Research Ethics & Ethical, Legal & Social Issues
March 24, 2026 | 2:00 - 5:00 pm | O’Hara Student Center
Thriving in Medicine and Science Spring 2026
This biannual forum will explore how social media can be used as a strategic tool for career advancement, leadership and influence when guided by a clear sense of purpose and direction. Keynote speaker, Sylk Sotto, will introduce a thoughtful, practical framework for engaging with social media in ways that align with personal goals, professional identity and sustainable boundaries. Learn more and register here.
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April 6, 2026 | Noon - 1:00 pm (with continued discussion until 1:30) | online and in-person in the 4th floor conference room of UPMC Mercy Pavillion (1622 Locust Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219)
Embedding Ethics in Research, Embedding a Bioethicist on Your Team
Timothy Brown, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioethics, University of Washington School of Medicine
Sponsored by the Center for Research Ethics and the Research, Ethics and Society Initiative of Pitt Research
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April 7, 2026 | Tentative: 9:00 - 10:15 am | online and in-person on the 4th floor of Barco Law Building in the Eberly Room (enter at 3900 Forbes Avenue)
Ethical Issues in Neural Engineering Research: Practical, Profound, & Provocative
Timothy Brown, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioethics, University of Washington School of Medicine
Sponsored by the Center for Research Ethics and the Research, Ethics and Society Initiative of Pitt Research
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April 8, 2026 |5:30 - 6:30 pm | Online and in-person, location TBA
The Challenges Facing American Higher Education: Economics and Finances
Catherine (“Cappy”) Bond Hill, PhD, Former President of Vassar College and Former Provost of Williams College
Universities are facing challenging finances, resulting from longer run trends and current national policies. Explaining these factors and possible responses, Dr. Hill will also discuss the impact of the overall economy and forty years of rising income inequality on higher education. She will also examine the possible impact of AI on the future labor market and thereby the ROI of a college education.
Given the importance of an educated population in a global economy that rewards those with skills and higher education, Dr. Hill will explore possible paths forward. The talk will be preceded by refreshments at 5:00.
Sponsored by the Research, Ethics and Society Initiative of Pitt Research and the E3 Project on the Ethics and Economics of Expertise: The University in the AI Age
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June 22 - 24, 2026 | Chapel Hill, NC, and online
7th Annual ELSI Congress
The ELSI Congress brings together scholars who are dedicated to understanding and shaping the impact of genomic science on society, and to share research, exchange ideas, and influence the future of the field. Conference submissions are accepted until February 16. Registration opens March 9.
Bioethics, Health Humanities, Health Policy & Clinical Ethics
March 18, 2026 | Noon - 1:00 pm | Online
Why Study Religion and Spirituality in Bioethics
Laurie Zoloth, PhD, Margaret E. Burton Professor of Religion and Ethics, Faculty of The Divinity School, The College, The Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies, The McLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, and the Program in Biomedical Science at The Pritzker School of Medicine
Irene Oh, PhD, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of World Religions, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, The George Washington University
Religion and spirituality play significant roles in how people perceive illness, healing, suffering, and end-of-life decisions. Yet these deep personal beliefs are often left out of medical and policy conversations. This webinar will explore how faith and spiritual values influence ethical decisions in healthcare—shaping issues such as patient autonomy, moral distress, and culturally responsive care. Experts in bioethics, theology, and public health will discuss why recognizing these perspectives is crucial and how a more holistic approach can foster trust, enhance communication, and support more
equitable, compassionate care for all.
Sponsored by the Bioethics Interest Group of Milken Institute of Public Health at The George Washington University
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March 24, 2026 | Noon - 1:00 pm | Online and in-person in the LHAS Auditorium at UPMC Montefiore
Respect for Persons: What Bioethics Gets Right, What It Gets Wrong, and Why It Matters
Mary Catherine Beach, MD, MPH, Professor, Berman Institute for Bioethics, Professor of Medicine and of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
Respect is fundamental to all human interactions—and especially vital in healthcare. Western bioethics has long equated respect with patient autonomy, grounding informed consent and shared decision-making, yet patients describe respect more broadly in terms of how we listen, acknowledge individuality, and respond to suffering. Using patients’ voices and insights from philosophy and linguistics, Dr. Beach will outline practical steps to expand how respect is taught and measured, and to foster it consistently in everyday clinical interactions.
