The James F. Drane Bioethics Institute

April-May 2019

Stephen is a doctoral candidate in Philosophy at the University of Missouri. His dissertation focuses on the ethics of belief and how agents can be responsible for their beliefs. Over the course of his time at the University of Missouri, Stephen has devoted his time to bioethics, organizing a conference on the ethics of germline genetic modification, and teaching classes in the subject.

As a James F. Drane Fellow, Stephen had two main research projects at Edinboro. First, he is interested in the ethics of tobacco harm reduction policies that encourage active smokers to switch to e-cigarette products as a means to prevent deaths related to combustible tobacco usage. Tobacco harm reduction policies tend to only encourage switching in more advantaged communities. His main concern is whether we have an ethical obligation to gear harm reduction policies towards the needs of disadvantaged communities, especially in middle- and lower-income countries.

Stephen’s second interest is in the ethics of germline genetic modification. One of the primary targets for germline genetic modification are fetuses that contain the genetic markers for disabilities. The idea is that modifying a fetus so that it will not possess a disability is therapeutic. Most think that therapeutic genetic modification is permissible. Stephen’s is interested in whether the removal of a disability can constitute genetic therapy. He argues that having a disability does not make a person inherently worse off than one who does not have a disability.

September-October 2019

Born and raised in Nigeria, Cornelius is currently a Condolidoc fellow at the Department of Philosophy, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He was a recipient of the Santander/Ethics and Society scholarship for Theories and Application from Fordham University; an international visiting fellow at the institute for Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, Ruhr-Universitait, Bochum; a visiting scholar at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law, Katholieke Universitet, Leuven; and the Center for Research and Bioethics, Uppsala University.

For his research stay at the James F. Drane Institute of Bioethics Cornelius explored how an African moral theory, as well as cultural practices, may be used to address ethical issues around: 1) incidental findings in genomic research thereby contributing toward clarifying researchers’ ancillary care duty and advancing the field of ELSI (by providing exposure to the under-represented African perspective on the ethical, legal and social issues raised by advanced medical technologies); and 2) ownership of research data in global or collaborative research ventures, in advance toward a more coordinated approach to research result.

September-October 2019

Olinda is a medical doctor and anesthesiologist from Bangalore India, whose interest in medical ethics led to her training in bioethics and academic contributions in this area. Her book “Biomedical Ethics” (Elsevier) is a resource used by medical faculty and students and currently in its second edition. She is a working editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics and adjunct faculty at the Division of Health and Humanities at St. Johns Research Institute, Bangalore. During her fellowship, Olinda worked on developing training modules in ethics for faculty and students, consonant with the Medical Council of India mandate to include ethics training in the medical curriculum from 2019.

September-November 2019

Born and raised in Palestine, Dina is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Healthcare Ethics at McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Dina has been a graduate assistant at the Center for Healthcare Ethics for three years. Every year, she plans and coordinates the Integrity of Creation Conference. The conference series was commissioned by former President Charles J. Dougherty as an endowed academic event that celebrates the Spiritan mission of Duquesne University. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Sciences with Distinction along with a minor in Public Health from the American University of Beirut and a master’s degree in Business Admiration from Duquesne University as a Fulbright Scholar. The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Dina’s research project combines elements from both the health care ethics and the business ethics field. It will mainly focus on how to apply systems thinking as a framework for health care leaders to apply ethical decisions in an era of increasing complexity.

January-February 2020

Fahmida is a Ph.D. candidate in the Center for Healthcare Ethics and a graduate assistant at the Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center at Duquesne University. Her vision is to place narrative and storytelling as a lived and practical means to understand and shape organizational culture, change efforts, best practices improvements, and everyday, routine, person-to-person encounters through an innovative approach she calls Narrative Authority. Fahmida also serves as a training facilitator and content developer for the narrative-focused, coaching and organizational change firm, Naridus, LLC. She has co-facilitated development classes for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, part of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative; the Johnson Institute for Public Leadership; and the Health Career Scholars Academy of University of Pittsburgh. She holds a Master’s Degree in Leadership, Professional Administration from Duquesne University. She is originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fahmida is based in Pittsburgh.

During her fellowship she explored a prevalent form of traditional medical practices in Bangladesh called Kaviraji that is rooted in Unani and Ayurveda medicine. The pseudoscientific aspects of Kaviraji medicine, in many ways, exploit the uneducated and the poor. She uses Narrative Authority to allow the practitioners and policymakers of Bangladesh to understand the narratives of these people and to make it possible to construct solutions and guide them to embrace scientific practice and avoid pseudoscience without fully forsaking their heritage.

May-October 2021

Ivaní holds a Ph.D. degree. Her interest in Bioethics guided her doctoral thesis by addressing the importance of studying and understanding the bioethical paradigm in higher education. She is a member of the Brazilian Society of Bioethics and author of several articles and book chapters in bioethics research.

While at Edinboro, Ivani will be working on a project titled "The ethical debate on science and pseudoscience and its interface with medical education programs."

Her faculty supervisor is Dr. Kiarash Aramesh.

February-April 2024

Giulia Adele Dinicola is a Ph.D. Student in Healthcare Ethics at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. She received a Master’s degree in Medical Humanities and bioethics from the University of Rochester, NY, School of Medicine and Dentistry, and a Master’s degree in Bioethics in the area of Motherhood and Childhood from Lumsa University, Rome, Italy. While at PennWest, she will be working on a project titled Misinformation in Genetic Counseling in the Era of Social Media. This project inquiries into the topic of genetic counseling in the era of social media and the internet. Today, patients can find medical information at any time on the web; however, such information can be misleading and incomplete, which may result in wrong assumptions. Families approaching prenatal care may come to the physician after looking at prenatal care options–such as genetic screening tests, genetic diagnostic tests, and ultrasounds–on the internet. When complications are detected, prospective parents may ponder their options while being influenced by what they read on social media and the internet. They may find stories shared about other children diagnosed with severe congenital anomalies whose parents believed the doctors did not respect their parental autonomy to make decisions on behalf of their child. What they do not know, however, is that devastated parents may tell those stories without considering the whole picture. This potentially incomplete information can easily mislead and misinform prospective parents. This paper analyzes how social media and the internet may influence the decisions of parents of children diagnosed with genetic disorders before birth.

Her Faculty Supervisor is Dr. Kiarash Aramesh.

Pooneh Khalilpoor-Kordi is a Master’s student in Philosophy of Science at the University of Calgary, with a strong background in chemistry (Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2022). Her academic focus is on bridging the gap between science and philosophy, driven by the central question: why does science need philosophy and vice versa? With a deep understanding of both fields, Pooneh is particularly interested in how traditional Iranian medicine, as outlined by Ibn Sina, contrasts with modern scientific principles, especially in chemistry and molecular biology. Her research spans the philosophy of science, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind.

As a James F. Drane Fellow, Pooneh will explore these contradictions while working on articles that highlight how traditional medicine not only contradicts the principles of modern chemistry and hard science but also raises significant ethical concerns. Specifically, she will argue that it is unethical to rely on traditional medical practices for serious diseases that could threaten a patient's health and well-being, especially when scientifically proven treatments are available. Pooneh is committed to making these insights accessible through outreach, discussions, and publications in prestigious scientific, bioethical, and philosophical journals, with the goal of contributing to both academic discourse and public awareness about the ethical and scientific implications of medical practices.