Welcome

The W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics (the Centre) is an interdisciplinary research unit within the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. The Centre was created in 1993 with endowments by W. Maurice Young (LLD) and the Bentall Foundation.

The Centre’s approach to other UBC academic and research units follows from our position as an interdisciplinary academic centre, and from our mission to advance the research agenda of applied ethics. A number of departments and units, including Animal Welfare, the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, Nursing and Philosophy, have contributed outstanding students to the Centre, while our research and teaching/supervision now ties us to Medical Genetics, Law, Political Science, Journalism, Forestry, Botany and Computing Sciences. These relationships and the products of our collaborations place the Centre at the forefront of the movement to create transdisciplinary research.

The Centre’s affairs are managed by a Coordinating Committee representing faculty, students and research associates, chaired by the Director of the Centre.

Mission

The Centre’s mission is to advance research and teaching of applied ethics, conceived as the application of normative methods to core issues in science and technology ethics and policy, organizational ethics, animal welfare, health, the environment, and research ethics.

The Centre is an interdisciplinary group of philosophers and social scientists who employ diverse methodologies to a wide range of problems, including healthcare practices, business and professional procedures, new technologies and environmental issues.

Objective

The Centre aims to conduct world-class research in applied ethics and to educate the next generation of applied ethics researchers and practitioners. It has, in part, met the challenges of working in this field by successfully seeking funding for several major research programs and a growing number of graduate and post-doctoral students.

Youth, Gender, and Healthcare Workshop

Co-sponsored by the American Philosophical Association’s Berry Fund, the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, the Canada Research Chair held by Prof. Kimberley Brownlee, the Society of Applied Philosophy, the SSHRC Exchange Grant.

Interesting and urgent philosophical questions loom large at the intersection of youth and gender, especially in the context of healthcare. For instance, how do we balance between protecting the vulnerable and respecting developing autonomy? What decisional role should adolescents have in their medical care? How does gender influence the care that minors receive, and the responsibilities they are afforded? This workshop addresses the topic of youth, gender, and healthcare, broadly interpreted. It will bring together scholars researching in ethics, feminist and family philosophy to address essential questions at this underexplored intersection.

Thurs and Fri Oct 1-2, 2026, 10 am to 4:30 pm PT) | Hybrid | Register by Sept 16, 2026

Seminar | Menopause and Perimenopause in Uganda: The Unexamined and Unmet Needs of Midlife Women in Low and Middle Income Settings

Co-sponsored by the UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research

Speaker: Gina Ogilvie, University of BC

Tues Oct 6, 2026, 12-1 pm PT | Hybrid

Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the seminar in person or virtually.

Changing the Spotlight Symposium: Harm in Healthcare

Presented by PHSA Ethics in partnership with the W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics.

Speaker: Autumn Asher BlackDeer, PhD, MSW Assistant Professor, York University, Toronto, Canada
Speaker: Mo Korchinski, RSW, Executive Director of Unlocking the Gates Service Society (UTG)
Speaker: Olivier Ferlatte, PhD, Associate Professor, École de santé publique de l’Université de Montréal

Fri Nov 6, 2026, 9 am – 12 pm PT | Virtual

Register here and please share this invitation with colleagues and others who may be interested.