To be added to MEHP's events listserv, please contact lisa.bailey@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.
Events
Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom)
Hybrid -Research Ethics and Policy Series (REPS)/Bronstein Lecture: "AI is Nothing Without Us: A Call for a Human Rights Approach to the Future of Trustworthy Science (?)", led by Mary L. Gray
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2024-09-11 12:00:00
2024-09-11 13:00:00
America/New_York
Hybrid -Research Ethics and Policy Series (REPS)/Bronstein Lecture: "AI is Nothing Without Us: A Call for a Human Rights Approach to the Future of Trustworthy Science (?)", led by Mary L. Gray
AI is Nothing Without Us:
A Call for a Human Rights Approach to the Future of Trustworthy Science (?)
Mary L. Gray
Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research
Faculty Associate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University
Every corner of science hopes to plug artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate its efforts. But developing AI—using examples of prior decisions to create computational models of 'typical output'—often involves studying how people move, think, feel, and interact with each other and their environments, erasing clear lines between conducting social research and building useful computer software. This talk argues that AI, dependent on sampling and experimenting with our social worlds, will require that all AI-driven scientific inquiry center its commitments to human rights, if we are to hold onto the public's trust in science. It recounts the controversial 2014 Facebook-Cornell study on emotional contagion and compares it to a more participatory approach to AI innovation, like the ASL Citizen study, which prioritizes respecting participants’ autonomy and dignity to outline how we could map out a human rights approach to ethical research that picks up where the Belmont Report left off. I will argue for reforms in data deidentification techniques and emphasize the importance of shifting from informed consent to meaningful contribution and community involvement in AI research. By building on principles from the Belmont Report and integrating perspectives like mutuality, care ethics, and dwelling, researchers can foster public trust and ensure AI development benefits society. I will end the talk with a call for immediate action to establish responsible AI governance, at the institutional and federal level, to maintain public confidence and support the trustworthy advancement of AI not only as a scientific tool but as a research practice.
Mary L. Gray is Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and Faculty Associate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. She maintains a faculty position in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering with affiliations in Anthropology and Gender Studies at Indiana University. Mary, an anthropologist and media scholar by training, focuses on how people’s everyday uses of technologies transform labor, identity, and human rights. Mary earned her PhD in Communication from the University of California at San Diego in 2004, under the direction of Susan Leigh Star. In 2020, Mary was named a MacArthur Fellow for her contributions to anthropology and the study of technology, digital economies, and society.
Lunch Provided. Streaming Available via Zoom.
Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom)
Penn Medical Ethics
Hybrid
HP Seminar - Elisa Maffioli, PhD | "Convenient Access and Invitations: Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination in Kenya"
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2024-09-12 12:00:00
2024-09-12 13:00:00
America/New_York
HP Seminar - Elisa Maffioli, PhD | "Convenient Access and Invitations: Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination in Kenya"
Elisa Maffioli, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan.
Event Details:
Date: Thursday, September 12th
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: 1104 Blockley Hall (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95353951407.)
Topic: "Convenient Access and Invitations: Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination in Kenya"
Abstract: Understanding how to increase compliance with vaccination policies without creating backlash is critical especially during public health emergencies. This study evaluates policies designed to increase vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. First, we examine whether bringing COVID-19 vaccination closer to households coupled with home visits from healthcare providers increases vaccine uptake immediately. We find that the intervention increased vaccination by 7.4 cumulative doses per 100 people on the day of the intervention (SE = 0.011, p< 0.001), equivalent to about a 8% increase over the baseline number of cumulative doses in the control group (89.6 per 100 people). The effect persisted in the three months following the intervention, suggesting that the campaign did not simply speed up vaccination but instead vaccinated those who would not have otherwise been. Second, to observe whether vaccine uptake was due to pressure from healthcare providers, we randomized whether the home visit was announced ahead of time. The announcement allows those unwilling to be vaccinated to avoid being home at the scheduled visit time, and thus avoid needing to decline vaccination. We find that announcing the visit increased the probability of receiving an additional dose by 3.8 percentage points, equivalent to a 16% increase over the baseline rate in the unannounced group (23.1%). Together, these results indicate an absence of backlash in this context. We estimate the cost per marginal dose to be $42 in the intervention, and suggest that cost-effectiveness could be improved by using cheaper forms of transportation, less-skilled healthcare providers, and through targeting.