The Tisherman Lecture is co‑sponsored by the Department of Medicine and the Institute for Bioethics
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April 10, 2026 | 8:00 am - 3:45 pm |Passavant Hospital Foundation Conference Center,700 Cumberland Woods Drive, Allison Park, PA 15101, and online
How Language Shapes Medical Realities and Ethical Decisions— 33rd Annual Healthcare Ethics Conference
How we describe patients in chart notes, greet their family members, or talk about death—the language we use shapes the ethical decisions patients and their surrogates make. Choice of words affects choice of options. Langua ge can intensify or de-escalate conflict. ‘Hope’ means different things to different families, patients, and clinicians. So does ‘prevention’ or ‘quality of life’. Through talks and panel discussion among nationally recognized experts, this conference will explore how the language used to describe treatment goals and interventions shapes ethical decision making.
Registration is free. Continuing education in health professions and law will be available without charge. Breakfast (beginning at 7:30 am) and lunch will be provided to in-person attendees. Convenient parking is free.
Hosted by the Institute for Bioethics with support from the Passavant Hospital Foundation, the Ira R. Messer Family Foundation, the School of Law, and UPMC Ethics
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April 14, 2026 | 8:00 - 9:00 am | Online
The Role of Spirituality and Religion in Addiction and Recovery
John F. Kelly, PhD, Chief, Division of Addiction Treatment and Prevention, Mass General Brigham AMC, Department of Psychiatry, and Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Throughout history there have been reports of "cures" from serious illnesses including addiction involving spiritual and religious insights and transformations. These are still reported today and the therapeutic elements contained within spiritual and religious beliefs and practices are evident in healing and transformation in addiction for many. A question that has remained, is how exactly do spiritual and religious ideas and behavior help people with serious addiction problems achieve and maintain remission and recovery. This talk will describe the history and conceptual basis for the role of spirituality and religion in health and recovery and implications for clinical practice will be discussed.
Co-sponsored by the Institute for Bioethics, Department of Religious Studies, Jewish Studies Program, and Palliative and Supportive Institute
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June 24, 2026 |8:00 - 9:00 am |Parkvale Building, Suite 300, Room 305, and online via Teams
Palliative Care: Working in the Gray
Theresa Brown, RN, PhD, Author of Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient; The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives; and Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life, and Everything in Between
Palliative care offers relief, an underrated treatment when curative options are no longer available to patients or will do more harm than good. The problem is, “curative options,” “harm,” and “good” are often in the eye of the beholder, or the physician, when patients with serious illness are unable to get significantly better, but their lives and sometimes function can be maintained with health care interventions. This talk will explore the gray areas of palliative care using clinical examples from the speaker’s work as an oncology and hospice nurse, and research for her next book, 4 Nurses. A key theme will be the role of hope in the care of serious illness. What counts as hope when a patient is dying? Is false hope better than no hope at all, or is that a false dichotomy?
Registration TBA
Co-sponsored by the Institute for Bioethics and Department of Medicine Section on Palliative Care and Medical Ethics
Sponsored by Pitt Research, this virtual exhibition demonstrates Pitt’s creativity and leadership in public communication of science and technology. With a Pitt Seed grant and science & technology studies scholar Hannah Starr Rogers, curator and science communication expert Elizabeth Pitts (Department of English) created the exhibit of ten artists/artist groups to inquire: What do we want from biotechnologies? Who is biotechnology for? Who decides?
In 2020, Pitt’s Center for Bioethics & Health Law mounted a virtual exhibition of work by Norman Klenicki. A self-taught artist and son of Auschwitz survivors, Klenicki uses his canvases to memorialize Holocaust victims and to channel the energy and emotions he experiences as a person with bipolar disorder. The exhibition is employed in history and Jewish studies courses, as well as the health humanities. With City of Asylum, the Center hosted events exploring connections between music and mental health, and between Klenicki’s visual art and the work of jazz musicians Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus. Historian and exhibit curator Bridget Keown (Gender, Sexuality , and Women’s Studies Program) leads a virtual gallery tour.
