• National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference at The University of Puget Sound
  • National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference at The University of Puget Sound
  • National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference at The University of Puget Sound

Conference Speakers and Program

Keynote Speakers


Carl Elliott teaches bioethics and philosophy at the Univ. of Minnesota. He is the author or editor of six books, and his articles have appeared in publications such as The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly. In 2003-04 he was an Associate Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where he led a faculty seminar on bioethics. His book, White Coat, Black Hat, will be published in 2010.

Annette Dula is one of a handful of African American bioethicists in the US who focuses on racial aspects of bioethics. Dr. Dula is an affiliate at the Univ. of Pittsburgh Center for Bioethics and Health Law and currently serves as a consultant and is on the external advisory board for the Tuskegee Univ. National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care.

Hilde Lindemann is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Michigan State University and president emeritus of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. She is a fellow of The Hastings Center, and her ongoing research interests include feminist bioethics, feminist ethics, the ethics of families, and the social construction of persons and their identities.

PANEL SPEAKERS

Suzanne Holland, PhD

Dr. Suzanne Holland teaches in the area of religious ethics and values, including bioethics, science and technology, religion, and gender studies. Her research interests range from the ethics of human genetics and stem cell research, biotechnology and commodification, to broader issues in religion, culture and public policy.

Dr. Tony Blau

Dr. Tony Blau is a professor of Medicine Hematology and Adjunct Professor of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the co-Director of the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. His research interests include hemopoietic stem cell biology, gene therapy, and globin gene regulation.

Helene Starks, PhD, MPH

Dr. Helene Starks is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics and Humanities and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She received an MPH in Health Policy and Administration from the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in Health Services Research from the University of Washington.

Dena S. Davis, JD, PhD

Dena S. Davis is a Professor at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where she teaches a variety of courses in bioethics. Dr. Davis has been a Visiting Scholar at the National Human Genome Research Institute, Arizona State University, and the Hastings Center. She holds an adjunct appointment at Case Western Reserve University's Department of Biomedical Ethics, and is a Faculty Associate in CWRU's Center for Genetic Research Ethics and Law. Her most recent book is Genetic Dilemmas: Reproductive Technology, Parental Choices, and Children's Futures. Dr. Davis is a member of the NIH Embryonic Stem Cell Eligibility Working Group.

Denise Dudzinski, PhD, MTS

Dr. Denise Dudzinski is Associate Professor in the Department of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington. She is Chief of the Ethics Consultation Service, Associate Chair of the Ethics Advisory Committee, an organizational ethics consultant, and a member of the Palliative Care Service at the UW Medical Center. Her research includes ethical issues in transplantation and destination therapy.

Stu Farber, MD

Dr. Stu Farber is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Bioethics & Humanities at the University of Washington School of Medicine. His research interests include qualitative investigations of the varying perspectives on the transition to palliative care through the end of life. He also explores the design and evaluation of innovative methods in palliative and end-of-life care education.

SEMINAR SPEAKERS

David Acosta, MD

Dr. David Acosta is the Associate Dean for Multicultural Affairs at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Professor in the Department of Family Medicine. He has been a Family Practice physician for 24 years. He has been certified as a diversity trainer by the National Multicultural Institute, and has taught a number of cultural competency/diversity workshops for medical students, residents, faculty and staff. Dr. Acosta received the prestigious Washington State Association for Multicultural Education 2009 Excellence Award for his work at the School of Medicine, and was recently voted National Chair-Elect for the new AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion.

Wylie Burke, PhD, MD

Dr. Wylie Burke is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Bioethics and Humanities and the director of the University of Washington Center for Genomics and Healthcare Equality. She has adjunct appointments in the departments of medicine and epidemiology. Dr. Burke's research addresses the social, ethical and policy implications of genetic information, including genetic test evaluation and the development of practice standards for genetically based services.

