The Centre for Professional Ethics is an internationally known research institution at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. Since its establishment in 1993, it has gained a reputation for excellence in various areas of ethics, especially medical ethics and global justice. The Centre has significant expertise in coordinating and participating in European projects as well as projects funded by other sources (e.g. Wellcome Trust, German Ministry of Science, Academy of Finland, Nordic Academy of Advanced Studies, ESRC, European Research Council).

Since Prof. Schroeder took on the leadership of the Centre in 2004, the majority of projects and activities deal with questions of global research ethics, global justice, and human rights and medicine. In the last 12 years, the Centre has co-ordinated large‐scale international projects on benefit sharing, community consent & indigenous populations, ethics in science policy, access to essential drugs, performance‐based pharmaceutical rewards as a supplement to the intellectual property rights system and responsible research and innovation. The global outreach of the Centre is considerable, with long‐standing collaborations across the world and excellent links to policy makers and advisors.