Center for Bioethics: Indiana University

Ethics for the future of health and medicine

Founded in 2001, the IU Center for Bioethics is a gathering place for discussion, education, research, and collaboration in bioethics and related fields. Based at the IU School of Medicine, faculty from schools across IU - Indianapolis lead these efforts, guiding healthcare providers and researchers in their work and helping society confront important questions about health, science, and technology.

Resources

The Center hosts talks, publishes a blog, and provides resources and consultations to researchers and others.

Research

Center faculty write and conduct research on bioethics, communication, policy, and other areas.

Education

Center faculty teach bioethics, responsible conduct of research, health law, medical humanities, and related topics.

Blog

Center faculty and staff write accessible short essays on various topics in bioethics, current events, and other various interests.

News from the Center

IUCB Affiliate Faculty Present In McDonald-Merrill-Ketcham Award Lecture Panel

Monday, February 24, 2025

IUCB Affiliate Faculty Lauren Nephew, MD, MA, MSc and Rob Katz, JD presented in the McDonald-Merrill-Ketchum Award Lecture Panel.

IUCB Investigator contributes to development of new decision tool for cirrhosis

Monday, February 17, 2025

New Tool Enhances Mortality Prediction for Cirrhosis Patients in Emergency Departments

Click here for more news

All IU Events

Memory University: Ethical Challenges Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease

Friday, March 21, 2025

Starts at 1 p.m.

Join the Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center on March 21 for a panel discussion of the Ethical Challenges Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease.

IADRC Memory University 2025 - Ethical Challenges with Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease

Friday, March 21, 2025

1 p.m.—2 p.m.

Friday afternoons: February 21, March 21, April 18, May 16, 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EST Monday, June 9: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST Location: Feb, Mar, Apr, and May on Zoom only. June will be in-person...Read more

TREATs Talk: Who Should Participate in Clinical Research?

Thursday, April 10, 2025

12 p.m.—1 p.m.

Join the IU Center for Bioethics for their translational research ethics talk on “Who Should Participate in Clinical Research?”

Dr. Williams S. Silvers Holocaust, Genocide, and Contemporary Bioethics Lectureship: Nazi Experiments and the Birth of Modern Bioethics

Thursday, April 24, 2025

12 p.m.—1 p.m.

Join us as we reflect and explore the ways in which the actions of Nazi doctors reshaped bioethics, changing the way we practice medicine today.

Bioethics Grand Rounds: “Clinical Uncertainty & Medical Decision-Making”

Thursday, May 15, 2025

12 p.m.—1 p.m.

Upcoming Events in Ethics and Humanities

Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby (Baylor College of Medicine), “The Ethics of Influence”

Wednesday, April 02, 2025, 5 p.m.—Wednesday, April 02, 2025, 6:30 p.m.

Join Baylor for the 2025 Parr | Bioethics Joint Lecture, co-sponsored annually by the Parr Center and the Center for Bioethics.

A HeLa Story: Henrietta Lacks, the mother of modern and future medicine

Thursday, April 10, 2025, 2 p.m.—Thursday, April 10, 2025, 3 p.m.

Mr. Jermaine Jackson, Grand-Nephew of Henrietta Lacks, will discuss life, family, and the contributions to modern medicine of his late great aunt, Henrietta Lacks, known as The Mother of Modern and Future Medicine.

Filling Out Forms for Life-Sustaining Treatment: Aids and Aggravations

Thursday, April 10, 2025, 6 p.m.—Thursday, April 10, 2025, 8 p.m.

This panel discussion will explore the purpose(s) of Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST); how to utilize this tool to facilitate optimal end-of-life care; and considerations specific to end-of-life decision-making in emergency situations.

Whose Job Is It, Anyway? The Ethics and Management of Hospital Efforts on Social Determinants of Health

Friday, April 25, 2025, 12 p.m.—Friday, April 25, 2025, 1 p.m.

Speaker: Kelsey N. Berry, PhD, Lecturer, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine and Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School; Research Partner in Ethics of Health Systems, Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University

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Ethics for the future of health and medicine

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Education

Blog

News from the Center

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Upcoming Events in Ethics and Humanities

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