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Professor of Neurology and Director of Neuroethics Canada, University of British Columbia

Dr. Illes is Professor of Neurology and Director of Neuroethics Canada at the University of British Columbia. She is a world-reknowned pioneer of the field of neuroethics that was formally established in early 2000 to directly align biomedical ethics with neuroscience in research, clinical practice, and the commercialization of brain health. She received her PhD from Stanford University, and holds faculty appointments in Medicine, Population and Public Health, and Journalism at UBC, the University of Washington in Seattle, and Clare Hall at Cambridge University in England.

Dr. Illes is co-lead of the Canadian Brain Research Strategy of the International Brain Initiative, and sits on numerous advisory boards, including the Institute for Neuroscience Mental Health and Addiction of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She also is a Director-at-Large of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and a Member of the Royal Society of Canada. Dr. Illes is often asked to provide expert consultation and testimony on ethics matters involving neurotechnologies, neuroprivacy, conflict of interest, crosscultural matters pertaining to neuroscience, and ownership of research data, governance, and regulation. She received the Order of Canada, the country’s highest citizen award, in 2017.

Experience

  • –present
    Professor and Director, University of British Columbia

Education

  • 1987 
    Stanford University, Hearing and Speech Sciences & Neuropsychology
  • 1983 
    McGill University, Psychology
  • 1981 
    Brandeis University, Psychology

Honours

Order of Canada; Fellow, Royal Society of Canada; Fellow, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences; Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science