Community-engaged collaborations in neuroethics are growing. This diverse panel of neuroethics experts will look at sample projects from several perspectives and reflect on the values and motivations underpinning their work. The discussion will examine challenges, surprising outcomes, and lessons learned — which can serve as a helpful resource or starting point for others interested in pursuing community-engaged collaborations.
- Ian Burkhart
- Philipp Kellmeyer
- Eran Klein
- Michelle T. Pham
Agenda
- Introduction / 5-10 minutes
- Speaker presentations / 15 minutes
- Panel discussion / 15 minutes
- Audience Q&A / 20 minutes
Attend
Bechtel Conference Center at Encina Hall
Main Hall
Friday, April 17, 2026
10:00-11:00am PDT
Time check »
A password is required to watch this session virtually via Zoom. Only registered conference participants will receive the password.
Neuroethics 2026
Building Bridges and Cultivating Community
This session is part of the Neuroethics 2026 conference organized by the INS and hosted by the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. Register for the conference to attend in-person at Stanford University in Stanford, California, U.S., or to participate virtually.
Description
This panel will share and discuss current neuroethics community-engaged collaborations from a variety of perspectives, including: neuroethics researchers, a Brain Pioneer, and individuals who might occupy multiple roles in this space. The focus of community-engaged collaborations in neuroethics includes projects in which neuroethics researchers collaborate with Brain Pioneers (i.e., first in-human BCI study participants), Brain Pioneers’ perspectives on collaborating with neuroethicists on a variety of community-engaged projects, and the program manager’s perspective on their work for a collaborative community that includes the Leadership and input of Brain Pioneers.
Panelists will reflect on why they are pursuing community-engaged collaboration and the values and motivations underpinning their work. This session will aim to serve as a helpful resource or starting point for researchers who are interested in pursuing this type of work. Each panelist will be asked to discuss:
- Motivations/reasons for community-engaged collaboration(s)
- Challenging aspects of community-engaged work
- Most surprising/rewarding aspects
- Lessons learned/advice/takeaways for those considering embarking on a community-engaged collaboration
Objectives:
- One main objective of this panel is to showcase a variety of perspectives and experiences on the value, motivations, and challenges and benefits of community-engaged collaboration in neuroethics.
- Another objective is to build momentum around when and which engagement practices members of the neuroethics community ought to pursue and why, including best practices for embarking on a community-engaged collaboration.
Speakers
Ian Burkhart
BCI Pioneers Coalition
Ian Burkhart is a C5 tetraplegic and brain-computer interface pioneer whose work is reshaping how neurotechnology is developed and deployed. After a 2010 diving accident left him paralyzed from the chest down, Ian became the first person in the world to restore movement to a paralyzed hand using an implanted BCI, helping researchers demonstrate both motor and sensory restoration through neurotechnology. He is the founder and president of the BCI Pioneers Coalition, a global community led by implantable BCI research participants that brings together lived-experience experts, researchers, companies, and regulators to guide ethical, patient-centered innovation in neurotechnology. Ian also leads the Ian Burkhart Foundation.
Philipp Kellmeyer
University of Mannheim
Philipp Kellmeyer, MD, MPhil is Juniorprofessor for Responsible AI and Digital Health in the Data and Web Science Group at the School of Business Informatics and Mathematics at the University of Mannheim. His research focuses on participatory and partaking-oriented approaches to developing AI systems, social robots and XR systems, especially for digital health applications, with a specific focus on value alignment, trust and responsibility.
Moderator
Eran Klein
Oregon Health & Science University
Eran Klein, MD, is an Associate Professor of Neurology in the School of Medicine at OHSU.
Michelle T. Pham
Michigan State University
Michelle T. Pham is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice at Michigan State University. She conducts research in the interdisciplinary field of neuroethics and connected issues in the Philosophy of Science. Some recent topics include promoting post-trial care for patient-participants in experimental brain implant studies and decision-making in the context of pediatric deep brain stimulation. Pham also researches ways to promote engagement with patient-participants who contribute to neuroscience and neurotechnology research; and she has raised the concern that patient-participants in these brain implant studies may be exploited.
Resources
Pham, M.T., de Leeuw, A., Burkhart, I. et al. Why We Need Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) in Neuroethics. Neuroethics 19, 15 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-026-09643-7
Keywords: community-engagement; collaboration; Brain Pioneers; best practices
Recording
A recording of this session will be made available to registered attendees.