Research & third-party funding

Dr. Marcel Mertz

Research interests

Overarching topics

Empirical research in medical ethics / empirical ethics
Theory/meta-reflection of medical/bioethics
Meta-research

Methodological topics

Methods of systematic reviews in medical/bioethics
Relationship between normative ethics and empiricism

Substantive topics

(Biomedical) research ethics and professional ethos
Ethics of animal experimentation
Theory of clinical ethics consultation

Projects (management or collaboration)

since 07/2024
Ethical attitudes as learning objectives in medical studies
Head: Prof. Dr. Dr. Sabine Salloch
Funding: German Research Foundation (DFG)

since 05/2024
Ethics^3: Ethics researchers, ethics applications, ethics committees. Problems of and wishes for ethics applications and their assessment from the perspective of empirical medical and bioethics researchers and members of medical ethics committees in Germany
Head: Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Hausmittel

since 03/2022
EthU: Ethical decision-making in epistemic states of uncertainty in gene therapy and genome editing research projects
Head: Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Hausmittel

06/2022-04/2024
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) meta-research: Preparation of a mapping review of "Full-HTA" (with a focus on ethics domains)
Head: Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Cooperation partner: Prof. Dr. Clovis Faggion jr., University Hospital Münster
Funding: Hausmittel

05/2022-01/2024
Human-animal relationship from a regulatory and ethical perspective: Focus: farm animal husbandry with special consideration of the One Health concept (funding "OER for higher education - promoting the creation, Nursing and dissemination of Open Educational Resources at universities in Lower Saxony")
Head: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hiebl, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation (TiHo) / Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK)

02/2022-12/2023
SRR-HCS: Systematic review of ethical reasons for or against conducting human challenge studies
Head: Prof. Dr. Dr. Sabine Salloch, Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Cooperation partner: Prof. Dr. Christoph Schindler (CMO & Head of Center for Clinical Trials, MHH)
Funding: Hausmittel

01/2022-08/2023
Retreat week "Animal experimentation ethics as an interplay of research ethics, animal ethics and (animal welfare) law. International perspectives on theoretical and cultural differences (TiVE)"
Leader: Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, Dr. PH Hannes Kahrass, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

12/2020-01/2022
Alternatives to animal experiments: principles, examples and ethical considerations (funding "OER for higher education - promoting the creation, Nursing and dissemination of Open Educational Resources at universities in Lower Saxony")
Head: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hiebl, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation (TiHo) / Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK)

06/2015-12/2023
R2Ethics: Methodological quality of (systematic) reviews of normative-ethical and empirical-ethical literature on medical topics. Assessment of the state of the art and development of a reporting guideline
Head:Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School (formerly Prof. Dr. Dr. D. Strech, Berlin Institute for Health Research)
Funding: Hausmittel

10/2018-10/2022
R2N-E1: Structure of ethically relevant value judgments in decisions for or against animal experimentation alternatives
Head: Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, Dr. PH Hannes Kahrass, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK)

01/2019-05/2021
HTA EvS: Delimitation of ethical and social aspects in Health Technology Assessment
Head: Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Home remedies

09/2017-11/2019
REIGN: Use of Research Evidence to Inform Guidance regarding Normative-ethical Topics
Editing: Dr. hum. biol. Corinna Klingler, FGW Brandenburg / Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Commissioned by: "Global Health Ethics Unit, Health Systems and Innovation Cluster" and "Guideline Review Committee, Department of Information, Evidence & Research", World Health Organization (WHO)

12/2016-06/2018
GEENGOV: Governance of Biomedical Genome Editing (Ethics Subprojects)
Head: Prof. Dr. Dr. D. Strech, Berlin Institute of Health Research
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

09/2016-11/2016
GenE-TyPE: Genome editing - from therapy to prevention to improvement? (Genome Editing - from Therapy via Prevention to Enhancement?) (Subproject Ethics)
Head: Prof. Dr. C. Woopen, Research Unit Ethics, IGEM, University Hospital Cologne
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

11/2015-05/2016
Digital self-determination - concept and empirical study
Head: Prof. Dr. C. Woopen, Prof. Dr. C. Rietz, ceres, University of Cologne
Client: Deutsche Telekom AG

12/2012-03/2015
Retreat week "Research Ethics. Current Challenges in Preclinical, Clinical and Public Health Research. An international conference for young scholars" (coordination)
Head: Prof. Dr. Dr. D. Strech, IGEPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

