Bartha Maria Knoppers, O.C., O.Q., FRSC, FCAHS

Dr. Bartha Maria Knoppers, PhD (Comparative Medical Law), holds the Canada Research Chair in Law and Medicine (Tier 1: 2001-current). She is Director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Human Genetics, McGill University.

Former Chair of the International Ethics Committee of the Human Genome Project (HUGO), (1996 to 2004), Dr. Knoppers was a member of the International Bioethics Committee of the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that drafted the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (1993 to 1997). In 2007, she founded the international Population Project in Genomics and Society (P3G) and CARTaGENE, Québec’s population biobank. Former holder of the Chair d’excellence Pierre Fermat (France: 2006 to 2008), Dr. Knoppers was named Distinguished Visiting Scientist (Netherlands Genomics Initiative) (2009 to 2012) and received the ACFAS prize for multidisciplinarity (2011). She is Chair of the Ethics Working Party of the International Stem Cell Forum (2006 to current), Co-Chair of the Sampling/ELSI Committee of the 1000 Genomes Project (2008-current), and a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) (2009 to current).

Dr. Knoppers holds four doctorates Honoris Causa, is Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow of The Hastings Center (Bioethics) and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) and Officer of the Order of Canada and of Québec. She also received an award “Prix Montreal In Vivo: Secteur des sciences de la vie et des technologies de la santé” and in 2013 was named Champion of Genetics, by the Canadian Gene Cure Foundation.

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