Didier Caenepeel

Biography

I am a Dominican friar and, since 2006, professor of moral theology and bioethics at the Dominican University College (DUC) Faculty of Theology. Over the course of my university studies, I deepened my knowledge of the basic sciences, as well as of ethical and theological reflection. I hold two doctorates, one in theology in the area of bioethics (Université Laval, 2007) and another in theoretical physics (Université de Montréal, 1995). Besides my teaching and research activities in moral theology and bioethics, for the past fifteen years I have been active in clinical ethics through “field work” at healthcare institutions in the regions of Ottawa and Québec. I work with healthcare practitioners to reflect on the ethical challenges they face and to help them develop the ethical ability to make decisions in complex situations. I sit, as ethics advisor, on various clinical ethics and research ethics committees: the Bruyère Continuing Care Clinical Ethics Committee, Ottawa; the Hawkesbury General Hospital Clinical Ethics Committee, and the Research Ethics Committee of the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec. My main fields of interest and research are related to matters of bioethics and healthcare ethics, namely palliative care and psychiatry. I also turn my attention to theology’s contribution to bioethical issues in today’s world. Guiding students at the master’s and doctoral levels has enabled me to further explore many topics in moral theology pertaining to matters of social and life ethics.

Research Interest

My main fields of interest and research are related to matters of bioethics and healthcare ethics, namely palliative care and psychiatry. I also turn my attention to theology’s contribution to bioethical issues in today’s world.