NEUROSYSM940, The nature of disease and suffering and the goals of precision medicine (2026)

Precision medicine is changing how we think about health, illness, and treatment by tailoring care to the individual. This course explores the bigger picture: How is precision medicine shaping medical research and practice, and what kinds of questions, challenges, and dilemmas come with it?

Through a mix of articles, seminars, and real-life examples, the course encourages participants to reflect on the ethical, social, and philosophical sides of precision medicine. We’ll look at big ideas from different fields, like responsible research and innovation, philosophy of science, and medical ethics, to help make sense of how this new way of thinking affects both science and society.

To make it practical and engaging, participants will bring in cases from their own work and backgrounds. These will form the starting point for discussions and help connect theory to real-world experience.

Through this course, you will gain valuable insights into:

• The core principles and key concepts of Precision Medicine (PM).
• Different ways of understanding suffering, disease, and health across research traditions, including how these perspectives shape the goals and focus of medical science.
• Central ideas within Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), including its purpose, historical roots, and role in society.
• How qualitative, disease-specific research contributes to the broader field of PM.
• How concepts like suffering, disease, and health can serve as tools to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and critical reflection in PM.
• How to evaluate and reflect on PM as a new model for organizing medical research and healthcare.
• How to identify and assess the ethical and social implications of PM for research, clinical practice, roles (such as researcher, clinician, patient, and participant), and society at large.
• How to examine your own academic field and research project for hidden assumptions, and think critically about their design, implementation, and societal impact.
• How to search for and apply relevant qualitative literature to deepen your understanding of your research project as part of a wider scientific and cultural context.

When: March 26-27, and April 17, 2026. 

Program: will be announced

Where: Auditorium to be announced, Bergen, campus Haukeland University Hospital

Who: The course is open to PhD candidates, students in the Medical Student Research Program, postdocs and researchers. The course is limited to 15 participants. PhD candidates affiliated with Neuro-SysMed will be prioritized. 

Deadline for registration: February 1, 2026. Non-UiB students register through Søknadsweb, and UiB students register through Studentweb. 

ECTS: 2 ECTS at the University of Bergen for a fully completed course.

Academic responsibility: Caroline Benedicte Nitter Engen (caroline.engen@uib.no) and Jan Reinert Karlsen (jan.karlsen@uib.no). 

Course coordinator: Justin Haugland-Pruitt (email: justin.haugland-pruitt@uib.no). 

See more details about NEUROSYSM940 at the student pages.