Category: News

Asha N. Talati, MD, MSCR, assistant professor in Maternal–Fetal Medicine, Clinical Genetics & Genomics, and medical director of the Obstetric Imaging Program, has been selected as a Simmons Scholar for 2026. Reflecting on this milestone, Talati shared her appreciation for the mentorship and institutional support that made this achievement possible, noting that the opportunity...

For decades, the School of Medicine’s Merrimon Lectureship has served as a cornerstone of ethical reflection and professional formation for medical students, physicians, and the broader health sciences community. Grounded in a deep commitment to ethics, professional values, and justice considerations, the lecture series honors the belief that medicine is...

From June 22-24, 2026, the UNC Center for the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Biotechnology (ELSI@UNC) hosted the 7th ELSI Congress, bringing together researchers, trainees, clinicians, policymakers, patient advocates, and community partners from across the United States and beyond to examine the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of...

Stuart Rennie has been selected for a visiting researcher residency at the Brocher Foundation, scheduled for April 2027. His work there will focus on the ethical issues related to the de-implementation of public health programs in low-income countries, including inequities in de-implementation processes, patient or health care professional preferences for...

ERIN CLARK, DO – PEDIATRICS Erin Clark is completing pediatric residency and the Clinical Ethics Certificate program this June. While participating in the program, she utilized the popular TV show, The Pitt, to teach residents, medical students, and undergraduate students about clinical ethics. In addition, a submission she wrote will...

Mara Buchbinder has been awarded a grant from the Greenwall Foundation for her project, “The Pediatric Vaccine Encounter in a New Era: Identifying and Mitigating Ethical Challenges.” The project is a collaborative effort with Krista Perreira of UNC Social Medicine and Douglas Opel of Seattle Children’s Hospital, bringing together expertise across institutions...

Rebecca Walker has been named Interim External Chair of the Department of Communication, effective July 1. This appointment reflects her strong leadership, commitment to academic excellence, and dedication to fostering collaboration within and beyond the university community.

Rebecca Walker and two Philosophy undergraduate students, Fia Jurgens and Jordan Mull, have teamed up to win a William C. Friday Arts and Humanities Research Award for the 2026-2027 Academic Year for their work on “Philosophical Explorations of Moral Status and Diverse Intelligence.”

Our Center provides an academic home for the UNC Hospital Ethics Committee (HEC) and the Clinical Ethics Service. Ethics consult team members were happy to participate in the hospital’s Team Appreciation Week, joining colleagues across the Hospital and UNC School of Medicine in recognizing the people who make our shared mission possible. Anissa...

In this talk, Justin Clapp examines how familiar bioethics language—such as framing medical “decisions” around patients’ “values” and “preferences”—actually functions in real clinical settings, including surgical clinics and intensive care units. Drawing on ethnographic research, he illustrates how these concepts are often taken up in ways that diverge significantly from...