Michael Rost

Postdoctoral Fellow

michael.rost@ubc.ca

Dr. Rost is a bioethicist with degrees in Psychology (MSc), Applied Ethics (MA) and Biomedical Ethics (PhD), affiliated with the Institute for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Basel, Switzerland. His current research stay at the UBC’s Birth Place Lab was funded by the by the Swiss National Science Foundation’s Scientific Exchange funding scheme. His main research interests include maternal autonomy in intrapartum decision-making, decision-making in pediatric oncology, and the concept of normality in medicine. As an empirical bioethicist who integrates ethical and empirical analyses, he is very passionate about improving person-centered decision-making in childbirth through examining both health professionals’ and women’s attitudes towards key elements of ethically sound decision-making, in particular towards maternal autonomy.

Dr. Rost’s publications in several peer-reviewed journals include quantitative, qualitative and theoretical work on decision-making in pediatric oncology, pediatric palliative care, decision-making capacity, autonomy in children, informed consent, medical uncertainty, and mistreatment in childbirth. He has disseminated the results of his research at international and national conferences in the area of both clinical medicine and medical ethics. Dr. Rost has been awarded funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Cancer League and the University of Basel’s Research Fund Junior Researchers. He also gave lectures on various ethical subjects, such as behavioral ethics, coercion in medicine, research ethics, or non-beneficial research with children.

Besides his academic work, Dr. Rost has served as a family psychology expert witness for family courts in Germany. He also was appointed member of the ethics council of the Systemic Society Germany where he advices the executive board in cases of complaints against members of the Systemic Society.