Here we share news and updates from around our Network. 

The GHBN has been developing ethics capacity around the world for more than 15 years. Watch a video that discusses our growth and journey.

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Oxford Global Health & Bioethics International Conference

July 2026

On 15 & 16 July 2026, we participated in the Oxford Global Health Bioethics Conference at the Life and Mind Building, University of Oxford. Fifteen GHBN members from across our partner sites attended and gave talks on topics ranging from precision medicine in Malaysia, to resilience and relevance in long-term Networks, value dilemmas in antibiotic supply in rural communities in Vietnam, health equity, mentorship in bioethics, and many other subjects. Read more about it at this LinkedIn post here.

GHBN Summer School 2025

The 14th Annual GHBN Summer School was held in Cape Town in September 2025. 54 participants from 15 countries explored topics ranging from mental health and climate change; bioethics in contexts of conflict; ethical challenges faced by minority groups in medicine; and ethics and AI—including a lively debate on whether AI should guide end-of-life decisions—to comparative ethical frameworks, navigating between empirical and normative bioethics, and the future of the field amid today’s geopolitical shifts. A moving bioethics “pilgrimage” through the Castle of Good Hope was a highlight of the week. We left with renewed courage, sharper insight, deeper friendships, and a shared resolve to champion the value of bioethics. 

Dr Alex Phang Kean Chang - GHBN Early Career Research Fellow

Alex Phang Kean Chang, based at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pathology. In addition to his teaching role, he serves as the Head of the Unit of Medical Research Ethics at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre. He holds three Master’s Degrees—one in Pathology, one in Public Health, and another in Health Research Ethics—as well as a PhD in Pathology. He is also a faculty member for the Master of Health Research Ethics (MOHRE) programme at Universiti Malaya in collaboration with the Berman Institute of Bioethics and Johns Hopkins University. With the GHBN, he's currently working on the ethical and governance challenges surrounding the practice of precision medicine. His broader research interests include research ethics, public health ethics, and ethics of emerging technologies.

Dr Deborah Nyirenda - GHBN Early Career Research Fellow

Deborah Nyirendais an Associate Group Head for Community Engagement and Bioethics at Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme (in Blantyre, Malawi) and a Career Track Lecturer in Qualitative Research in Global Health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Her research focuses on strengthening ethical community engagement, and public and patients’ involvement in medical research conducted in the global south. Prior to this post, she completed a PhD that focused on critically examining community engagement in health research conducted in Malawi..

Wellester Alvis - GHBN Early Career Research Fellow

Wellester Alvis is a research fellow with the Global Health Bioethics Network at the Universiti Malaya in Malaysia. He has an MBBS and a Master's in Medical Ethics and Medical Jurisprudence. He is currently working with his team to do carry out ethics and governance work in the implementation of precision medicine in the LMIC context. His research interests include bioethics, medical ethics and the ethical transfer of knowledge to practice.