S. Malia Fullerton, PhD

Dr. Malia Fullerton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Her scientific publications have focused on the description and interpretation of DNA sequence variation in specific human genes, and the relationship of that variation to human evolutionary history and susceptibility to disease. Her research interests include scientific decision-making, the relationship of basic research to clinical research and practice, and research ethics.

Sara Goering, PhD

Dr. Sara Goering is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Washington. She received her doctorate from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She teaches and publishes in the areas of biomedical ethics, feminist philosophy, and philosophy of education.

Mott Greene, PhD

Mott Greene is John Magee Professor of Science and Values at the University of Puget Sound and a member of the faculty of the Honors Program and the Program in Science, Technology & Society.

Alisa Kessel, PhD

Dr. Alisa Kessel is an assistant professor in the Department of Politics and Government at the University of Puget Sound. She specializes in normative political theory and is interested in agency, inclusion, and responsibility in democratic politics. To that end, she teaches courses on freedom, poverty, race, and ideology. Her research includes work on education, political participation, and authority.

Sarah Kim, BA

Sarah Richards Kim is in her 4th year of medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She will begin psychiatry residency training in July with plans to concentrate in reproductive and perinatal psychiatry. Research interests include infertility, pregnancy and mental illness, postpartum depression and child psychiatry, as well as medical student education and the development of one's professional identity.

Benjamin Lewin, PhD

Dr. Benjamin Lewin is a professor of Comparative Sociology at the University of Puget Sound. He specializes in medical sociology. His interests include understanding the connections between pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising and physician-patient interactions, and in understanding the impact of the pharmaceutical industry on medicalization, which is the process by which certain behaviors come to be defined as medical issues and move under the control of the medical institution.

Hannah Love, PhD

Dr. Hannah Love teaches several applied ethics courses in the Department of Philosophy at Pacific Lutheran University, among them Family Ethics, Business Ethics, and Biomedical Ethics. Her primary research interests include the nature of emotion and its relationship to reason and moral action: specifically, how our patterns of emotion shape the way in which we reason.

Paul Menzel, PhD

Dr. Paul Menzel has taught philosophy at Pacific Lutheran University since 1971, having been educated at Wooster, Yale, and Vanderbilt. Teaching widely in philosophy and cross-disciplinary curricula, he has also published specialized scholarly work in health care ethics and two books on moral questions in health care economics. His courses have included Biomedical Ethics, Business Ethics, a course on Human Rights in the International Core curriculum, and more.

Jill Nealey-Moore, PhD

Dr. Jill Nealey-Moore is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Puget Sound. She teaches health psychology, abnormal and clinical psychology, and research methods. She specializes in adaptation to medical illness, stress and weight management, grief/loss, premarital counseling, transition to parenthood, and infertility/miscarriage.

Leslie Saucedo, PhD

Dr. Leslie Saucedo is an associate professor in the biology department at the University of Puget Sound. She teaches courses in genetic determinism, cell biology, and cancer biology. Last August, she was awarded a grant by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute to conduct genetic research in the field of cancer biology.

Janelle S. Taylor, PhD

Dr. Taylor teaches in the Department of Anthropology at the Universtiy of Washington. Her research interests include medicine and medical education, dementia, technology, commodification and consumer culture, and reproduction.

Donald Uslan, MA, MBA, LHMC

Don Uslan is a mental health and rehabilitation counselor providing consultation and evaluation of patients to physicians and medical staff. He provides medical psychotherapy, treatment and rehabilitation planning, group and family therapy in the field of chronic illness, vocational rehabilitation counseling and health education. He has Masters degrees in psychotherapy and counseling and in Business Administration with an emphasis in health care program development. He is the Director of Integrated Healthcare for The Seattle Arthritis Clinic at Northwest Hospital.

Benjamin Wilfond, MD

Dr. Wilfond is director the of the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children's Hospital, professor and chief of the Division of Bioethics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine, and adjunct professor in the Department of Medical History and Ethics. He conducts research on ethical and policy issues related to genetic testing, genetic research and pediatrics research.

