Dr. Illes’ research, teaching and outreach initiatives are devoted to ethical, legal, social and policy challenges at the intersection of the brain sciences and biomedical ethics. She has made ground breaking contributions to neuroethical thinking for neuroscience discovery and clinical translation across the life span, and to entrepreneurship and the commercialization of health care.
Dr. Illes received the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest awards for citizens, in 2017. She was elected to the Royal Society of Canada (Division of Life Sciences), and the American Association of Advancement of Science (AAAS, Division of Neuroscience) in 2012. She is also an elected member of the International Women’s Forum, an organization of more than 7000 women leaders around the world. Her latest books, a series on Developments in Neuroethics and Bioethics, feature pain, global mental health, do-it-yourself brain devices, and neuro-law.
She writes frequently for the Vancouver Sun and Canada’s The Conversation Canada, and hosts community outreach about challenging ethical problems involving biomedicine and the brain throughout BC and across the country.