Plenary Sessions and Speakers

"Suffering and its Uselessness"
Laurie Zoloth, PhD
University of Chicago
Monday, March 13, 10:30 a.m. - Noon
Prof. Laurie Zoloth is the Margaret E. Burton Professor of Religion and Ethics at the University of Chicago.
A leader in the field of religious studies with particular scholarly interest in bioethics and Jewish studies, Laurie Zoloth’s research explores religion and ethics, drawing from sources ranging from Biblical and Talmudic texts to postmodern Jewish philosophy, including the writings of Emmanuel Levinas, Hannah Arendt, and Margaret Susman. Her scholarship spans the ethics of genetic engineering, gene drives, stem cell research, synthetic biology, social justice in health care, and how science and medicine are taught. She also researches the practices of interreligious dialogue, exploring how religion plays a role in public discussion and policy.
Zoloth is author of four books: Health Care and the Ethics of Encounter: A Jewish Discussion of Social Justice; Second Text and Second Opinions: Essays on Jewish Bioethics ; An Ethics for the Coming Storm: Jewish Thought and Global Warming; May We Make the World?: Gene Drives, Malaria, and the Future of Nature, and co-editor of six books, including Notes from a Narrow Ridge: Religion and Bioethics; The Ethics of Error: Mistakes in Bioethics and in Medicine; and Jews and Genes: The Genetic Future in Contemporary Jewish Thought. In addition, she is the author of numerous essays and has been a leader in several prestigious organizations.
Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Zoloth served as a Charles McCormick Deering Professor of Teaching Excellence at Northwestern University. At Northwestern, she was founding director of the Brady Program in Ethics and Civic Life at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and founding director of the Center for Bioethics, Science and Society at the Feinberg School of Medicine.
She currently serves on the national Ethics Advisory Board of NASA; and the national steering committee of The Engineering Biology Research Consortium, She has served as the dean of the Divinity School and as the Senior Advisory to the Provost on Social Ethics at the University of Chicago.
Laurie Zoloth, PhD
University of Chicago
Monday, March 13, 10:30 a.m. - Noon
Prof. Laurie Zoloth is the Margaret E. Burton Professor of Religion and Ethics at the University of Chicago.
A leader in the field of religious studies with particular scholarly interest in bioethics and Jewish studies, Laurie Zoloth’s research explores religion and ethics, drawing from sources ranging from Biblical and Talmudic texts to postmodern Jewish philosophy, including the writings of Emmanuel Levinas, Hannah Arendt, and Margaret Susman. Her scholarship spans the ethics of genetic engineering, gene drives, stem cell research, synthetic biology, social justice in health care, and how science and medicine are taught. She also researches the practices of interreligious dialogue, exploring how religion plays a role in public discussion and policy.
Zoloth is author of four books: Health Care and the Ethics of Encounter: A Jewish Discussion of Social Justice; Second Text and Second Opinions: Essays on Jewish Bioethics ; An Ethics for the Coming Storm: Jewish Thought and Global Warming; May We Make the World?: Gene Drives, Malaria, and the Future of Nature, and co-editor of six books, including Notes from a Narrow Ridge: Religion and Bioethics; The Ethics of Error: Mistakes in Bioethics and in Medicine; and Jews and Genes: The Genetic Future in Contemporary Jewish Thought. In addition, she is the author of numerous essays and has been a leader in several prestigious organizations.
Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Zoloth served as a Charles McCormick Deering Professor of Teaching Excellence at Northwestern University. At Northwestern, she was founding director of the Brady Program in Ethics and Civic Life at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and founding director of the Center for Bioethics, Science and Society at the Feinberg School of Medicine.
She currently serves on the national Ethics Advisory Board of NASA; and the national steering committee of The Engineering Biology Research Consortium, She has served as the dean of the Divinity School and as the Senior Advisory to the Provost on Social Ethics at the University of Chicago.

"Secular Medicine in the Saeculum: An Honored but Humble Servant"
Farr Curlin, MD
Duke University
Monday, March 13, 4:20 - 5:35 p.m.
Farr Curlin, MD, is Josiah Trent Professor of Medical Humanities and Co-Director of the Theology, Medicine and Culture Initiative (TMC) at Duke University. The TMC Initiative offers Christian theological formation to those with vocations to health care. Dr. Curlin’s prior work includes helping to found the Program on Medicine and Religion at the University of Chicago and the Conference on Medicine and Religion. He is co-author of The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession (Notre Dame University Press, 2021, with Christopher Tollefsen), as well as more than one hundred and thirty articles and book chapters dealing with the moral and spiritual dimensions of medical practice.
Farr Curlin, MD
Duke University
Monday, March 13, 4:20 - 5:35 p.m.
Farr Curlin, MD, is Josiah Trent Professor of Medical Humanities and Co-Director of the Theology, Medicine and Culture Initiative (TMC) at Duke University. The TMC Initiative offers Christian theological formation to those with vocations to health care. Dr. Curlin’s prior work includes helping to found the Program on Medicine and Religion at the University of Chicago and the Conference on Medicine and Religion. He is co-author of The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession (Notre Dame University Press, 2021, with Christopher Tollefsen), as well as more than one hundred and thirty articles and book chapters dealing with the moral and spiritual dimensions of medical practice.
"Religious Identity and Medical Education"
Tuesday, March 14 10:30 a.m. - Noon Three experienced educators will discuss the role of religious identity in medical education Presenter: Kristin Collier, MD, FACP, University of Michigan Krisint is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan where she co-directs the Program on Health, Spirituality, and Religion and serves as Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency. Panelists: Ryan R. Nash, MD, MA, FACP, FAAHPM, The Ohio State University College of Medicine Ryan (Sampson) Nash is the Hagop S. Mekhjian, MD, Chair in Medical Ethics and Professionalism and the Director of The Ohio State University Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities. In addition, he is a Palliative Medicine physician and a Deacon in the Orthodox Church in America. Aasim I. Padela, MD, FACEP, The Medical College of Wisconsin Aasim I. Padela is Professor with Tenure of Emergency Medicine, Bioethics and the Medical Humanities at Medical College of Wisconsin. In addition to being Vice Chair for Research and Scholarship in the Department of Emergency Medicine, he co-leads the Community Engagement Core for the Comprehensive Injury Center, serves on the Council of Faith for the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at MCW, and holds a faculty appointment in the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities in the Institute for Health and Equity. Dr. Padela is an internationally renowned clinician-researcher with scholarly foci at the intersections of healthcare, bioethics, and religion. |