01/2011-12/2012
EthicsGuide: Development and evaluation of methods for the systematic integration of ethical aspects into clinical guidelines
Head: Prof. Dr. Dr. D. Strech, IGEPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: German Research Foundation (DFG)

06/2010-06/2011
AVEEK: On weighing up the potential benefits and harms of research projects on and with humans - updating and deepening the recommendations for the application and assessment of clinical studies by ethics committees (ethics sub-project)
Head: Prof. Dr. Dr. D. Strech, IGEPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

07/2009-12/2010
Fairness and transparency. Clinical Ethical Guideline METAP - Evaluation, Methodological Foundation and Improvement
Head: Prof. Dr. S. Reiter-Theil, Prof. Dr. H. Pargger, Department MGE, University of Basel
Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)

12/2006-02/2009
Between Over-Treatment and Under-Treatment. Ethical Problems of Micro-Allocation Taking Intensive and Geriatric Care as Examples. Quality Development in Medical and Nursing Care Through a Modular, Ethical Treatment Allocation Process (METAP) in Vulnerable Patient Groups
Head: Prof. Dr. S. Reiter-Theil, Prof. Dr. H. Pargger, Department MGE, University of Basel
Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

05/2005-05/2006
Issues of Clinical Ethics related to Clinical Decision-Making concerning Limitation of Therapy
Head: Prof. Dr. S. Reiter-Theil, Prof. Dr. H. Pargger, Department MGE, University of Basel
Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

Acquisition of third-party funding - (co-)applicants

2021
Human-animal relationship from a regulatory and ethical perspective: Focus: farm animal husbandry with special consideration of the One Health concept (funding "OER for higher education - promoting the creation, Nursing and dissemination of Open Educational Resources at universities in Lower Saxony")
Head: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hiebl, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation (TiHo) / Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK)

2021
Retreat week "Animal experimentation ethics as an interplay of research ethics, animal ethics and (animal welfare) law. International perspectives on theoretical and cultural differences (TiVE)"
Chair: Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, Dr. PH Hannes Kahrass, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

2020
Alternatives to animal testing: principles, examples and ethical considerations (funding "OER for higher education - promoting the creation, Nursing and dissemination of Open Educational Resources at universities in Lower Saxony")
Head: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hiebl, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation (TiHo) / Dr. phil. Marcel Mertz, IEGPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK)

2012
Retreat week "Research Ethics. Current Challenges in Preclinical, Clinical and Public Health Research. An international conference for young scholars"
Head: Prof. Dr. Dr. D. Strech, IGEPM, Hannover Medical School
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Acquisition of third-party funding - content-related collaboration

2016
Workshop "Algorithm-driven health recommendations - a promising prospect for patient empowerment, or a means of digital paternalism?"
Chair: Prof. Dr. C. Woopen, ceres, University of Cologne
Funding: Fondation Brocher

2015
GenE-TyPE: Genome editing - from therapy to prevention to improvement? (Genome Editing - from Therapy via Prevention to Enhancement?) (Ethics sub-project)
Head: Prof. Dr. C. Woopen, Ethics Research Unit, IGEM, University Hospital Cologne
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

2014
Quality of life and well-being of very old people in NRW - NRW80+ study of very old people
Head: Prof. Dr. C. Rietz, Prof. Dr. C. Woopen, et al., ceres, University of Cologne
Funding: Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research (MIWF), State of NRW

2014
Feasibility study: Quality of life and subjective well-being of very old people in NRW
Head: Prof. Dr. C. Woopen, Prof. Dr. M. Wagner, et al., ceres, University of Cologne
Funding: UoC Forum (University of Cologne)

2013
Fortschrittskolleg "Well-being into old age"
Head: Prof. Dr. S. Zank, Prof. Dr. C. Woopen, et al., ceres, University of Cologne
Funding: Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research (MIWF), State of NRW

2009
Fairness and Transparency. Clinical Ethical Guideline METAP - Evaluation, Methodological Foundation and Improvement
Head: Prof. Dr. S. Reiter-Theil, Prof. Dr. H. Pargger, Department MGE, University of Basel
Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

2006
Between Over-Treatment and Under-Treatment. Ethical Problems of Micro-Allocation Taking Intensive and Geriatric Care as Examples. Quality Development in Medical and Nursing Care Through a Modular, Ethical Treatment Allocation Process (METAP) in Vulnerable Patient Groups
Head: Prof. Dr. S. Reiter-Theil, Prof. Dr. H. Pargger, Department MGE, University of Basel
Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)