Mark Sheehan is James Martin Fellow in the Institute for Science and Ethics and Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Ethics Fellow at the Ethox Centre. In this interview he outlines some of the collaborative projects in which he has been involved since joining the Oxford Martin School.
The benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration are key to the thinking of the Oxford Martin School. We believe in the positive change that results from such collaboration. And Mark Sheehan is a good example of how collaboration brings rewards. His multiple affiliations outside his disciplinary realm have resulted in varied and effective sharing of expertise.
Back in 2007, in collaboration with Environmental Change Institute, he helped develop a workshop to explore whether some form of market in carbon emissions ought to be adopted, focusing on the ethical considerations of such a move. The outcomes of this workshop are still being discussed among academics in several of our institutes, and helping to inform policy and opinion on carbon markets.
More recently Sheehan’s interests have moved to ethics and particle therapy cancer treatment. Destroying cancer non-invasively using protons or charged light ions such as carbon (charged particle therapy or CPT) offers advantages over conventional radiotherapy using x-rays, since a far lower radiation dose is delivered to healthy tissues. However, there is much controversy surrounding the use of this treatment.