Zümrüt Alpinar Sencan, Ph.D.
Contact
Tel.: +49(0)551-39 69311
Mail: zuemruet.alpinar-sencan(at)med.uni-goettingen.de
Biographical Note
Jan 2023 - until now: Postdoctoral research fellow with DFG (German Research Foundation) individual research grant, “Intercultural dementia care in culturally diverse settings: An ethical analysis informed by a qualitative study with the Turkish immigrant community in Germany”.
June 2021 - Dec 2022: Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine within the project “HIGHmed: Heidelberg – Göttingen – Hannover Medical Informatics”, Subproject “Ethical and Social Implications of Big Data Supported Medicine from Stakeholders Perspectives”. (Project Website)
Feb 2021 - June 2021: Affiliated postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, University Medical Center Göttingen
Jan 2018 - June 2021: Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, coordinator of the GIF project “Why to know or not to know? Stakeholders' attitudes towards prodromal dementia diagnosis: Psycho-social and ethical implications in cross-cultural comparison“(PI: Prof. Dr. Silke Schicktanz & Prof. Dr. Perla Werner) (Project Website)
2018-2019: Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine within the project “Mind the Risk: Ethical, Psychological and Social Implications of Risk Information from Genetic to Related Technologies” (PI: Prof. Dr. Silke Schicktanz, Project Coordinator: Dr. Sabine Wöhlke) (Project Website)
2015-2017: Associate Researcher at the Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary, Canada.
2015: Ph.D. in Biomedical Ethics and Law, at the Institute for Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Ph.D. Thesis: Organ Selling, Human Dignity and its Violation: A Critical Assessment of the Role of Dignity in the Contemporary Debate on Commercialization of Organs (Supervisor: Dr. Holger Baumann)
2011-2014: Research assistant in the Network project “Human Dignity in Practical Contexts” at Centre for Ethics, Zurich, Switzerland (PI: Dr. Holger Baumann) (More)
2008-2010: Research assistant of Prof. Dr. Yaman Örs, professor emeritus of medical ethics and history of medicine at University of Ankara, Ankara, Turkey. Performed archival research, helped in systematising the academic and non-academic work of Prof. Dr. Yaman Örs. Edited and co-authored his book on Ethics (The Meaning and Meaninglessness of Ethics from the Perspective of a Scientific Philosopher Yaman Ors).
2009: M.A. in the Department of Philosophy, The Graduate School of Social Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.
Master’s Thesis: Expansion of Rawls’s Theory of Justice as Fairness to Health Care (Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ayhan Sol)
2006: B.A. in the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Bogaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey.
- Cross-Cultural Comparative Bioethics
- Empirical Ethics
- Cultutal Sensitivity and Cultural Diversity in Healthcare
- Predictive Medicine (esp. early diagnosis and prediction of dementia)
- Organ Trafficking and Markets (with a focus on "Dignity")
- Organ Donation and Transplantation (with a focus on "Justice" and "Resource Allocation")
Alpinar-Sencan, Z.*, Schicktanz, S.*, Ulitsa, N. Shefet, D., Werner, P. (2022). "Moral motivation regarding dementia risk testing among affected persons in Germany and Israel". Journal of Medical Ethics. 48: 861-867. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106990 (*Joint first authors) (Link) (Blog Post)
Werner, P., Ulitsa, N., Shephet, D., Abojabel, H., Alpinar-Sencan, Z., Schicktanz, S. (2021). "Fear About Alzheimer's Disease among Israeli and German Laypersons, Persons with Mild Neurocognitive Disorder and Their Relatives: A Qualitative Study". International Psychogeriatrics, 33(10): 1019-1034. doi:10.1017/S1041610220003397 (Link)
