3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8-031
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Listening From the Inside: Partnering With Incarcerated Men to Navigate Health and Dignity"- Rose Onyeali, MD, MSHP
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2026-04-28 12:00:00
2026-04-28 13:00:00
America/New_York
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Listening From the Inside: Partnering With Incarcerated Men to Navigate Health and Dignity"- Rose Onyeali, MD, MSHP
Listening From the Inside: Partnering With Incarcerated Men to Navigate Health and Dignity
“We want to impact the world even from here. It isn’t too late for us.”
This statement, shared by an incarcerated man, reframes how we think about care, dignity, and possibility within carceral spaces. “Listening From the Inside: Partnering with Incarcerated Men to Navigate Health and Dignity” traces the journey of entering facilities such as State Correctional Institutions—not only to provide health education, but to build meaningful partnerships rooted in trust and mutual respect.
Through the Health Education and Advocacy for Incarcerated Populations (HEAL) collaboration with the Senior Life Enhancement Program (SLEP), this work began as a model for delivering health information to older incarcerated men and evolved into a space of shared learning and dialogue.
The most transformative insights came not from what was taught, but from what was heard. The men’s reflections on aging, chronic illness, and navigating healthcare systems challenged traditional assumptions and revealed critical gaps in care and communication.
This presentation centers those lessons and examines how they extend beyond prison walls—shaping advocacy, informing clinical practice, and challenging us to redesign healthcare systems. Ultimately, it calls on clinicians to listen differently, partner more intentionally, and recognize that dignity and impact are not confined by circumstance.
Rose Onyeali, MD, MSHP
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics)
Perelman School of Medicine | University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Rose N. Onyeali is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania whose work is shaped by her commitment to health equity and her lived experiences navigating structural barriers in healthcare. She completed her medical training at the University of Virginia, internal medicine residency at Thomas Jefferson University, and a geriatrics fellowship and Master of Science in Health Policy Research at Penn.
Dr. Onyeali is the founder of Health Education and Advocacy for Incarcerated Populations (HEAL) in partnership with the Senior Life Enhancement Program (SLEP), where she works alongside incarcerated older men to advance health education, advocacy, and dignity within carceral settings. Her work bridges clinical care, research, and community engagement, focusing on aging, incarceration, and transitions of care. She is passionate about reimagining healthcare through listening, partnership, and justice.
Chinelo N. Osakwe
B.A. Candidate in Neuroscience | Pre-Medical
Undergraduate Researcher
University of Pennsylvania
Chinelo N. Osakwe is a third‑year undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania studying Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology. Her academic and research interests focus on how biological and structural disruptions shape lived health and symptom expression, particularly within communities facing systemic barriers to healthcare quality.
Her work with Dr. Rose Onyeali centers on listening to and learning from incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men about their experiences of aging, chronic illness, and interactions with healthcare systems. Chinelo supports health education and advocacy efforts developed in partnership with incarcerated older men as the
coordinator of the HEAL x SLEP program. In her role, she helps foster spaces of shared dialogue, mutual humanization, and empowerment within carceral settings.
3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8-031
Penn Medical Ethics
Virtual via Zoom
MEHP Special Lecture: "The EMA's Approach to Supporting Rare Disease Drug Development" - Caroline Pothet
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2026-05-05 12:00:00
2026-05-05 13:00:00
America/New_York
MEHP Special Lecture: "The EMA's Approach to Supporting Rare Disease Drug Development" - Caroline Pothet
The EMA's Approach to Supporting Rare Disease Drug Development
Caroline Pothet
Head of Office, Advanced Therapies and Haemato-Oncology
European Medicines Agency (EMA)
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) supports rare disease drug development through a coordinated framework intended to reduces barriers and accelerates medicine development.
This presentation will outline how early scientific dialogue, tailored evidence‑generation strategies, and flexible regulatory pathways help developers advance innovative approaches for the benefit of patients. Key tools include orphan designation, early interaction tools, the PRIME scheme for medicines addressing high unmet need, scientific advice and risk-based approaches to trial design, evidence generation and data requirements.
The EMA also strengthens development through patient involvement, multi‑stakeholder collaboration, and international partnerships that promote regulatory convergence. By combining scientific rigour with proportional flexibility, the EMA enables more efficient development of high‑quality therapies for rare conditions. The session will highlight current practices and opportunities for developers engaging with the Agency.
