Prof. Ruud ter Meulen (1952) is psychologist and ethicist. He is Director of the Institute for Bioethics and Professor for Philosophy and Ethics at the University of Maastricht . The main research areas of Prof. Ter Meulen are the promoting of autonomy in the care for dependent elderly, resource allocation (particularly in regard to elderly care), research ethics and medical ethics committees, ethical pluralism and the problem of consensus. Prof. Ter Meulen has directed several international projects. He was co-ordinator of several European projects. He is co-ordinating two projects within the Fifth Framework.
Prof. Ter Meulen was principal co-ordinator of the EVIBASE project. He is partner and member of the core-group of the Project Bio-Technology-Ethics. The special assignment of the Bristol group in the Biotethed project is to link this project with the ENHANCE project which will be coordinated by Prof Ter Meulen at the Bristol University. The ENHANCE Project deals with the ethical and social implications of the use of new biotechnologies to improve and enhance human functioning in the field of cognition, ageing, mood and physical performance. Prof. Ter Meulen will bring in participants and results of the ENHANCE project in the training courses and research of the BIOTETHED project. If you want to know more, I have included the ENHANCE project proposal.

Achievements
Key publications:

•		Meulen, RHJ ter,, Arts, W., Muffels (eds.), R. Solidarity and Health Care in Europe.
•		Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001.
•		Meulen, RHJ ter, Dickenson, DL, Into the hidden world behind evidence based medicine, Health Care Analysis, Vol. 10, 2002, 231-241.
•		Biller, Andorno, N., Lie, R. Meulen, RHJ ter, Evidence based medicine as an instrument for rational health policy. Health Care Analysis, Vol. 10, 2002, 261-275
•		Wert, GMWR, de, Meulen RHJ ter, Mordachi, R., Tallachini, M. Ethics and Genetics.
•		Workbook of the TEMPE project. Oxford, Bergahn Books, 2003.
•		Meulen, RHJ ter, N. Biller-Andorno, Ch. Lenk, R. Lie (eds.), Ethical Issues of Evidence Based Medicine, Springer Verlag, Berlin, 2004 (in press)

Staff
Laurens Landeweerd, M.Sci
Studies:
- 2nd course of Bio-T-Ethics, March 2004.
- 3 articles in the joint publication of Bio-T-Ethics.
- research on the preconditions of a methodologically sound   medical ethics.

Resources useful for the project
Prof. Ter Meulen participates in various national and international networks, which can be activated for the tasks of the project. Laurens Landeweerd has prepared courses of the Bio-T-Ethics group and has much knowledge of the organisation for future courses. Ter Meulen and Landeweerd have collaborated in the editing of the Bio-T-Ethics publication, which will appear in 2005. Besides they have co-organised the final Bio-T-Ethics meeting and have considerable experience in organising comparable activities for the Bio-T-Ethics group in the future.

Special assignments
To investigate, within Biotethed, the problem of created identity in connection with preimplantation genetic diagnosis for non-medical purposes and problems emerging from therapeutic and reproductive cloning, genetic testing and genetic information and genetic diagnosis in reproductive medicine.