Marta Fadda

PD Dr. Marta Fadda is a lecturer, researcher, and consultant in bioethics and qualitative research methods at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). She is an affiliate of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School and was previously a postdoctoral researcher at the Health Ethics and Policy Lab at ETH Zurich.

Education

She holds a PhD in Communication Sciences from USI, a Master in Bioethics (MBE) from Harvard University, and a Master of Arts in Near and Middle Eastern Studies (with a major in social anthropology) from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Her academic and professional trajectory spans multiple international contexts, including Switzerland, the United States, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Syria.

Research

PD Dr. Fadda has over ten years of experience in the design, coordination, and evaluation of research and applied projects using mixed method approaches in multidisciplinary and international settings. Her work lies at the intersection of clinical/public health/biomedical research ethics, communication, and policy.

She has led and contributed to projects involving academic institutions, healthcare organizations, and public bodies. Her work emphasizes the integration of ethical reflection into research design, implementation, and policy development, with a strong focus on participatory methods and health equity.

Teaching

PD Dr. Fadda is actively engaged in teaching and training across academic, clinical, and professional settings. At USI, she teaches Bioethics in the Master of Medicine and Qualitative Methods in Health Research in the Master of Health Communication. She also contributes to continuing education programmes at USI and SUPSI, doctoral programmes and international summer schools (e.g. UZH, SSPH+), as well as clinical trial units, professional societies, and ethics committees.

In addition, she designs and delivers tailored training programmes for healthcare professionals across the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC) network, as well as in nursing homes and institutions for people with disabilities. She is regularly invited to give public lectures and workshops aimed at engaging broader audiences.

Her teaching spans key areas of bioethics, including clinical ethics, public and global health ethics, research ethics, and the ethics of artificial intelligence.

Research governance and ethics consultation

PD Dr. Fadda has extensive experience in research governance and ethics consultation. Her expertise includes ethical review processes, regulatory compliance, and the development of guidelines and institutional procedures to support responsible research practices. She regularly contributes to policy documents, analytical reports, and recommendations, supporting decision-making processes in complex and multidisciplinary environments. She serves on a number of ethics committees, including:

• USI Ethics Committee
• SUPSI Research Ethics Committee (CER)
• Commission for Clinical Ethics of the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (COMEC)
• Multidisciplinary Commission for Gender Dysphoria at EOC

Professional engagement

PD Dr. Fadda is an active member of the international bioethics community. She is affiliated with the International Association of Bioethics (IAB), the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH), and the Swiss Society of Biomedical Ethics (SGBE), where she contributes to the national task force for the development of standards in clinical ethics training. She is also co-founder of the SGBE Early Career Bioethicists Network. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of Bioethica Forum and is a faculty member of the Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+).

Her work is guided by a strong commitment to health equity, social justice, and the responsible governance of health-related research and innovation.