Caroline Pothet is a pharmacist with a master’s degree in Drug Development and Global Registration of Medicines from Paris University. Before joining the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2020, she spent 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry in regulatory policy, regulatory affairs and clinical development, covering all stages of development and major submission types (incl. clinical trial applications, paediatric plans, request for scientific advice, orphan designation and marketing applications). From 2010 to 2020, she led regulatory strategy and clinical programme designs in oncology and immuno‑inflammation. Working closely with multidisciplinary teams, she deepened her expertise in clinical and methodological aspects of drug development in these therapeutic areas.
At EMA, Caroline initially supported the Committee for Advanced Therapies, Scientific Advice, and the Oncology and Haematology Office. She now heads the Office for Advanced Therapies and Haemato‑Oncology. She also leads the REVAMP project on optimising assessment reports, supports the Oncology and Haematology Working Parties, and contributes to the Clinical Data Submission Programme.
Virtual via Zoom
Penn Medical Ethics
Hybrid: 8-031, 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd (and virtual via Zoom)
Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): "Ethical Considerations in Palliative Care Trials and the Impact of a Pragmatic Paradigm" - Katherine Courtright, MD, MSHP
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2026-05-12 12:00:00
2026-05-12 13:00:00
America/New_York
Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): "Ethical Considerations in Palliative Care Trials and the Impact of a Pragmatic Paradigm" - Katherine Courtright, MD, MSHP
Ethical Considerations in Palliative Care Trials and the Impact of a Pragmatic Paradigm
Katherine Courtright, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director of Palliative Care Research in the Department of Medicine
Core Faculty, PAIR Center
University of Pennsylvania
Common challenges in research ethics can be heightened in palliative and end-of-life care clinical trials due to the real or perceived higher stakes when working with seriously ill populations. While some inroads have been made to navigate these challenges and the evidence base for palliative care is steadily increasing, there remains substantial heterogeneity in the interpretation and application of standard research ethics and regulatory frameworks in palliative and serious illness trials across health systems, institutional review boards, and data and safety monitoring boards. Pragmatic clinical trials, which often employ cluster randomization, EHR-based outcomes, and alternative consent models, address some of these challenges but also introduce new ethical terrain.
This presentation examines how pragmatic designs reshape core ethical dilemmas with a focus on informed consent, gatekeeping, and attrition. It also highlights related areas of uncertainty in pragmatic trial design and oversight, including the blurred boundary between quality improvement and research, defining the research subject(s), and equity implications. Be prepared for more questions than answers!
Registration required; Lunch provided
Streaming available via Zoom.
Hybrid: 8-031, 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd (and virtual via Zoom)
Penn Medical Ethics
CCB 08-031, 8th Floor, 3600 Civic Center Blvd. (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95740259034.)
Health Policy Research Seminar: Sameed Khatana, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
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2026-05-14 10:00:00
2026-05-14 11:00:00
America/New_York
Health Policy Research Seminar: Sameed Khatana, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Topic: “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Cardiovascular Health.”
Food insecurity has been associated with a number of adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular mortality. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest food-purchasing assistance program and is strongly associated with lower food insecurity. How SNAP impacts health outcomes is less clear, but there is growing evidence that it likely contributes to improved health. Dr. Khatana will discuss recently published and ongoing work, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, that uses different causal inference techniques to identify the impact of SNAP on population and individual-level health outcomes.
Sameed Khatana, MD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and a physician at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He also serves as the Associate Director of the Penn Cardiovascular Outcomes, Quality, and Evaluative Research (CAVOQER) Center. Dr. Khatana’s research interests include understanding the impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors on cardiovascular health as well as the quantitative evaluation of the health impact of public policies. He has received grant support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association. His research has been published in high impact medical journals including JAMA, JAMA Internal Medicine, and Circulation and has been covered by multiple news outlets including CNN, Reuters, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
CCB 08-031, 8th Floor, 3600 Civic Center Blvd. (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95740259034.)