Speaker Bio: Elisa Maffioli , PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Health Management and Policy, at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and an Assistant Professor of Global Public Health. She received her PhD in Economics from Duke University in 2018. She is an economist who focuses on studying global health challenges faced by poor households in low-income countries. Her research aims to improve individual and population health by addressing socio-economic, behavioral, and political determinants of health. She employs a variety of empirical approaches, including randomized controlled trials developed in collaboration with governmental and international organizations, quasi-experimental methods combined with secondary data, and cost-effectiveness analysis. Her research primarily focuses on estimating the impact of public health interventions aimed at controlling infectious diseases and improving maternal and child health, with a primary focus on Africa and Southeast Asia.
Hybrid
Penn Medical Ethics
1104 Blockley Hall
Health Policy Research Seminar: Jetson Jeder-Luis, PhD, Assistant Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law, Boston University
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2024-09-26 12:00:00
2024-09-26 13:00:00
America/New_York
Health Policy Research Seminar: Jetson Jeder-Luis, PhD, Assistant Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law, Boston University
Event Details:
Date: Thursday, September 26th
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: 1104 Blockley Hall (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95353951407.)
Topic: "Competition and Fraud in Health Care."
Abstract: Governments rely on private firms to provide public services such as health care, and these firms face incentives to commit fraud. While a growing literature has addressed policy solutions to combat existing frauds, less attention has been paid to the relationship between the industrial organization of the markets for providing these services and the opportunities to commit fraud. In this paper, we consider the role of competition in promoting or inhibiting fraud, with the Medicare durable medical equipment (DME) market as an example. Medicare moved from a regime of regulated prices to one in which firms compete to supply goods at lower prices. In theory, competition can either promote or inhibit fraud. Using new data on enforcement and prescribing behavior, we identify suspicious and fraudulent providers of DME. We show that increased competition and lower prices appears to benefit suspicious firms over legitimate ones.
Jetson Leder-Luis is an assistant professor at Boston University and a Faculty Research Fellow at the NBER. His research focuses on fraud, misreporting, and overbilling in public expenditures, particularly within the Medicare program, as well as the impact of these behaviors on public spending and patient health outcomes. He is also interested in the detection and deterrence of fraud and corruption, as well as the statistical properties of misreported data. His work sits at the intersection of public economics, political economy, health economics, and law and economics.
1104 Blockley Hall
Penn Medical Ethics
Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom)
Hybrid -Research Ethics and Policy Series (REPS): "Book Talk- We the Scientists: How a Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged a New Path For Medicine" - Amy Dockser Marcus
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2024-10-09 12:00:00
2024-10-09 13:00:00
America/New_York
Hybrid -Research Ethics and Policy Series (REPS): "Book Talk- We the Scientists: How a Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged a New Path For Medicine" - Amy Dockser Marcus
Book Talk - We The Scientists: How a Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged a New Path for Medicine
Amy Dockser Marcus
Author, Health & Science Reporter
The Wall Street Journal
Patients are no longer leaving science to the scientists. They are collecting and analyzing their own medical data, using the internet to find and connect online with other groups, and conducting their own research projects. Patient-led research plays an important and expanding role in the search for new therapies, particularly in diseases that are rare or overlooked by the medical and business communities.
Amy Dockser Marcus, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Wall Street Journal, spent years following a group of parents and scientists that worked together to develop a drug to treat a fatal and rare genetic disease. She will talk about the findings in her new book, We the Scientists, the rise of citizen science, and the ethical, social, and scientific challenges that emerge when patients, families, clinicians, and scientists set out to work as partners in the search for cures.