Kelly Edwards, PhD

Bio requested.

Lauren Fleming, PhD

Lauren Fleming is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at the University of Puget Sound. Her interests in bioethics lie at two ends of the public-private spectrum: on the one hand, in how we can make justified and mutually respectful decisions about using public funds when it comes to controversial topics in bioethics, and on the other hand, how our idiosyncratic personal commitments can have a particularistic effect on the sorts of medical choices we each ought to make.

STUDENT SPEAKERS

Azalyn Manzano, York University

Major: Health Policy
Presentation Title: Neoliberalism, Obesity Interventions, and Ethics

Britt Smith, Virginia Commonwealth University

Majors: Political Science, Environmental Studies
Presentation Title: Medical Error and Doctor Apology

Tsion Tesfaye, Virginia Commonwealth University

Major: Political Science- Concentration: Public Policy
Presentation Title: Eliminating Disparities in Mental Health Services

Alex Huh, University of Washington, Senior

Majors: Biochemistry, Philosophy
Presentation Title: Moral Responsibility in the Health Care Commons

Andrea Fletcher, Washington and Jefferson College, Senior

Presentation Title: Person-centered Bioethics in Medical Codes

Jessica Erickson, University of Puget Sound, Sophomore

Presentation Title: Lying to the Demented Elderly

Alissa LaGesse, University of North Florida, Junior

Major: Philosophy
Presentation Title: Against the Use of Advance Directives in Medical Decision Making

Carmel Scharf, Wellesley College, Senior

Majors: Women's and Gender Studies, French
Presentation Title: The Inclusion of Pregnant Women in Biomedical Research: Ethical Considerations

Michael Young, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Senior

Majors: Philosophy and Biology
Presentation Title: Empathy in the Electronic Age: Navigating the Ethics of eHealth

Rachel Fabi, Yale University, Junior

Presentation Title: The Dialectic of Utility and Justice in Kidney Allocation: Crafting an Ethical Balance

Lauren Eby, Wellesley College, Senior

Major: Neuroscience
Presentation Title: Justice in Assisted Suicide: Rights, Responsibility, and Dignity

Melanie Subramanian, Duke University, Junior

Majors: Biological Anthropology and Anatomy
Presentation Title: An Unfinished Race: The Ethical Dilemmas of BRCA Screening

Rachel Hamburg, Pomona College, Senior

Major: Politics
Presentation Title: Disability Rights, Twentieth Century Eugenics, and the Ethics of Prenatal Genetic Testing and Counseling

Clara Starkweather, Duke University, Sophomore

Presentation Title: A Contradictory Function Machine

Ishan Dasgupta, John Hopkins University, Senior

Majors: Philosophy, Behavioral Biology
Presentation Title: A Case for Cognitive Enhancement

Alex Neitzke, Loyola University, Junior

Major: Philosophy
Presentation Title: If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It: Discussing Genetic Enhancement to Modify Behavior

Eli Cumpton, Texas Wesleyan University, Senior

Major: Religion
Presentation Title: Necessary Surgery - Why Sexual Reassignment Surgery should be covered by basic insurance

Kevin Verbael, Harvard College, Senior

Presentation Title: Privacy and your Genome

Program for Friday, March 26

Conference Check-In (7:00am - 3:00pm)

NUBC Conference Check-In

Registered attendants will check-in and receive awesome conference materials.

Not yet registered? Register online now!

Breakfast (7:30am - 8:45am)

Friday Breakfast

Continental breakfast will be served.

Welcome Address (9:00am - 9:30am)

NUBC Welcome Address

University of Puget Sound President Ronald Thomas will give the welcoming address.

Plenary Speaker (9:30am - 10:30am)

First Plenary Speaker

Dr. Annette Dula gives the opening keynote address, titled Health Disparities as a Bioethics Issue: A New Challenge for Bioethics.

