Dr. Karin Jongsma is associate professor of Bioethics at the Julius Center of the University Medical Center Utrecht. She leads a research group focussing on the ethics of (bio)medical innovation, including amongst others digital medicine, neuroscience and regenerative medicine. She is a member of the Institutional Research Board of the University Medical Center Utrecht and the Utrecht Young Academy. Previously she was amongst others a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford, the University of Montreal and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS). She is committed to public engagement and science communication and considers playfulness and reflexivity essential to good academic practice.
1. What’s the first thing you do when you get to work in the morning?
I try to keep my mornings meeting-free and dedicated to writing. This is not always successful both in terms of not being able to have writing mornings as well as in terms of being unsuccessful with writing.
2. What’s your work routine like?
I do not have a routine and enjoy that each day is different: meetings with students and colleagues, teaching, committee meetings, grant writing, paper writing, among others.
I have learned over the years that I only get writing done when I have dedicated time, and often block time in my calendar when deadlines are approaching or when I have a burning idea for a paper or grant.
3. Are you involved in the theoretical, investigative, or the practical/translational aspect of neuroethics? Describe your research area briefly.
As a bioethicist working in an academic hospital I am mostly interested in applied questions including questions about technical features and requirements for (existing) neurotechnology. I also enjoy working on more conceptual clarity, such as: What do we mean with user control when we talk about neurotechnology?
4. What’s a challenge that you face on a daily basis as a neuroethicist?
It is such a fast evolving field in terms of technological advancements and number of publications, especially when including the convergence with AI; that it is hard to keep up with. It is at the same time the thing that draws me to this field as it is exciting, and as an ethicists you can still (somewhat) impact the development of these technologies.
5. How do you determine what questions deserve the most focus and attention in your work?
Partly, [it is] based on what makes me angry: for example a disagreement with the status quo/an argument of another scholar, or a misconception in the literature can be the source for a paper or grant application. Partly, I try to serve the neuroscientists I work with by understanding which ethical questions and ethics research may help them further innovating in their respective fields.
6. What do you wish more people understood about being a neuroethicist? Whether it be from a schooling, interest, or day-in-the-life point of view? Describe neuroethics in your own words.
That there is no way around ethics, it concerns every (neuro)scientist, physician, and citizen.
7. What skills or training do you most frequently use in your work and how do you suggest more people gain these skills if they want to contribute to the field?
Curiosity is important for any researcher, but as a bioethicist it is crucial. Genuine question-asking might be our best superpower.
8. What do you love most about your work? What keeps you motivated?
Everyday I get to work with very smart, inspiring and interesting people, this makes my work more interesting and days more pleasant.
9. What’s one thing you wished you did differently in your career trajectory?
I believe that luck plays a large role in academic careers and I am not sure any different choice would have brought me further or [on] a better path, I am grateful for how lucky I have been so far.
10. What’s one thing you could advice the next generation of neuroethicists?
Find yourself an academic buddy/cheerleader/twin, someone who cheers for you and trusts in you when you doubt yourself.
11. What’s the last thing you do when you leave work in the evening?
Aside from simply closing my laptop, I do not have a routine.
This post is part of the Neuroethics Today blog series 'A Day in the Life of a Neuroethicist' where we bring you answers to questions by junior and senior neuroethicists about a day in their life to give you a better idea of what neuroethicists do, what have they learned throughout their trajectory, and ways that you can do it too.