Dr. Agata Ferretti

Dr.  Agata Ferretti

Dr. Agata Ferretti

Lecturer at the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences

ETH Zürich

Professur für Bioethik

HOA H 17

Hottingerstrasse 10

8092 Zürich

Switzerland

Additional information

Dr. Agata Ferretti is senior research fellow (Oberassistentin) at the Health Ethics & Policy Lab, Department of Health Science and Technology, ETH Zurich. Agata's background is in philosophy, bioethics, and global health policy. During her undergraduate and master's degrees, she studied at the State University of Milan (Italy) and KU Leuven (Belgium). Before joining ETH, she earned a MSc in Global Health from the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK). Her PhD, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, focused on the ethics and governance of big data in health research and digital health

Leveraging both conceptual and empirical research methods, her work aims to address ethical, legal, and social issues in digital health. Agata's multifaceted interests encompass data governance, ethical AI in global health specifically in the areas of mental health and sexual and reproductive health, regulatory strategies for responsible health innovation (such as health apps and digital epidemiology), ethical oversight for biomedical research, algorithmic transparency in medical machine learning. Her most recent academic research focused on the ethical and policyconsiderations related to the use of digital technologies for youth health promotion in low- and middle-income settings

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Responsible Digital Health (Big Data, AI, Health Apps, Wearable Technologies, Digital Epidemiology)
  • Big Data and AI Governance 
  • Health Policy
  • Youth Health 
  • Global Health and Health Systems Strengthening in the LMICs
  • Bioethics & Research Ethics
  • Neuroethics and Mental Health
  • Philosophy of Science and Technology

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS (PEER-REVIEWED)

-        Ferretti, A., Hubbs, S., Cengiz, N., Jamalie, M.A., Wright, J., Moodley, K., Vayena, E. (forthcoming - under review) Listening to the Voices of the Youth: Perspectives on Digital Health Promotion from Medical Students in the Western Cape, South Africa.

-        Ferretti, A., Hubbs, S., Dzikunu, R.M., Moodley, K., Wekesah, F., Wright, J., Vayena, E. (forthcoming - under review) Taxonomy and ethical considerations of digital health promotion tools for youth: Selected examples from three Sub-Saharan African countries. Preprint available: https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/54472call_made

-        Ferretti, A., Adjei, K.K., Ali, J., Atuire, C., Ayuk, B.T., Banougnin, B.H., Cengiz, N., Gichoya, J., Jjingo, D., Juma, D.O., Kotze, W., Krubiner, C., Littler, K., McCradden, M.D., Moodley, K., Naidoo, M., Nair, G., Obeng-Kyereh, K., Oliver, K., Ralefala, D., Toska, E., Wekesah, F.M., Wright, J., Vayena, E. (forthcoming - under review) Digital Tools for Youth Health Promotion: Principles, Policies, and Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

-        Canali, S., Ferretti, A., Schiaffonati, V., Blasimme, A. (forthcoming - under review). Wearable technologies for healthy ageing: prospects, challenges, and ethical considerations.

-        Ferretti, A., Vayena, E., Blasimme, A. (2023). Unlock Digital Health Promotion in LMICs to Benefit the Youth. Plos Digitl Health, doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000315call_made

-        Ferretti, A., Hubbs, S., Vayena, E. (2023). Global youth perspectives on digital health promotion. A scoping review. BMC Digital Health, doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s44247-023-00025-0call_made

-        Ferretti, A., Vayena, E. (2022). In the Shadow of Privacy: Overlooked Ethical Concerns in COVID-19 Digital Epidemiology. Epidemics, doi: 10.1016/j.epidem.2022.100652call_made

-        Ienca, I., Fins, J.J., Jox,R.J., Jotterand, F., Voeneky, s., Andorno, R., Ball, T., Castelluccia, C., Chavarriaga, R., Chneiweiss, H., Ferretti, A., Friedrich, O., Hurst, S., Merkel, G., Molnar-Gabor, F., Rickli, J-M., Scheibner, J., Vayena, E., Yuste, R., Kellmeyer, P. (2022). Towards a Governance Framework for Brain Data. Neuroethics, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-022-09498-8call_made

-        Ferretti, A., Ienca, M., Rivas Velarde, M., Hurst, S., Vayena, E. (2021). The Challenges of Big Data for Research Ethics Committees: A Qualitative Swiss study. Journal of Empirical Research in Human Research Ethics, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/15562646211053538call_made