Panel Discussions (10:45am - 12:15pm)

Panel Discussions

Attendants will be able to choose between two panels of experts debating important bioethical issues:

Healthcare Reform Panel

  • Bill Schneider, CEO, Northwest Seattle Hospital & Medical Center
  • Howard Brody, M.D. PhD, Director, Institute for the Medical Humanities University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
  • Paul Menzel, PhD Emeritus Professor Department of Religion, Pacific Lutheran University


Death With Dignity Panel

  • Helene Starks, PhD, University of Washington Dept. of Bioethics & Humanities
  • Stuart Farber, M.D., University of Washington School of Medicine Dept. of Family Medicine
  • Denise Dudzinski, PhD, University of Washington Dept. of Bioethics & Humanities
  • Rabbi Moshe Kletenik, Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath Congregation, Seattle & President of the Rabbinical Council of America

Lunch (12:30am - 1:30pm)

Friday Lunch

Sandwiches and sides will be served.

Student Presentations (1:45pm - 2:45pm)

First Student Presentations

Two groups of student presenters will discuss their papers

  • Jessica Erickson - Lying to the Demented Elderly
  • Aza Manza - Neoliberalism, Obesity Interventions, and Ethics
  • Ishan Dasgupta - A Case For Cognitive Enhancement
  • Andrea Fletcher - Person-centered Bioethics in Medical Codes
  • Michael Young - Empathy in the Electronic Age: Navigating the Ethics of eHealth
  • Tsion Tesfaye - Eliminating Disparities in Mental Health Services

Seminar Session (3:00pm - 4:30pm)

First Seminar Session

Attendants will break into smaller seminar groups to discuss bioethical issues.

  • Hannah Love, PhD, Department of Philosophy, Pacific Lutheran University: "Autonomy, Abortion, & Assisted Reproductive Technology"
  • Sara Goering, PhD, Department of Philosophy, University of Washington: "What Counts as Respect for Persons: Analyzing the Ashley X Case"
  • Leslie Saucedo, PhD, Dept. of Biology, University of Puget Sound: "The Ethics of Biomedical Research to Extend Lifespan: How Long is Long Enough?"
  • Alissa Kessel, PhD, Dept. of Politics & Government, University of Puget Sound: "Public Options, Private Interests: The Ethics of Health Care Reform in America"
  • Benjamin Wilfond, M.D., Director, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics Seattle Children's Hospital: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Ethical Aspects of Learning to do Medical Procedures"
  • Kelly Edwards, PhD, University of Washington School of Medicine, Dept. of Bioethics & Humanities: "Ethical Issues in Biobanking"
  • Donald Uslan, MBA, LMHC, The Seattle Arthritis Clinic, Northwest Hospital, Seattle: "Case Studies in Ethical Challenges in Clinical Practice: Physicians and Other Providers Working Together"

Bioethics Fair & Event (4:45pm - 5:45pm)

Bioethics Fair and Wine Tasting Event

Snacks will be provided with coffee + wine.

Plenary Address (6:00pm - 7:00pm)

Plenary Address

Dr. Carl Elliott will give the keynote address, titled An Atypical Suicide? The Clinical Trial as Pharmaceutical Marketing Tool

Dinner (7:00pm - onward)

Dinner on your own

Dinner will be on your own.Transportation and restaurant suggestions will be provided. On-campus dining is also available.

Program for Saturday, March 27

Conference Check-In (7:00am - 10:00am)

Conference Check-In

Registered attendants will check-in and receive awesome conference materials.

Breakfast (7:30am - 8:45am)

Saturday Breakfast

A delicious breakfast will be served.

Student Presentations (9am - 10:00am)

Second Student Presentations

Two groups of student presenters will discuss their selected papers.

