August 01, 2025

The Board of Directors of the International Neuroethics Society (INS) has voted to appoint Professor Marcello Ienca to the position of President-Elect for one year and to serve as its next President for two years starting in 2026. Dr. Ienca will be the eighth INS President since its formation in 2008 and its first leader from continental Europe.

“It is a privilege to help realize the vision of the INS and expand its impact, to not only be a hub for neuroethical scholarship but also a catalyst for interdisciplinary collaboration, global inclusion, transgenerational mentoring, and policy engagement,” said Ienca.

Marcello Ienca Marcello Ienca is the Professor of Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, and Deputy Director of the Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in Germany. He is also a member of the UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on the Ethics of Neurotechnology; an appointed expert and rapporteur to the Council of Europe’s Committee on Convention 108; the lead of the Neuroethics Working Group of the International Brain Initiative; and the former Head of the Intelligent Systems Ethics Group, College of Humanities, EPFL, in Switzerland.

“My vision for the Society is for it to be as intellectually ambitious as it is socially responsive — a community that inspires, connects, and empowers,” he explained

Serving as the INS President, Dr. Ienca plans to expand the Society’s engagement with emerging research communities around the world and increase dialogue between neuroethics and adjacent fields such as AI ethics, data governance, and human rights. He also envisions new efforts to promote transgenerational mentoring and the ethical co-design of neurotechnologies through participatory, interdisciplinary approaches.

"Neuroethics must be as global as the scientific fields and technologies it explores. Only through genuine international dialog can we ensure that neuroscience and neurotechnology progress responsibly and for the common good," said Ienca.

Dr. Ienca has been an active member of the INS since 2014 and a Board member since 2023. Along with fellow INS Board member Dr. Philipp Kellmeyer, Ienca served as a co-chair of the Program Committee which organized the Neuroethics 2025 conference held in Munich, Germany in April 2025 — the first INS Annual Meeting held in Europe and organized in partnership with the Società Italiana di Neuroetica (SINe).

“From early-career member to President-Elect, my journey within the INS reflects the Society’s unique ability to nurture and elevate voices across generations and disciplines,” Ienca said. “We stand on the shoulders of those who built this field. My mission is to carry their legacy forward by opening new doors, building new bridges, and amplifying our collective voice.”

The INS President serves as chair of the Society’s Board of Directors and guides its efforts to achieve the mission of the Society to foster an inclusive and interdisciplinary community advancing dialogue and research on the ethical, legal, clinical, social, and policy considerations raised by brain sciences and technology. The INS is a professional association of scientists, scholars, students, and practicing professionals with members from many disciplines, cultures, and regions around the world.

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