Growing Up with Neuroethics: Challenges, Opportunities and Lessons from Being a Graduate Student at a Disciplinary Crossroads

Abstract

As neuroethics grew as a field of study, training and research progams produced a cohort of pioneer graduate students. These students helped define the foundations and develop neuroethics scholarship as we know it. In this chapter, I describe three persisting experiences that marked my graduate studies in neuroethics: (1) training and researching at a disciplinary crossroads, (2) establishing a knowledge base in a nascent and interdisciplinary field and (3) practising responsible communication of topical research. Each experience presented unique challenges, opportunities and lessons that marked my journey as a graduate student during the emergence of neuroethics and influenced my trajectory as an early career researcher. I conclude by considering how growing as a researcher alongside a developing field contrasts with the experience of current students within specialized neuroethics training and research programs.