  • Britt Smith - Medical Error and Doctor Apology; disclosing error and providing effective apology: historical context, ideological implications and future necessities
  • Carmel Scharf - The Inclusion of Pregnant Women in Biomedical Research: Ethical Considerations
  • Ali LaGesse - Against the Use of Advance Directives in Medical Decision Making
  • Rachel Fabi - The Dialectic of Utility and Justice in Kidney Allocation: Crafting an Ethical Balance
  • Lauren Eby - Justice in Assisted Suicide: Rights, Responsibility, and Dignity
  • Melanie Subramanian - An Unfinished Race?: The Ethical Dilemmas of BRCA Screening

Plenary Speaker (10:15am - 11:15am)

Third Plenary Speaker

Dr. Hilde Lindeman will give the keynote address, titled Family Perspectives on Health Care.

Seminar Sessions(11:30am - 12:50pm)

Seminar Sessions

Attendants will break into smaller seminar groups to discuss bioethical issues.

  • Malia Fullerton, PhD, Dept. of Bioethics & Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine: "Returning Results to Research Participants: When Respect for Research Participants Should and Shouldn't Prevail"
  • Lauren Fleming, PhD, Department of Philosophy University of Puget Sound
  • Wylie Burke, MD, PhD, Chair, Dept. of Bioethics & Humanities University of Washington School of Medicine: "Personalized Medicine: What is it? What Should it Be?"
  • Janelle Taylor, PhD, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington: "Undisciplined Conversations"
  • Ben Lewin, PhD, Department of Comparative Sociology, University of Puget Sound: "Medicalization and the Human Condition"
  • Sarah Kim, Columbia University School of Medicine: "Mental Illness and Assisted Reproduction: Is it Ethical to Deny In Vitro Fertilization to Someone with Bipolar Disorder?"

Lunch (1:00pm - 1:45pm)

Saturday Lunch

Sandwiches and sides will be served.

Seminar Sessions(1:45pm - 3:15pm)

Seminar Sessions

Attendants will break into smaller seminar groups to discuss bioethical issues.

  • Robin Foster, PhD, Dept. of Psychology University of Puget Sound: "Family, Faith...And Fragile X"
  • Paul Menzel, PhD, Pacific Lutheran University: "Health Insurance Reform: Mandates and Cost Controls"
  • Mott Greene, PhD, Science, Technology & Society, University of Puget Sound: "Deciding to Die: The Ethics of Living Wills and DNR Orders"
  • Jill Nealey-Moore, PhD, Department of Psychology and Neurosciences University of Puget Sound:"Breast Cancer Screening: Ethics, Emotion, and Uncertainty at the Intersection of Science, Personal Experience, and Politics"
  • David Acosta, M.D., Asst. Dean Multicultural Affairs, University of Washington School of Medicine: "Racial Discrimination in American Health Care: Are We Ready to Talk Yet?"

Panel / Bioethics Bowl (3:30pm - 5:00pm)

Panel Discussions and Bioethics Bowl Finals

Attendants can choose to watch the final round of the Bioethics Bowl or attend a panel discussion.

Stem Cell Research & Ethics Panel

  • Anthony Blau, MD, Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine University of Washington
  • Suzanne Holland, PhD, Dept. of Religion, University of Puget Sound
  • Dena Davis, PhD, JD, Case-Western Reserve School of Law, Cleveland, Ohio

Student Presentations (5:15pm - 6:15pm)

Third Student Presentations

Two groups of student presenters will discuss their selected papers.

  • Rachel Hamburg - Disability Rights, Twentieth Century Eugenics, and the Ethics of Prenatal Genetic Testing and Counseling
  • Clara Starkweather - A Contradictory Function Machine
  • Alex Neitzke - If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It: Discussing Genetic Enhancement to Modify Behavior
  • Alexander Huh - Moral Responsibility in the Health Care Commons
  • Kevin Verbael - Privacy and your genome
  • Eli Cumpton - Necessary Surgery - Why Sexual Reassignment Surgery should be covered by basic insurance

Commencement Dinner(6:30pm - 9:00pm)

Final Dinner and The Future of Bioethics Discussion

All registrants will enjoy a final catered dinner and a discussion on the future of bioethics