Oregon Bioethics and Humanities Colloquium
What do we talk about when we talk about justice in healthcare?
Should adolescents get to make their own medical decisions?
Is it time to rethink the ethics of care and care labor in American society?
The Oregon Bioethics and Humanities Colloquium (OBHC) is an academic lecture series for the state of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. The goal of the OBHC is to foster substantive inquiry, conversation and education in biomedical ethics and medical humanism by bringing together scholars and students from diverse disciplines including medicine, philosophy, literature, sociology, religion, communication science, health policy and more. The OBHC aims to create an environment where critical examination of the human experience is the norm, and seeks to provide innovative perspectives on medicine and health -- perspectives that will both challenge and edify all who attend.
Join us at the Oregon Bioethics and Humanities Colloquium as we explore these questions and many more.
2024 - 2025 Upcoming Presentations
All presentations are at 8:00 AM and held virtually unless noted.
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
In Person | View Recording
“Split Brains, Functional Disorders, and Postictal Violence: Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Complex Brain Interventions”
Paul Ford, PhD
Program Director
Cleveland Clinic NeuroEthics
OHSU AUD Auditorium (260)
3286 SW Research Drive
Portland, OR 97239
November 8, 2024 | View Recording
“Fostering Collaborative Relationships between Patients, Families, and Care Teams”
Chris Feudtner, MD, PhD, MPH
Director of Research, Palliative Care
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
December 6, 2024 | View Recording
“Homelessness and Inclusion Health”
Josephine Ensign, DrPH, MPH, FNP
Professor, University of Washington School of Nursing
Department of Psychosocial and Community Health
January 10, 2025 | View Recording
“OMG, What R They Thinking? Adolescent Brain Development and Implications for Decision-making, Injury Prevention, and Criminal Justice”
Doug Diekema, MD, MPH
Professor, Division of Bioethics and Palliative Care
Seattle Children’s Hospital
May 2, 2025
Teneille Ruth Brown, JD
James I. Farr Professor of Law
Associate Dean of Faculty Research and Development
S.J. Quinney College of Law
Director, Center for Law and the Biomedical Sciences (LABS)
Adjunct in Internal Medicine
The University of Utah
May 16, 2025
“Malaria Eradication Attempts in Africa: Historical Lessons on Good Intentions, Unintended Consequences, and Unresolved Ethical Questions”
Melissa Graboyes, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor, University of Oregon
Department of History & Global Health Program
JUNE 6, 2025
Barbara Sestak, FAIA
Professor, School of Architecture
Portland State University
Past OBHC Series Presentations
2023-2024
Thursday, October 5, 2023
in partnership with the OHSU Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds
Lainie Friedman Ross, MD, PhD, University of Rochester
Friday, November 10, 2023 | View the recording HERE.
"The History of Medical Uncertainty"
Vera Keller, PhD, University of Oregon
Friday, December 8, 2023 | View the recording HERE.
"Structures of Justice and Fairness in Complex Disposition"
Georgina Campelia, PhD, HEC-C, University of Washington
Friday, January 12, 2024 | View the recording HERE.
"Taking Carework Seriously in Bioethics: The Case of US Nurses During the Pandemic"
LaTonya Trotter, MPH, PhD, University of Washington
Friday, February 9, 2024 | View the recording HERE.
"Dementia Through a Lens of Relational Agency"
Eran Klein, MD, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University
Friday, May 10, 2023
"Justice Rising: A Moral Imagination for a More Trustworthy Bioethics"
Kevin Dirksen, MDiv, MSc, Providence Center for Health Care Ethics
Friday, June 14, 2024
"Outliers and Outlaws: Supporting LGBTQ Elders"
Judith Raiskin, PhD, University of Oregon
2022-2023
Friday, November 18 from 8-9AM PT
By Hughes Evans, MD, PhD
Emory University
Friday, December 9 from 8-9AM PT
By Mary E. Wood, PhD
University of Oregon - view a recording of this presentation HERE
Friday, May 19th from 8-9AM PT
Elaine Hsieh, PhD, JD
University of Minnesota - To view the recording of this lecture, click HERE.
Friday, June 2 from 8-9AM PT
C. Estela Vasquez Guzman, MD, PhD
Oregon Health & Science University - To view the recording of this lecture, click HERE (password: QtyXpex2).
2021-2022
Tuesday, March 1 from 8-9AM PT
by Lydia Dugdale, MD, MAR from the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics in the Department of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons.
View the recording of this presentation HERE (Password: hRbh7Ns4)
Thursday, April 14 from 12-1PM PT
by Dr. Daena J. Goldsmith, Professor of Rhetoric & Media Studies and Associate Dean for Faculty Development at Lewis & Clark College. View the recording of this presentation HERE (Password: 8aFdGN9H)
Thursday, May 19 from 12-1PM PT
by William Sturkey, PhD, MA from the University of North Carolina. View the recording of his presentation HERE