Associate Director College and Research
Rev. Fr. J Charles Davis
Associate Director, SJMC & SJRI
St. John’s Research Institute (SJRI) is one of the distinguished centres of excellence in medical research under the premier institution of St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences (SJNAHS), Bangalore, India. SJRI aims at improving individual and public health through research and action. It has a direct involvement with the public through personal dialogues and data collection. The researchers of our institute are constantly contributing to the human development through their commitment to theoretical and clinical research in the field of medical sciences.
New diseases necessitate new treatments. Science needs to grow through research to find cures for new diseases and their variants. Viruses cause diverse infections. We have learnt a lesson through the corona pandemic that humans are vulnerable. Illnesses are complex and physicians find themselves clueless and in extreme confusions to diagnose and treat patients. The world is full of mysteries and we need to constantly search and research for answers. Survival makes scientists become committed.
We have reached a stage of having high-tech medical equipment in areas of testing and reading human bodies and have interests in superhuman projects such as designing babies but very often we forget that humans should not play God. Scientific progress through discoveries and inventions are important for humanity, but science without ethics will be dangerous; and ethics without science will be untenable. Science and ethics have to go together for a rightful progress.
Scientists should refrain from any research that goes against the fundamental value of human life. Human life is only possible in and through the body. A research that puts an end to the bodily life of any individual human being is unethical. Wrong means should not be employed to achieve good ends, even if the ends are noble and highly valued. While scientific research is good for humanity, it should not happen at the cost of destroying human lives. In conflict situations, the principle of nonmaleficence (primum nil nocere – first do no harm) has precedence over the principle of beneficence (do good) and avoiding harm takes priority over benefit.
Our research is to motivate action. Our research teams work to enhance our knowledge to address the world’s problems in order to fulfill the human needs. Our researchers follow a high moral ground and a high ethical standard. We have acclaimed scientists and researchers. I wish our entire team of scientists, researchers, students and collaborators to do the best for humanity and ecosystem.