Past Meetings

This page provides meeting information and materials from past Asian Bioethics Network meetings.

Last updated 6 March 2026

2023 ABN Meeting

Second Asian Bioethics Network Meeting held on 4 Sep 2023

Summary of Second Meeting

The second Asian Bioethics Network (ABN) meeting was held on 4 Sep 2023 with the theme "Emerging Ethical Challenges of Healthcare Digitalisation".
The ABN meeting was chaired by Emeritus Professor Lee Eng Hin, Chair of the Bioethics Advisory Committee (BAC) and Emeritus Professor Roy Joseph, Chair of the National Medical Ethics Committee (NMEC).
The ABN has expanded considerably from eight member states in June 2021 and currently comprises 14 members from Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This indicates strong support and interest from our regional counterparts in exchanging bioethics experiences and furthering capabilities.
Representatives from different Asian countries were invited to share on their national bioethics committees' work, major achievements, and bioethics initiatives in their countries. They also shared on the state of healthcare digitalisation in their countries as well as the emerging technologies, benefits, ethical challenges faced and the plans/recommendations to address the challenges.
The meeting also featured two keynote presentations by Associate Professor Ngiam Kee Yuan, Group Chief Technology Officer, National University Health System and Professor Julian Savulescu, Director, Centre for Biomedical Ethics, and Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor in Medical Ethics, National University of Singapore.

Representatives from ABN member states

S/N	Country	Name	Designation and Institution
1	Australia	Ms Cathy Schapper	Acting Director, Ethics and Integrity section, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
2	Australia	Dr Jeremy Kenner	Expert Advisor - Ethics, NHMRC
3	Brunei	Dr Alice Yong	ex-Chair, Medical and Health Research and Ethics Committee, Ministry of Health
4	Korea	Associate Professor Ilhak Lee	Associate Professor in Medical Ethics, Department of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Medicine, Yonsei University
5	Korea	Dr Eunyoung Lee	Senior Researcher (Team Leader), Department of Policy & Research, Team of Policy Development, Korea National Institute for Bioethics Policy (KoNIBP)
6	Korea	Ms Geyhyoung Joh	Administrative Staff, Department of Policy & Research, Team of Policy Development, KoNIBP
7	Myanmar	Professor Zaw Than Htun	Director-General, Department of Medical Research (DMR); and Vice-chairperson, Institutional Review Board
8	Myanmar	Dr Theingi Thwin	Director, Research (Ret.), DMR; and Member, DMR Ethical Institutional Review Board
9	Nepal	Ms Namita Ghimire	Chief, Ethical Review of the Monitoring and Evaluation Section, Nepal Health Research Council
10	New Zealand	Professor John McMillan	Chair, National Ethics Advisory Committee (NEAC); and Professor, Bioethics Centre, University of Otago
11	New Zealand	Mr Shannon Hanrahan	Deputy Chair, NEAC
12	New Zealand	Ms Elizabeth Bohm	Principal Advisor, NEAC
13	New Zealand	Ms Nicola Liebergreen	Senior Advisor, NEAC
14	Philippines	Attorney Charade B. Mercado-Grande	Assistant Secretary of Health, Health Facility and Patient Support Team, Department of Health; and Chairperson, Bioethics Advisory Board
15	Philippines	Ms Kathleen Grace M. Lentija	Nurse IV, Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau, Department of Health
16	Thailand	Emeritus Professor Yongyuth Yuthavong	Emeritus Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science , Mahidol University
17	Thailand	Professor Prasit Palittapongarnpim	Professor, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University
18	Thailand	Ms Thitiwan Kerdsomboon	Division Director, The Office of Research Integrity Division (ORI), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)
19	Thailand	Dr Rattanapan Phoomirat	Senior Project Analyst, ORI, NSTDA
20	Thailand	Ms Rujikorn Sabsompong	Project Analyst, ORI, NSTDA

Click here for the presentation slides and meeting report.

2021 ABN Meeting

First Asian Bioethics Network Meeting held on 10 June 2021

Summary of Inaugural Meeting

The first Asian Bioethics Network (ABN) meeting was held on 10 June 2021 in conjunction with BAC's 20th Anniversary Event, which also comprised a virtual public conference held on 17 and 18 June 2021.
The ABN meeting was chaired by Mr Charles Lim, BAC member and Singapore's representative to UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC) for the 2018-2021 term.
At the meeting, the BAC shared its proposal to establish the Asian Bioethics Network, and also invited representatives from different Asian countries to share their national bioethics committees' work, achievements, latest developments, as well as emerging bioethical issues in their countries.
The attendees agreed to the BAC's proposal to establish the Asian Bioethics Network as it would facilitate the sharing of resources, enable knowledge exchange and help foster regional networks. This would mutually benefit all network members by allowing the various committees to be kept abreast of the latest international developments in bioethics, and ensure that their recommendations were developed in tandem with international best practices. With continued relationship-building, the network members would also be better able to converge on ethical positions and represent the Asian perspective at international platforms.