CWRU Department of Bioethics

CWRU Department of Bioethics Department of Bioethics at Case Western Reserve University

The Department of Bioethics offers a Master of Arts Degree Program in Bioethics and Medical Humanities that emphasizes the interdisciplinary and interprofessional nature of the field. This graduate program is designed to provide advanced training in bioethics and medical humanities for students and professionals who anticipate encountering ethical issues in the course of their primary careers.

We're incredibly proud of our MA student Jacey Edwards and PhD student Xavier Williams, who presented posters at the Can...
03/13/2025

We're incredibly proud of our MA student Jacey Edwards and PhD student Xavier Williams, who presented posters at the Cancer Disparities Symposium last week! 👏

Their posters showcased research they've been working on with Assistant Professor Dr. Lynette Hammond Gerido.

Jacey, a CWRU psychology grad who is now pursuing our MA in Bioethics & Medical Humanities, presented "Narratives of Mistrust within Black Families affected by Cancer." The study analyzed how Black cancer patients and their families discuss healthcare mistrust, revealing patterns of concerns about quality of care, experiences of discrimination, and intergenerational transmission of mistrust.

Xavier, who is in his first year in our PhD program, worked with Dr. Gerido on "Who receives their genetic testing results? Exploring patient portal use and implications of technological innovation." They analyzed the Health Information National Trends Survey, looking at how digital divides affect access to genetic testing results, particularly among vulnerable populations.

These faculty-student research collaborations represent the best of academic partnership. We look forward to following Jacey and Xavier's growth as bioethics scholars and seeing how their important work with Dr. Gerido advances the field's scholarship and creates meaningful impact.

Can poetry enhance clinical practice? The William Carlos Williams Poetry Contest makes us think so! 📚🩺Mark your calendar...
03/05/2025

Can poetry enhance clinical practice? The William Carlos Williams Poetry Contest makes us think so! 📚🩺

Mark your calendars for the prestigious William Carlos Williams Poetry Contest Awards Ceremony on Saturday, March 15th from 4:00-5:30 PM at the CWRU Health Education Campus! 🏆✨

As the oldest poetry contest for medical students in the country, this celebration will showcase the winning medical student and physician poets reading their original works. The featured speaker will be Dr. Diana Farid, physician and award-winning author, poet, and filmmaker from Stanford University.

Attend in-person or via Zoom - register here: https://buff.ly/2NFyXiP

Before the ceremony, Dr. Farid will lead a Poetry Writing Workshop designed specifically for medical students and our bioethics students! 🖋️

This event is co-sponsored by the CWRU SOM Humanities Pathway (directed by our own Erin Gentry Lamb, Carl F. Asseff MD, MBA, JD, Designated Professor in Medical Humanities), NEOMED, the CCLCM Program in Medical Humanities, and the Hiram College Center for Literature and Medicine.

Our department proudly supports the humanities in healthcare education because we believe the arts are essential to developing empathetic and thoughtful healthcare professionals. Will we see you there? 🤔

How can clinical trials serve EVERYONE in our communities?The 2025 Cancer Disparities Symposium: "Clinical Trials: Succe...
03/05/2025

How can clinical trials serve EVERYONE in our communities?

The 2025 Cancer Disparities Symposium: "Clinical Trials: Successes and Future Directions" is asking just that. 🔬💫 And among the voices will be two of our faculty:

Lynette Hammond Gerido, PhD, MPH, MBA, Assistant Professor, Department of Bioethics and Scientific Director of the Bioethics Center for Community Health And Genomic Equity (CHANGE), will present "Narratives of Mistrust within Black Families Affected by Cancer" on Thursday afternoon.

Aaron Goldenberg, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Bioethics, Director of Research, Department of Bioethics, and Director of the Bioethics Center for Community Health And Genomic Equity (CHANGE), will present "Transforming Research to Increase Better Cancer Care for Everyone" on Friday morning. 🌟

The symposium, hosted by the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center's Office of Community Outreach and Engagement, will cover community-healthcare relationships, patient approach strategies, clinical trial conversations, decentralization efforts, and addressing participation barriers to improve trial engagement.

