President Barack Obama on Thursday announced his intention to appoint Kansas University’s Barbara Atkinson to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

Atkinson became executive vice chancellor of the KU Medical Center in 2005. She also has served since 2002 as the executive dean of the KU School of Medicine.

The commission will advise Obama on bioethical issues that may emerge from advances in biomedicine and related areas of science and technology. Its goal will be to identify and promote policies and practices that ensure scientific research, health care delivery, and technological innovation are conducted in an ethically responsible manner, the White House said.