-        Ferretti, A., Hedrich, N., Lovey, T., Vayena, E., Schlagenhauf, P. (2021). Mobile apps for travel medicine and ethical considerations: a systematic review. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2021.102143call_made

-        Vayena, E., Ferretti, A. (2021). Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Global Health. Ethical Challenges and Opportunities. In Global Health. Ethical Challenges. Edited by Benatar, S., Brock, G., Cambridge University Press, doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108692137.036call_made

-        Blasimme, A., Ferretti, A., Vayena, E. (2021). Digital contact tracing against COVID-19 in Europe: current features and ongoing developments. Frontiers Digital Health, doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2021.660823call_made

-        Ferretti, A., Ienca, M., Sheehan, M., Blasimme, A., Dove, E. S., Farsides, B., Friesen, P., Kahn, J., Karlen, W., Kleist, P., Liao, S.M., Nebeker, C., Samuel, G., Shabani, M., Rivas Velarde, M., Vayena, E. (2021). Ethics review of big data research: what should stay and what should be reformed? BMC Medical Ethics. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00616-4call_made

-        Ferretti, A., Ienca, M., Hurst, S., Vayena, E. (2020). Big Data, Biomedical Research, and Ethics Review: New Challenges for IRBs. Ethics & Human Research, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/eahr.500065call_made

-        Vayena, E., Ienca, M., Scheibner, J., Ferretti, A., Gille, F., Amann, J., Sleigh, J. Blasimme, A. (2019). How the General Data Protection Regulation changes the rules for scientific research. European Parliamentary Research Service. Scientific Foresight Unit (STOA), EPRS_STU(2019)634447_EN.pdfcall_made

-        Jobin, A., Ferretti, A. (2019), The Future of Digital Health Ethics. Bioethica Forum, 12(1/2)

-        Ferretti, A., Ronchi, E., Vayena, E. (2019). From principles to practice benchmarking government guidance on health apps. The Lancet Digital Health, doi: 10.1016/S2589-7500(19)30027-5call_made

-        Ferretti, A., & Ienca, M. (2018). Enhanced Cognition, Enhanced Self? On Neuroenhancement and Subjectivity. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, doi: 10.1007/s41465-018-0109-9call_made

-        Ferretti, A., Schneider, M., Blasimme, A. (2018). Machine Learning in Medicine. European Data Protection Law Review, 4(3), doi: https://doi.org/10.21552/edpl/2018/3/10call_made

-        Ienca, M., Ferretti, A., Hurst, S., Puhan, M., Lovis, C., Vayena, E. (2018). Considerations for ethics review of big data health research: A scoping review. PLOS ONE, 13(10), e0204937, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204937call_made

 