Learn more and register here: https://buff.ly/D4shFcH

📅 When: Thursday, March 6, 2025, 8:15 a.m.-5:30 p.m. & Friday, March 7, 2025, 8:15 a.m.-12 p.m.
📍 Where: Case Western Reserve University Tinkham Veale University Center

Our department and the Bioethics Center for Community Health And Genomic Equity (CHANGE) proudly support the Case CCC through collaborations that address health disparities and promote equitable care—work that aligns perfectly with our mission to serve health professionals, policy makers, and the public while fostering meaningful research partnerships. 🤝

Have you incorporated diverse healing narratives in your teaching? 🤔📚Assistant Professor Lindsey Grubbs and Jess Libow h...
02/27/2025

Have you incorporated diverse healing narratives in your teaching? 🤔📚

Assistant Professor Lindsey Grubbs and Jess Libow have! They recently published a paper in the Journal of Medical Humanities recommending Kali Fajardo‑Anstine's "Remedies" as a way to spark conversations about the relationship between traditional healing and biomedicine in the health humanities classroom.✨

In "Bringing Traditional Medicine into the Health Humanities Classroom", they discuss how they use this powerful short story (available for free online!) to offer students a nuanced perspective on healing that extends beyond conventional biomedical frameworks. 🌿💊

Plus, it's just a really good read!

Work like this exemplifies our department's commitment to expanding perspectives in bioethics and medical humanities, creating space for diverse healthcare traditions, and enriching our educational approaches! 🎉🌟

Citation: Libow, J., & Grubbs, L. (2024). Bringing Traditional Medicine into the Health Humanities Classroom with Kali Fajardo‑Anstine's "Remedies". Journal of Medical Humanities, 45, 443–448.

📝 Read their article: https://buff.ly/3F0en4D
📖 Read "Remedies" here: https://buff.ly/4kjMuos
👩‍🏫 Learn more about Dr. Grubbs: https://buff.ly/3EUfDWN

In this essay, we recommend Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s short story “Remedies” (2019) for inclusion on health humanities syllabi based on our experiences teaching it at two undergraduate institutions. The story is drawn from Sabrina & Corina, Fajardo-Anstine’s award-winning book of short stories ...

What does it take to become a clinical ethicist? 🤔Our PhD candidate Sean Eli McCormick is finding out through an immersi...
02/26/2025

What does it take to become a clinical ethicist? 🤔

Our PhD candidate Sean Eli McCormick is finding out through an immersive year-long internship at the UH Department of Clinical Ethics! 🎓💼

The UH Clinical Ethics Internship, which will continue until July of 2025, gives him the opportunity to observe and participate in the activities of UH's Clinical Ethics Program (CEP). Under the mentorship of the internship director, he has been shadowing a clinical ethics consultant, reviewing medical charts, joining crucial family and patient meetings, and attending rounds and committee and institutional meetings (such as the IRB, and committees on ethics, Conflicts of Interest, and Transplant Selection).

As a clinical ethics intern, he is receiving hands-on experience helping healthcare teams navigate complex ethical dilemmas, and learning skills like ethical analysis, mediation, and healthcare communication—all while continuing his doctoral studies! 📊🧠

We are immensely proud of the rigorous work our doctoral students like Eli undertake, demonstrating their commitment to advancing both theory and practice in this challenging field.

This internship reflects our department's long collaborative relationship with University Hospitals, which continues to build through the new UH/CWRU Center for Clinical Ethics. 🤝

👉 Want to learn more about him? Check out his page on our website, (or better yet, ask him!) https://buff.ly/3DanCi3

👉 Learn about the UH/CWRU Center for Clinical Ethics: https://buff.ly/49FFGM2

Biography Sean Eli McCormick is a PhD candidate in the Department of Bioethics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He has served as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Akron since Fall 2022, and as an Instructor in the Department of Philosophy an...

Can't keep up with social posts? Our newsletter delivers CWRU Bioethics department updates every quarter(ish) without th...
02/24/2025

Can't keep up with social posts? Our newsletter delivers CWRU Bioethics department updates every quarter(ish) without the daily scroll, straight to your email. Faculty news, student highlights, and upcoming events—all in one place.

Latest issue: https://buff.ly/4biS4TY
Previous issues: https://buff.ly/4hT1A2s
Subscribe here: https://buff.ly/3XeXObx

—because sometimes your inbox is more reliable than your feed! 😉

The latest issue of our departmental newsletter!

Our alumni continue to set high standards in clinical ethics practice!Dr. Gabriel Francisco Nibungco (MA '22), currently...
02/23/2025

Our alumni continue to set high standards in clinical ethics practice!

