Follow Upcoming Events
March
3
109 Leidy Labs, 3740 Hamilton Walk

MindCORE/Medical Ethics & Health Policy Lecture: "The Past, Present, and Future of Neurolaw" - Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD

Learn More 2026-03-03 12:00:00 2026-03-03 13:00:00 America/New_York MindCORE/Medical Ethics & Health Policy Lecture: "The Past, Present, and Future of Neurolaw" - Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD The Past, Present, and Future of Neurolaw Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD Professor of Law Solly Robbins Distinguished Research Fellow University of Minnesota For over a century brain science has fascinated the law. This talk will explore the past, present, and future intersections of neuroscience and law. Will advances in neuroscience enable the legal system to achieve greater safety and justice, or will these technologies lead to greater inequity and intrusion? In this talk, Dr. Shen will provide cautionary tales, but also provide a vision for ethical and effective adoption of neurotechnology. He will consider the legal and ethical implications of moving too fast—and also moving too slow—to adopt these new technologies. Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD is a Professor of Law, Solly Robbins Distinguished Research Fellow, and Faculty Member of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota. He is Chief Innovation Officer for the MGH Center for Law, Brain & Behavior (CLBB) at MGH. He directs the Shen Neurolaw Lab, whose motto is, “Every story is a brain story”. Streaming available via Zoom. Registration required; Lunch provided 109 Leidy Labs, 3740 Hamilton Walk Penn Medical Ethics
March
12
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: Jamie Daw, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University

Learn More 2026-03-12 10:00:00 2026-03-12 11:00:00 America/New_York Health Policy Research Seminar: Jamie Daw, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University "The Postpartum Assessment of Health Survey: Generating Data to Inform Policies to Improve Maternal Health." The United States has a higher maternal mortality rate than comparable peer countries and wide disparities by race, geography, and insurance status. More than two-thirds of pregnancy-related deaths occur in the postpartum year, yet this critical period has long been overlooked in clinical and policy efforts to improve maternal health. Dr. Daw will provide an overview of a multi-state primary data collection effort she leads—the Postpartum Assessment of Health Survey (PAHS)—which aims to fill a longstanding gap in evidence on health status, health care use, and social determinants of health in the year following childbirth. She will discuss the project’s motivation, methodology, key findings, policy impact, and lessons learned. Dr. Daw is a health services and policy researcher whose work focuses on improving maternal and infant health through evidence-based health care policy and health system interventions. She specializes in quantitative methods, including quasi-experimental designs and the analysis of large survey and administrative datasets. Her current projects, funded by the NIH and AHRQ, examine the effects of Medicaid policy changes and innovative care delivery models on health care access, patient experiences, and health outcomes in the year following childbirth. She also leads the Postpartum Assessment of Health Survey (PAHS), a first-of-its-kind, multi-state representative survey of maternal health in the year after birth. Her research has been cited in policy documents, published in leading journals, and featured in national and international media outlets. Dr. Daw holds a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard University, an MSc from the University of British Columbia, and a BHSc from McMaster University. 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
March
17
3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor

Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Paternalism, Autonomy, and Duties of Aid" - Sophie Gibert, PhD

Learn More 2026-03-17 12:00:00 2026-03-17 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Paternalism, Autonomy, and Duties of Aid" - Sophie Gibert, PhD Paternalism, Autonomy, and Duties of Aid   Sophie Gibert, PhD Assistant Professor, Legal Studies & Business Ethics Department Wharton School | University of Pennsylvania Dr. Gibert's research is primarily in normative ethics and she writes on topics such as manipulation, paternalism, and autonomy. Dr. Gibert also writes about issues in bioethics, and co-hosts a bioethics podcast called Bio(un)ethical. More detail to follow. Registration required; Streaming available via Zoom.   3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor Penn Medical Ethics
March
31
3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor

Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Why They Blow the Whistle: Exposing Abuses in Medical Research" - Carl Elliott, MD, PhD

