility studies (BCI EFS), where implanted BCIs are being developed for people with significant motor or communication disabilities, for whom existing assistive technologies are insufficient. The two Dana-funded postdocs will collaboratively develop both a framework for designing participant engagement practices in BCI EFS as well as an online interface for assisting research teams in implementing this framework in their own studies. 

This grant supports the Dana NextGen objective to prepare trainees at early career stages to think critically and reflexively about the ethical, legal, and societal implications raised by real-world neuroscience applications through experiential learning and innovative curricula.