Public Panel: The science and ethics of human embryo models

30 November 2026

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Michele Catanzaro, Peter Rugg-Gunn

University of Heidelberg

To what extent should research be allowed to replicate human embryos? The panel “The Science and Ethics of Human Embryo Models” examines the scientific and legal challenges associated with the development and study of such models.

Stem cell-based models of human embryos could yield new insights into early development. But what is research allowed to do with them—and where are the ethical and legal boundaries? The SEEM project is examining these questions from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Prof. Dr. Ralf Müller-Terpitz, a legal scholar from Mannheim, leads the subproject of the SEEM consortium that focuses on Public Law and biomedical law.

At a public event organized by the interdisciplinary research project SEEM at Heidelberg University, renowned research group leader Peter Rugg-Gunn and science journalist Michele Catanzaro will provide insights into this field of research and discuss its scientific and ethical challenges. There will be an opportunity for discussion afterward.

All interested parties are cordially invited!

For more information about the event, please visit www.theologie.uni-heidelberg.de/de/forschung/interdisziplinaeres-elsa-projekt-seem

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