Darryl Macer was born in 1962 in Christchurch, New Zealand. He graduated from Lincoln College and University of Canterbury in New Zealand, B.Sc(Hns). in biochemistry, and obtained his Ph.D. in molecular biology at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge, England.
He researched bioethics at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, U.K. 1987-1989. He was a bioethics consultant scientist to the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Ministry for the Environment in 1990-1991. He was Foreign Professor at the Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan, 1990-1995. Since April, and from 1995-2005 he was associate professor at the Institute of Biological Sciences.
He is also a Visiting Professor in Bioethics at United Nations University since 2002.
He is currently the Regional Adviser for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific at UNESCO Bangkok, Thailand. He is a member of the IUBS Bioethics program, and coordinator of the IAB Genetics and Bioethics Network. He is a Board member of the International Association of Bioethics, and the International Association of Law, Ethics and Science, and the Human Genome Organisation Ethics (HUGO ELSI) Committee. He was a founding member of the UNESCO Bioethics Committee (1993-1998).
Darryl Macer is director of the Eubios Ethics Institute. Please refer to that page for more activities. The Eubios Ethics Institute is a nonprofit group that aims to stimulate the international discussion of ethical issues, and how we may use technology in ways consistent with "good life" (eu-bios). It aims at an integrated and cross-cultural approach to bioethics, and at building up an international network (see the web site). Bioethics could be defined as love of life (see 1998 book by this title).
Another important function is as an information source. These goals lead to the publication of books (in English and Japanese), and the Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics (EJAIB) which is edited by Darryl Macer, and is the official journal of the Asian Bioethics Association.
In addition to 20 books edited and written, Darryl Macer has published over 150 papers in academic journals. Current projects include the Human Behaviourome project, and developing bioethics education materials.