CONFERENCES ATTENDED AS SPEAKER 

  • IEEE Future Tech Forum Roundtable (06/2023)
    Online
    Invited Panelist: “Digital Privacy in the Era of Digital Health”
  • Oxford Global Health and Bioethics International Conference 2023 (06/2023)
    Oxford, United Kingdom
    Presentation: “Young people perspectives on digital health promotion. Ethical considerations and future recommendations.”
  • UZH Bio-Med Event (06/2023)
    Zurich, Switzerland
    Invited Panelist: “AI in Life Sciences and Beyond”
  • Institute for History and Ethics of Medicine, TU München (05/2023)
    Munich, Germany
    Invited Talk: “Enabling Digital Health Promotion in Low-and Middle-Income Countries.”
  • The British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce Basel Chapter (04/2023)
    Basel, Switzerland
    Invited Panelist: “Should You Trust Digital Healthcare?”
  • The National Academies – Board on Science Education (03/2023)
    Washington DC, United States
    Invited Talk and Expert Panelist: “Effective Health Communications within the Current Information Environment and the Role of the Federal Government. Focus on Digital Data and Information Systems”
  • Annual Swiss Symposium in Pharmaceutical Medicine: artificial intelligence and cutting-edge therapies (11/2022)
    Zurich, Switzerland
    Invited Talk: “Ethical and Legal Challenges of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data”
  • Digital Mental Health: A Real Opportunity for Healthcare or Technology-Driven Solutionism? (11/2022)
    Online workshop supported by GLOHRA
    Invited Talk: “Promoting Mental Health with Digital Technologies: Young People’s Views”
  • REDESSA Seminar: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Research (10/2022)
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Invited Talk and Panelist: “Data Biases and Ethical Implications for AI in Healthcare”
  • AI + X Summit (10/2022)
    Zurich, Switzerland
    Invited Panelist: “Healthcare, AI, and Entrepreneurship: opportunities and hurdles in health AI”
  • IEEE BHI-BSN 2022 (09/2022)
    Online event 
    Invited Panelist: “Privacy Challenges in the Digital Health Transformation”
  • Swiss-Korea Life Science Symposium (09/2022)
    Seoul, Korea and remotely
    Invited Talk and Panelist: “How ethics fosters personalized digital health”
  • EACME Conference 2022: Enhancing Dialogue to Bridge the Gaps in Bioethics (09/2022)
    Varese, Italy
    Presentation: “Ethics and Governance of Digital Epidemiology: Looking Beyond Privacy”
  • 16th World Congress of Bioethics (07/2022)
    Basel, Switzerland
    Workshop co-organized with Dr. Andreas Reis (WHO): “The WHO guidance on AI for health: One year after its release, where do we stand?”
  • Oxford Global Health and Bioethics International Conference 2022 (06/2022)
    Oxford, United Kingdom
    Presentation: “Unlocking the Potential of Digital Health Promotion in LMICs”
  • Applied Machine Learning Days 2022 (04/2022)
    EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
    Invited Talk: “Big Data and AI for Health: Ethics and Policy Considerations”
  • AI+X Summit (10/2021) 
    Zurich, Switzerland
    Invited Poster Presentation: “Ensuring ETHICS to build AI trustworthiness”
  • Conceptual Issues Impeding Uses & Sharing of Big Data in Biomedicine (11/2020)
    Online Webinar, Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE), National University of Singapore
    Invited Panelist
  • New Perspectives on the Ethics of Human Enhancement (02/2020)
    Bochum, Germany
    Invited Talk: “Is more always better? On the phenomenological implications of neuroenhancement”
  • EACME Conference 2019: Rethinking Ethics in 21st Century Europe (09/2019)
    Oxford, United Kingdom
    Presentation: “Health-related big data research: what are the implications and recommendations for Ethical Review Committees?”
  • Oxford Global Health and Bioethics International Conference 2019 (07/2019)
    Oxford, United Kingdom
    Presentation: “How can AI and Big Data support the achievement of SDG#3 in resource-poor settings?”
  • European Conference on Philosophy of Medicine and Health Care (08/2019)   
    Lisbon, Portugal
    Presentation: “Shedding light on the black-box”
  • Postgraduate Bioethics Conference 2018 (07/2018)
    London, United Kingdom
    Presentation: “Big data trends in biomedical research: implications for ethics review boards”
  • Women in Big Data (06/2018)
    Zurich, Switzerland
    Poster Presentation: “Health-related big data: challenges and implications for ethics review committees”
  • International Digital Health Conference (04/2018)
    Lyon, France
    Poster Presentation: “Big data challenges in biomedical research and their implications for ethics review committees: a scoping review”

MEDIA AND PUBLIC OUTREACH

ORGANIZATION AND MODERATION of SCIENTIFIC EVENTS

  • Organized and moderated: Exploring Youth Perspectives on Digital Health Promotion in South Africa (08/2023)
    One-day Youth-Engagement Workshop, hosted in Cape Town (South Africa) 
    Health Ethics and Policy Lab in collaboration with the Division of Medical Ethics and Law of Stellenbosch University, South Africa
  • Organized and moderated: How to Unlock the Potential of Digital Health Promotion for Young People in LMICs? (11/2022)
    One-day International Experts Workshop, hosted in Cape Town (South Africa) 
    Health Ethics and Policy Lab with the support of Fondation Botnar and the collaboration of Global Forum on Bioethics in Research, South Africa Medical Research Council
  • Moderated discussion sessions: Ethics of AI in global health research (11/2022)
    Two-day International Experts Meeting, hosted in Cape Town (South Africa)
    Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR) 
  • Organized and moderated: Health Data and AI: Responsible Innovations, Innovations and Regulatory Strategies (HEALTH_DARES) (09/2022) 
    Three-day Advanced Course, hosted at ETH Zurich, Switzerland
    Health Ethics and Policy Lab  
  • Organized and moderated: Towards A Trustworthy Data Governance for Healthcare Technologies - Switzerland and Singapore Models Compared (09/2020)
    One-day International Experts Workshop, hosted online 
    Health Ethics and Policy Lab in collaboration with the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the National University of Singapore
  • Organized and moderated: Big Data Challenges for Ethics Review Committees (04/2020)
    Two-day International Experts Workshop, hosted online 
    Health Ethics and Policy Lab with the support of Swiss National Science Foundation (NRP-75)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