Penn Medical Ethics
Virtual, via Zoom
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Organ Diversion or Match Run Deviation? Ethical Considerations in Allocation Out of Sequence" - Andrew M. Courtwright, MD, PhD
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2026-05-19 12:00:00
2026-05-19 13:00:00
America/New_York
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Organ Diversion or Match Run Deviation? Ethical Considerations in Allocation Out of Sequence" - Andrew M. Courtwright, MD, PhD
Organ Diversion or Match Run Deviation? Ethical Considerations in Allocation Out of Sequence
Andrew M. Courtwright, MD, PhD
Clinician, Division of Pulmonary Medicine
Adjunct Professor, University of Utah Department of Philosophy
University of Utah Health
The rise of Allocation Out of Sequence (AOOS) in organ transplantation in the United States has raised significant ethical concerns. By the end of 2024, 20% of kidneys were transplanted out of the standard match sequence, drawing regulatory scrutiny. Critics argue that AOOS amounts to organ diversion: it fails to prevent organ nonuse, does not address underlying inefficiencies in organ allocation, lacks transparency, and worsens transplant-related disparities.
In this talk, Dr. Courtwright discusses the factors contributing to the expansion of AOOS and evaluates the normative arguments for and against its use. Drawing on a constructivist framework, he argues that AOOS violates the expectation that allocation policies be grounded in collective agreement. Dr. Courtwright identifies considerations that should inform Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network policy revisions, emphasizing the need for shared norms to ensure procedural legitimacy.
Virtual, via Zoom
Penn Medical Ethics
Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd (and virtual via Zoom)
Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Returning Results to Participants in Pragmatic Trials - Catherine Auriemma, MD, MSHP
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2026-06-02 12:00:00
2026-06-02 13:00:00
America/New_York
Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Returning Results to Participants in Pragmatic Trials - Catherine Auriemma, MD, MSHP
Returning Results to Participants in Pragmatic Trials
Catherine Auriemma, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor of Medicine
division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care
Core Faculty at the PAIR Center
University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Catherine (Katie) Auriemma is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care and Core Faculty at the PAIR Center. She cares for patients in the medical intensive care unit at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and maintains an outpatient pulmonary clinic at the Harron Lung Center. She is passionate about providing longitudinal follow-up care for survivors of critical illness.
Dr. Auriemma’s research focuses on improving the value of serious illness care by better aligning interventions with the values and preferences of patients and their families. She is building a research program that approaches this goal in three complementary ways: (1) striving to understand how communication, documentation, and decision-making can be improved for patients and families prior to a clinical decompensation event; (2) developing and validating novel patient-centered outcome measures; and (3) enhancing the rigor of robust patient and stakeholder engagement in research. Her scholarship combines qualitative and mixed methods research, clinical epidemiology, and prospective observational cohort studies.
More detail to follow.
Registration required; Lunch provided.
Streaming available via Zoom.
Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd (and virtual via Zoom)
Penn Medical Ethics
3600 Civic Center Blvd., Rm. 8-031
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Commercial Neurotechnologies and the Risks of Cognitive Warfare” - Łukasz Kamieński, PhD, MSc
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2026-06-16 12:00:00
2026-06-16 13:00:00
America/New_York
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Commercial Neurotechnologies and the Risks of Cognitive Warfare” - Łukasz Kamieński, PhD, MSc
Łukasz Kamieński, PhD, MSc
Professor
International and Political Studies
Jagiellonian University, Krakow
Prof. Kamieński holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Jagiellonian University (2005) as well as an M.Sc. in International Relations (London School of Economics and Political Science, 2001) and an M.A. in political science with a minor in international relations (Jagiellonian University, 2000). He is a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, University of Pennsylvania (2025-2026).
Dr. Kamieński's research interests include: American art of war; new military technologies (particularly biotechnologies); history of wars; history and philosophy of military technology; and the ethics of war.
More detail to follow
3600 Civic Center Blvd., Rm. 8-031
Penn Medical Ethics
3600 Civic Center Blvd., Rm. 8-304
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): DDVP Lecturer - Rana A. Hogarth, PhD, MHS
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2026-06-23 12:00:00
2026-06-23 13:00:00
America/New_York
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): DDVP Lecturer - Rana A. Hogarth, PhD, MHS
Rana A. Hogarth, PhD, MHS
Associate Professor
History of Science / History of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Rana A. Hogarth holds a Ph.D. in History, with a concentration in History of Science/History of Medicine from Yale University. She also holds an M.H.S. in Health Policy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her work focuses on medical and scientific constructions of race during the era of slavery and beyond. Her scholarship brings together the fields of African American History, History of Medicine, and Atlantic World History.
More detail to follow.
3600 Civic Center Blvd., Rm. 8-304
Penn Medical Ethics