Dr. Gabriel Francisco Nibungco (MA '22), currently at MetroHealth, and Abagail Cohen (MA '23), currently at the VA, have earned their Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified (HEC-C) credentials last fall.

The HEC-C credential, which established a national standard for clinical ethics consultation, requires both passing a comprehensive exam AND completing at least 400 hours of healthcare experience.

Dr. Nibungco and Ms. Cohen are now among just 805 professionals nationwide with this credential!

We love to see our graduates thriving and advancing the field of bioethics. Congratulations to both!

🌏 What can we learn from different cultural approaches to youth mental health? Dr. Eileen Anderson, Anne Templeton Zimme...
02/21/2025

🌏 What can we learn from different cultural approaches to youth mental health?

Dr. Eileen Anderson, Anne Templeton Zimmerman MD Professor in Bioethics, joined leading social science researchers and clinicians to address this crucial question at the University of Chicago's Hong Kong campus for an intensive workshop on 'Cultures of Youth Mental Health.'

Her presentation, 'Emotional Simulacra and Youth Mental Health Revisited: The Good, Bad and Ugly,' drew on her research with young people's experience of mental health in several countries. The workshop mapped historical trajectories, socio-political concerns, and technological changes across North America, the UK, and various regions of Asia.

We look forward to the forthcoming conference proceedings exploring these diverse perspectives on youth mental health. Proud to see our faculty contributing to this important global dialogue!

Read more here: https://buff.ly/4130YjB

02/20/2025

How can we help pregnant patients make informed decisions about genetic screening - and ensure the information reaches them at just the right time?

Our faculty member Dr. Marsha Michie, along with co-PI Megan Allyse, is addressing this critical question through a newly funded NHGRI R01 study. The INFORM project will evaluate a novel mobile-friendly, just-in-time consent model across three diverse clinical sites that serve a large pregnant population from historically underserved communities . This four-year investigation comparing current consent approaches with innovative digital solutions aims to build an ethical and realistic approach to helping pregnant patients make informed decisions about prenatal genetic screening.

We're proud to see our faculty leading research that addresses real-world challenges in providing support at the most meaningful moments in patients' care!

Read more about it here:

As biotechnologies advance at unprecedented speed, what novel frameworks can ensure justice evolves alongside innovation...
02/19/2025

As biotechnologies advance at unprecedented speed, what novel frameworks can ensure justice evolves alongside innovation? 🔬

We're proud that PhD student Leah Nez and faculty member Dr. Lynette Gerido will help develop these crucial insights as newly selected participants in the Justice Dialogues initiative. The program, led by Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD in collaboration with Janet Shim, (UCSF), and Shawneequa Callier, (George Washington University) brings together scholars to advance justice-centered bioethics research, with particular emphasis on emerging biotechnologies.

They'll join a cohort of 15-20 researchers exploring novel frameworks of justice, gaining practical tools to integrate these approaches into their work with rapidly evolving technologies.

Their involvement will strengthen bioethics networks and enhance capacity in the field, contributing valuable perspectives to critical questions of justice—an endeavor we proudly support.

Learn more about the Justice Dialogues: https://buff.ly/4k0MZDs 🧬

The Justice Dialogues initiative addresses the need for sustained, substantive engagement with justice-focused frameworks and their application to real-world ethical challenges in fields such as genomics, artificial intelligence, and precision medicine.

02/14/2025

Can a national code of ethics help peer support maintain its values of self-determination, shared power, and social justice within institutional healthcare?

Our faculty member Dr. Julia Knopes is tackling this critical question through two newly funded research initiatives (from SSRHC and CIHR). Working with Principal Investigator Lee de Bie, Clinical Ethicist at St. Joseph's Health System (Ontario), Dr. Knopes will help develop Canada's first national code of ethics for peer supporters.

Learn more about this initiative: https://buff.ly/4hv2ge7

Resource providing access to different units and initiatives of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

CWRU Dept of Bioethics Newsletter: Feb. 2025 -
02/14/2025

CWRU Dept of Bioethics Newsletter: Feb. 2025 -

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The Department of Bioethics offers a Master of Arts Degree Program in Bioethics and Medical Humanities that emphasizes the interdisciplinary and interprofessional nature of the field. This graduate program is designed to provide advanced training in bioethics for students and professionals who anticipate encountering ethical issues in the course of their primary careers.