  • Co-organizer and Lead Course Instructor: The Impact of Digital Life on Society (Spring and Fall semesters 2019-2023)
    ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences & Technology 
    • Taught ethics frameworks and philosophy of technology theories, current topics in responsible digital technology, stakeholder analysis approaches, health policy strategies and public health decision-making.
    • Planned lessons and assignments, graded papers and exams
    • Organized and led group discussions and role-playing exercises on ethics of technology issues
    • Presented the teaching approach underlaying this course in a ETH Zurich “Refresh Teaching Seminar
  • Invited Lecturer: Etica, Scienza e Società (12/2023)
    Canton Ticino, Dipartimento dell'educazione, della cultura e dello sport, Sezione dell'insegnamento medio superiore
    Lecture Title: “Etica nell'era della salute digitale” (Ethics in the Age of Digital Health)
  • Invited Lecturer: Foundations of Data Science (05/2023)
    ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences & Technology  
    Lecture Title: "Ethics for (big) data science"
  • Invited Lecturer: Digital Assistive Technologies (11/2022)
    Zurich University for Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Institute for Applied Information Technology (InIT)
    Lecture Title: “Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Health: Ethical Considerations”                                                    
  • Invited Lecturer: LIDo Lecture Week (03/2022)
    London Interdisciplinary Biosciences Consortium (LIDo) http://lido-dtp.ac.uk/
    Lecture Title: “Big Data and Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Considerations for Research"
  • Invited Lecturer: Ethics of Life Sciences and Biotechnology (10/2021)
    ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences & Technology
    Lecture Title: “Ethics of Human Enhancement”
  • Invited Lecturer: 15th Summer School in Biomedical Imaging (09/2021)
    ETH Zurich, EXCITE Zurich 
    Lecture Title: “Ethics of big data in health research and digital health technologies” 
  • Invited Lecturer: CAS in Public Governance and Administration (09/2021)
    ETH Zurich, Swiss School of Public Governance
    Lecture Title: “Digital Public Health Tools: Ethics and Governance”
  • Invited Lecturer: Virtual 3rd EULAC PERMED Summer School (05/2021)
    Online event
    Lecture Title: “Ethical Implications of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Personalized Medicine: An International Perspective”
  • Teaching Assistant: Ethics in Medicine & Healthcare (Spring semester 2019)
    ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences & Technology
    - Planned lessons and built syllabus 

EDUCATION

Doctoral Degree in Health Sciences and Technology (PhD) 
Health Ethics and Policy Lab, Chair of Bioethics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Thesis title: “Ethics and Governance of Big Data in Health Research and Digital Health Applicationscall_made”. 

Master’s Degree in Global Health (MSc) (09/2016 – 09/2017)
London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE), United Kingdom
Thesis title: “A systematic review of mobile apps effectiveness for common mental health disorders: policy implications and future recommendations”. 

Master’s Degree in Philosophical Sciences and Bioethics (MA) (09/2014 – 06/2016)
University of Milan, Italy
Thesis title: “Human enhancement across science, emerging technologies and ethics”.

Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy (BA) (09/2011 – 06/2014)
University of Milan, Italy
Thesis title: “Free will and responsibility. Neuroscientific discoveries challenge the freedom of the will and moral responsibility”. 

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

  • Medal for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis
    ETH Zurich (2021)
  • Grant for PhD Research Dissertation Abroad (National University of Singapore)
    SNSF Doc.Mobility (2020)
  • International Scholarship in Ethics Education
    Fordham University and Santander (2016)
  • Grant for Erasmus+ Visiting Scholar (KU Leuven, Belgium)
    European Union (2015)

ADDITIONAL TRAINING IN BIOETHICS

Erasmus Mundus Master in Bioethics Visiting Scholar (2015 – 2016)
KU Leuven, Belgium

Theories and Applications in Contemporary Ethics Workshop (2016) 
Fordham University’s Rose Hill Campus, New York City, USA

International Bioethics Summer School (2015)
Global Bioethics Initiative (GBI), New York City, USA 

Zurich Winter School on the Ethics of Human Enhancement (2015)
University of Zürich, Switzerland

Helsinki Summer School: Introduction to Bioethics (2014)
Helsinki University, Finland

LANGUAGES 

ITALIAN – Native Speaker
ENGLISH – Fully Proficient
FRENCH – Proficient
GERMAN – Beginner

 

Course Catalogue

Spring Semester 2024

Number Unit
376-1983-00L Foundations of Data Science
851-0745-00L Ethics Workshop: The Impact of Digital Life on Society
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