Learn More 2026-03-31 12:00:00 2026-03-31 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Why They Blow the Whistle: Exposing Abuses in Medical Research" - Carl Elliott, MD, PhD Why They Blow the Whistle: Exposing Abuses in Medical Research   Carl Elliott, MD, PhD Professor, Department of Philosophy University of Minnesota In popular culture, whistleblowers are conscience-driven heroes who triumph against the odds. Yet when medical research abuses occur, institutions deny wrongdoing even when it is glaringly obvious, and rarely do mistreated research subjects or their families get any real justice. Whistleblowing is the exception, not the rule. In many scandals, doctors and other staff members remain silent for years while unwitting research subjects are abused. What is it that leads a rare individual to say no to practices that are deceptive, exploitative or harmful when everyone else remains silent? Streaming available via Zoom. 3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor Penn Medical Ethics
April
7
3600 Civic Center Blvd. Room 8-031

2026 Renee Fox Lecture: Joanna Kempner, PhD, "Experiment Perilous, Revisited: Hope, Deceit, and Survival in Psychedelic Science"

Learn More 2026-04-07 12:00:00 2026-04-07 13:00:00 America/New_York 2026 Renee Fox Lecture: Joanna Kempner, PhD, "Experiment Perilous, Revisited: Hope, Deceit, and Survival in Psychedelic Science" Late in her career, Renée Fox worried that bureaucratic medicine had replaced the intimate experiments where courageous physicians and patients navigated uncertainty together. Kempner finds those spaces reconstituted in the psychedelic underground, where people failed by medicine offer support, trade information, test potential treatments, and collect data. In this talk, she asks what happens to those intimate experiments when the underground and the institutions that once ignored them begin to collaborate. Joanna Kempner, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology at Rutgers University, where she studies how culture, politics, and institutions shape science and medicine—particularly what happens when they fail. Kempner’s most recent, Psychedelic Outlaws: The Movement Revolutionizing Modern Medicine (Hachette, 2024), chronicles how a patient-led community discovered that psilocybin could treat cluster headaches. Her earlier book, Not Tonight: Migraine and the Politics of Gender and Health (Chicago, 2014), examined how stigma and gender bias shape the treatment of pain. Her award-winning research spans sociology, medicine, bioethics, and health policy, and is often covered by media outlets including the New York Times, NPR, and PBS NewsHour. She received her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. The Renée C. Fox Lecture in Medicine, Culture, and Society was established to honor the legacy of Dr. Fox, whose pioneering work in the sociology of medicine, medical research, and ethics deeply shaped multiple disciplines. Her commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and critical inquiry continues to inspire this annual event.   3600 Civic Center Blvd. Room 8-031 Penn Medical Ethics
April
9
CCB 05-031, 5th Floor, 3600 Civic Center Blvd. (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95740259034.)

Health Policy Research Seminar: Sumit Agarwal, MD, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Health Management & Policy, University of Michigan

Learn More 2026-04-09 10:00:00 2026-04-09 11:00:00 America/New_York Health Policy Research Seminar: Sumit Agarwal, MD, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Health Management & Policy, University of Michigan Co-sponsored with the The Parity Center. Sumit Agarwal, MD, MPH, PhD is a physician and health economist at the University of Michigan. He is an assistant professor in the medical school and a member of the Institute for Health Policy and Innovation. Dr. Agarwal's research examines the impacts of economic, social, and insurance policies on health. His research also explores several areas related to primary care, including its workforce, quality of care, and payment reform. His work has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, and Health Affairs. He holds a PhD from Harvard University, an MD from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, an MPH from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a BA from Washington University in St. Louis. He completed his clinical training in internal medicine and primary care at the University of Virginia and a fellowship in General Internal Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Agarwal currently sees patients as a primary care physician at the University of Michigan. CCB 05-031, 5th Floor, 3600 Civic Center Blvd. (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95740259034.) Penn Medical Ethics
April
14
Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd (and virtual via Zoom)

Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): "Imperiled Pinnacle of Excellence: NIH, the Genome Project, and Challenges of Health Research for the Public Good" - Robert Cook-Deegan, MD

Learn More 2026-04-14 12:00:00 2026-04-14 13:00:00 America/New_York Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): "Imperiled Pinnacle of Excellence: NIH, the Genome Project, and Challenges of Health Research for the Public Good" - Robert Cook-Deegan, MD Imperiled Pinnacle of Excellence: NIH, the Genome Project, and Challenges of Health Research for the Public Good   Robert Cook-Deegan, MD Professor School for the Future of Innovation in Society Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes Arizona State University Dr. Robert Cook-Deegan, MD, is a professor at Arizona State University in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes. He was at Duke University 2002-2016, after a career in Washington at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (1991-2002); National Center for Human Genome Research (1989-1990); and the congressional Office of Technology Assessment (1982-1988). His research interests include science policy, health policy, biomedical research, cancer, and intellectual property. He is the author of "The Gene Wars: Science, Politics, and the Human Genome" and more than 350 other publications. 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
April
21
3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor

Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Measuring Implementation of Abortion Law, Globally" - Patricia Skuster, JD, MPP

Learn More 2026-04-21 12:00:00 2026-04-21 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Measuring Implementation of Abortion Law, Globally" - Patricia Skuster, JD, MPP Measuring Implementation of Abortion Law, Globally   Patricia Skuster, JD, MPP Associate Director of Accreditation Core MPH teaching faculty, Master’s in Public Health Program University of Pennsylvania Patty Skuster’s research has focused on abortion law globally and how law operates to affect public health. She currently serves as Associate Director of Accreditation and Core MPH teaching faculty at the University of Pennsylvania’s Master’s in Public Health Program, where she teaches courses on reproductive rights, public health law and use/misuse of evidence in public health policy. She also leads a research project with the World Health Organization related to abortion policy implementation and consults with non-governmental organizations on abortion legal issues. She has published dozens of articles in peer-reviewed journals, laws reviews, and popular media on self-managed abortion, abortion criminalization, abortion legal research, and US foreign policy.  More detail to follow. 3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor Penn Medical Ethics
April
28
3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor

Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Listening From the Inside: Partnering With Incarcerated Men to Navigate Health and Dignity"- Rose Onyeali, MD, MSHP

Learn More 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   Rose Onyeali, MD, MSHP Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) Perelman School of Medicine | University of Pennsylvania   While in medical school, Dr. Onyeali led the community outreach program for SNMA. She moved to Philadelphia to complete her residency in Internal Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where she was an active member of the hospital’s Ethics Committee, co-founded the Women in Medicine program for the Internal Medicine Residency, and actively contributed to the Jefferson Alliance for Minority Health. During her fellowship, she observed gaps in the health care transitions of older incarcerated adults into the community, which led to her research interest in transitions of care of incarcerated adults with cognitive and functional impairment. More detail to follow. 3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor Penn Medical Ethics
May
12
Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd (and virtual via Zoom)

Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Ethics of Palliative Care Trials - Katherine Courtright, MD, MSHP

Learn More 2026-05-12 12:00:00 2026-05-12 13:00:00 America/New_York Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Ethics of Palliative Care Trials - Katherine Courtright, MD, MSHP Ethics of Palliative Care Trials 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 Dr. Katherine (Kate) Courtright is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director of Palliative Care Research in the Department of Medicine, and Core Faculty at the PAIR Center. She attends in the medical intensive care unit and on the inpatient palliative care consult team at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Courtright’s research focuses on optimizing the quality and outcomes of palliative care for individuals with serious illness. Her major research interests include developing and implementing novel, scalable strategies to promote timely and equitable palliative care and serious illness communication and evaluating their effects in large pragmatic clinical trials. Relatedly, she is interested in developing innovative approaches to measure patient-centered outcomes reliably and pragmatically using routinely available clinical and administrative data. 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
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