Lunch provided. Streaming available via Zoom.
Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom)
Penn Medical Ethics
Hybrid
Advancing Trust in Science: Institutional Obligations to Promote Research Integrity
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2024-10-10 08:00:00
2024-10-10 16:30:00
America/New_York
Advancing Trust in Science: Institutional Obligations to Promote Research Integrity
Hosted by the Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy and the Institute for Translational Medicine & Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Location:
Widener Lecture Hall
University of Pennsylvania Museum
3260 South Street Philadelphia, PA 19104
(Or Zoom)
Registration is required. RSVP here
Description:
Several high-profile examples of research misconduct, defined as fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism, have recently come to light, amidst a moment of already precarious and waning public trust in science. The issues are not new, although there are now novel tools for identifying misconduct, proliferating platforms for discussing allegations and publicizing concerns, and growing unease about politically motivated misconduct allegations. In addition, the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity recently proposed new regulations to revise the Public Health Service Policies on Research Misconduct, with a final rule expected this year. Against this churning backdrop, how should institutional stakeholders – including universities and publishers – address concerns about research misconduct, from prevention to response? How should institutions build and maintain a culture of scientific integrity? When problems arise, how should they ensure procedural protections for those accused of misconduct, protect accusers from retaliation, conduct comprehensive investigations, facilitate rapid resolution, and promote transparency? Should responses differ when institutional leaders are accused of misconduct or when misconduct arises outside the health sciences? This symposium, which will be published in an open access special issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics in Spring 2025, will present commentaries on these issues and others from leading experts in ethics and law, those with experience identifying research misconduct, and those sharing relevant stakeholder perspectives, including researchers, academic leadership, and journal editors and publishers.
Hybrid
Penn Medical Ethics
1104 Blockley Hall
Health Policy Research Seminar: Corinne Low, PhD, Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, University of Penn
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2024-10-10 12:00:00
2024-10-10 13:00:00
America/New_York
Health Policy Research Seminar: Corinne Low, PhD, Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, University of Penn
1104 Blockley Hall
Penn Medical Ethics
1104 Blockley Hall
Health Policy Research Seminar: Kelly Yang, PhD, MA, Acting Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Indiana University
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2024-10-24 12:00:00
2024-10-24 13:00:00
America/New_York
Health Policy Research Seminar: Kelly Yang, PhD, MA, Acting Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Indiana University
1104 Blockley Hall
Penn Medical Ethics
1104 Blockley Hall
Health Policy Research Seminar: Ashwin Nathan, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Penn
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2024-11-07 12:00:00
2024-11-07 13:00:00
America/New_York
Health Policy Research Seminar: Ashwin Nathan, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Penn
1104 Blockley Hall
Penn Medical Ethics
Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom)
Hybrid -Research Ethics and Policy Series (REPS): "Pediatric Vaccine Research" - Paul A. Offit, MD
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2024-11-13 12:00:00
2024-11-13 13:00:00
America/New_York
Hybrid -Research Ethics and Policy Series (REPS): "Pediatric Vaccine Research" - Paul A. Offit, MD
Pediatric Vaccine Research
Paul A. Offit, MD
Director of the Vaccine Education Center
Professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Paul A. Offit, MD, is Director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Offit is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of virology and immunology, and was a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is a member of the Food and Drug Administration Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, and a founding advisory board member of the Autism Science Foundation and the Foundation for Vaccine Research, a member of the Institute of Medicine and co-editor of the foremost vaccine text, Vaccines.
More detail to follow.
Lunch provided. Streaming available via Zoom.
Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom)
Penn Medical Ethics
1104 Blockley Hall
HP/LDI Research Seminar: Edward Okeke, PhD, MD, Senior Economist; Professor of Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School
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2024-11-14 12:00:00
2024-11-14 13:00:00
America/New_York
HP/LDI Research Seminar: Edward Okeke, PhD, MD, Senior Economist; Professor of Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School
1104 Blockley Hall
Penn Medical Ethics