The research questions are being investigated in an interdisciplinary and international project consortium. The overall coordination of the project lies with Prof. Dr. Mark Schweda (Department of Ethics in Medicine, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg). In addition, Dr. Larissa Pfaller (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg), Prof. Dr. Andreas Motel-Klingebiel (University of Linköping, Sweden) and Prof. Dr. Paul Higgs (University College London, United Kingdom) are principal investigators in the project.
Team University Oldenburg, Germany
Prof. Dr. Mark Schweda
Mark Schweda has been a Professor of Ethics in Medicine at the Department of Health Services Research, Faculty VI – Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Oldenburg since 2018. Prior to this, he was assistant professor at the Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine of the University Medical Center Göttingen. In his research, Mark Schweda focuses on ethical issues related to aging, the life course, and human temporality in medicine and healthcare. Mark Schweda co-leads the project with Paul Higgs and Andreas Motel-Klingebiel.
Eva Katharina Boser, M.A.
Eva Katharina Boser has been a research associate in the Division of Ethics in Medicine at the University of Oldenburg since June 2024. During her studies in Political Science, Philosophy, and Modern History at the University of Göttingen, Sciences Po Paris (France), and McMaster University (Canada), she worked as a student assistant at the Chair of Political Theory and the History of Ideas, and at the Institute for Ethics and History of Medicine at the University of Göttingen. Her research interests include theories and concepts of feminist philosophy, liberal theories, and ethical questions in the context of reproductive medicine and (in)justice.
Lena Dörmann, M.Sc.
Lena Dörmann has been a research associate in the Division of Ethics in Medicine at the University of Oldenburg since January 2025. Prior to this, she was a research associate in the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen, focusing on simulation-based teaching. Her previous research focuses include ethical questions in the context of quality of life, self-determination and autonomy, particularly in the context of the debate on assisted dying.
Niklas Ellerich-Groppe, M.A.
Niklas Ellerich-Groppe has been a research associate in the Division of Ethics in Medicine at the Department of Health Services Research, Faculty VI – Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Oldenburg since 2019. Prior to this, he was a lecturer and student assistant in Münster and Osnabrück. His research focuses on ethical issues in the context of digitalization of medicine and healthcare, as well as the exploration of solidarity as a (bio)ethical category.
Team Linköping University, Sweden
Prof. Dr. Andreas Motel-Klingebiel
Andreas Motel-Klingebiel is a Sociologist and Gerontologist Professor of Ageing and Later Life at the Department of Culture and Society, Linköping University, Sweden, where he is also Director of Research and Research Education in Ageing and Social Change. His research addresses societal processes, life courses and older age, in the generation of old age diversity, social inequality and exclusion in late work, retirement, participation and quality of life.
Nico Mira, M.A.
Nico Mira has been a doctoral candidate and research associate in the Division of Ageing and Social Change at the Department of Culture and Society at Linköping University, since 2024. Prior experiences are as a research consultant at the Institute of Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and as Head of Sustainability & PMO at Volvo Car Japan. His research focuses on intergenerational climate action and justice.
Lijun Peng
Lijun Peng has been a research assistant in the Division of Ageing and Social Change within the department of Culture and Society at Linköping University since 2023. She previously completed a master’s program in Computational Social Science at the Institute for Analytical Sociology, part of the Department of Management and Engineering, also at Linköping University. Her research interests include text analysis using social media data and quantitative analysis.
Prof. Dr. András Szigeti
András Szigeti is Professor of Practical Philosophy at Linköping University (Sweden) and Associate Director of the Lund Gothenburg Responsibility Project (LGRP) in Lund (Sweden). From 2025, he will also be employed at Lund University as senior lecturer. He serves as associate editor of Philosophical Explorations. He specializes in action theory, emotion theory and the ethics and metaphysics of individual and collective responsibility. His latest book publication (co-edited with Matthew Talbert) is Morality and Agency: Themes from Bernard Williams (OUP, 2022).
Team University College London, United Kingdom
Prof. Dr. Paul Higgs
Paul Higgs is Professor of the Sociology of Ageing in the UCL Division of Psychiatry. He has a degree in Sociology and a PhD in Social Policy. He has researched many aspects of the changing nature of later life including social divisions, dementia and personhood, consumption and technology. Professor Higgs edits the journal Social Theory and Health and has published widely in social gerontology and medical sociology. He is a Fellow of both the UK Academy of Social Sciences and the Gerontological Society of America.
Patricia Donovan, M.A.
Patricia Donovan has been a researcher and doctoral student at University College London since 2024. She also holds a BA and an MA degree from UCL, spanning the fields of politics and sociology. Her research interests include intergenerational relations, migration, media, culture, consumption and voting behaviour.
Team University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Dr. Larissa Pfaller
Larissa Pfallerholds a postdoc-position at University Hospital Erlangen (UKER) and teaches statistics and social science. Her research addresses older age, organ donation, and midwifery. As a sociologist, she is especially interested in social imaginaries, theories of abjection, and metaphor analysis.
Dr. Irmgard Steckdaub-Muller
Irmgard Steckdaub-Muller has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg since 2024. Prior to this, she was a lecturer and researcher in sociology thereat. Her research focuses on qualitative research methods and methodology, sociology of work and professions, and cultural studies.