Alpinar-Sencan, Z., Schicktanz, S. (2020). “Addressing Ethical Challlenges of Disclosure in Dementia Prediction: Limitations of Current Guidelines and Suggestions to Proceed”. BMC Medical Ethics 21, 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-020-00476-4 (Link)
Lohmeyer, L., Alpinar-Sencan, Z., Schicktanz, S. (2021) “Attitudes towards Prediction and Early Diagnosis of Late-Onset Dementia: A Comparison of Tested Persons and Family Caregivers”. Aging and Mental Health. 25(5): 832-843. DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2020.1727851. (Link)
Alpinar-Sencan, Z., Lohmeyer, L., Schicktanz, S. (2020). “Planning Later Life with Dementia: Comparing Family Caregivers’ Perspective on Biomarkers with Laypersons’ Attitudes towards Genetic Testing of Dementia Prediction”. New Genetics and Society. 39(1): 51-79. DOI: 10.1080/14636778.2019.1637719 (Link)
Alpinar-Sencan, Z. (2017). "Ethics in the Light of Scientific Philosophy: Understanding Yaman Örs's Methodological Approach". Turkish Journal of Bioethics. 4(3): 118-124. (Link)
Alpinar-Sencan, Z., Baumann, H., Biller-Andorno, N. (2017). “Does Organ Selling Violate Human Dignity?”. Monash Bioethics Review. 34(3): 189-205. Published online on July 11, 2017. DOI: 10. 1007/s40592-017-0070-x. (Link)
Alpinar-Sencan, Z. (2016). “Reconsidering Kantian Arguments Against Organ Selling.” Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. 19(1): 21–31. Published online on January 31, 2015. DOI: 10.1007/s11019-015-9623-z. (Link)
Alpinar-Sencan, Z. (2014). “A Social Understanding of Dignity: A Promising Approach in the Organ Selling Debate.” Bioethica Forum. 7(4): 148–54.
Civaner, M., Alpinar, Z., Örs, Y. (2010). “Why Would Opt-Out System for Organ Procurement Be More Fair?” Synthesis Philosophica. 50(2): 367–76.
Alpinar, Z., Civaner, M., Örs, Y. (2010). “Rationing Healthcare: Should Life-Style Be Used as a Criterion?” The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology. 10 (4): 367–71. DOI:10.5152/akd.2010.097
Book Chapters
Alpinar-Sencan, Z. “Provision of Healthcare for Culturally Diverse Populations: Insights from a Qualitative Study on Dementia Care with the Turkish Immigrant Community in Germany”. In: Social Diversity and Access to Healthcare for Minority Groups in the Context of Hospital and Clinical Healthcare, M. Ramšak, P. Łuków, A. Muzur, F. Steger (eds.). Applied Ethics – Medicine Series. Freiburg: Karl Alber Verlag (Accepted for Publication).
Alpinar-Sencan, Z. (2021). Selling Organs: Dignity as a Further Concern. S. L. Hansen, S. Schicktanz (eds.), Ethical Challenges of Organ Transplantation: Current Debates and International Perspectives. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 209–25.
Biller-Andorno, N., Alpinar, Z. (2014). Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism. H.A.M.J. ten Have, B. Gordijn (eds.), Handbook of Global Bioethics. Dordrecht: Springer, 771–83. DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-2512-6_122
Edited Books
Örs, Y. (2011). Bir Bilimsel Felsefeci Olarak Yaman Örs’ün Yaklasimiyla Etik’in Anlami ve Anlmasizligi (The Meaning and Meaninglessness of Ethics From The Perspective of a Scientific Philosopher Yaman Örs). Z. Alpinar (Ed.), Ankara: Efil Yayinevi.
"Why to Know or Not to Know? Stakeholders’ Attitudes Towards Prodromal Dementia Diagnosis: Psycho-Social and Ethical Implications in Cross-Cultural Comparison" (funded by GIF) (Link)
HiGHmed: Heidelberg – Goettingen – Hannover Medical Informatics“, Subproject: "Ethics and Stakeholders" (funded by BMBF) (Link)
New Project: “Intercultural dementia care in culturally diverse settings: An ethical analysis informed by a qualitative study with the Turkish immigrant community in Germany” (funded by DFG)