AI issue brief; pig kidney transplant trials; summer bioethics program; save the date
Latest News
February 20, 2025
First-in-Human Pig Kidney Transplant Trials Are Coming What will it take for patients to participate?
With first-in-human pig xenotransplant clinical trials expected to begin soon, a new study by Hastings Center senior research scholar Karen J. Maschke and colleagues provides novel insights into kidney patients’ attitudes about participating in a pig kidney trial by highlighting factors that would influence their decision-making. In interviews, patients expressed the greatest willingness to participate if they were unlikely to receive a human kidney and if their health had declined. Yet in a separate survey few patients were willing to participate in a trial to test pig kidney safety or function. “Understanding patient perspectives is essential for addressing potential barriers to participation and ethical concerns in xenotransplant trials, enhancing study feasibility, acceptability, and recruitment,” they write. Read the article.
Maschke is a principal investigator of a project that will provide ethical and policy guidance on xenotransplantation clinical trials. Learn about the project.
Integrating Ethics into Functional Genomics-AI Research New Hastings Center issue brief
Researchers of functional genomics—a field that examines how genes contribute to different biological processes and traits—are incorporating AI into complex data analyses. A new Hastings Center issue brief identifies potential benefits, including predicting individual responses to therapies, and ethical tensions concerning privacy, equity, and bias. The issue brief—by The Hastings Center’s Ian Stevens, Danielle Pacia, and Vardit Ravitsky and colleagues—recommends that ethicists and scientists work together early in the research process to facilitate responsible innovation. Read the issue brief.
Apply Now: 2025 Summer Bioethics Program for Undergraduates Competitive program for students interested in bioethics issues and careers
Applications are open for 2025 Hastings Center Summer Bioethics Program, a five-day live online program for undergraduate students who are interested in bioethics issues and related careers but who have limited opportunities for bioethics training. The program starts on Monday, June 2, and concludes on Friday, June 6, and runs from 11 am to 5 pm Eastern Time (ET) each day. Sessions include lectures, discussions, and small-group work. Application deadline March 10. Learn more here and apply here.
An Israeli Perspective on Bioethical Dilemmas Upcoming talk by Vardit Ravitsky
How do cultural values shape bioethical dilemmas? Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky will explore how Israel, as a Jewish-democratic state, has addressed several bioethical challenges through its policymaking, taking into account historical, cultural, and religious perspectives. March 17, Miami Beach JCC. Learn more and register.
A Path Forward for Bioethics Save the date: April 24.
Please join us for the Annual Callahan Lecture, which this year will feature the launch of our new strategic plan. Presentation by Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky, followed by a panel discussion with Vertex Pharmaceuticals founder and former CEO Joshua Boger, and New York Times health and science reporter Gina Kolata. Thursday, April 24, Rockefeller University, New York, N.Y. More details to come!
In the Media Cutting NIH, responding to misinformation, seeking sterilization
“An agency that took decades to build could be irrevocably damaged in a matter of months, cutting off vital research and decapitating promising careers even before they get started,” writes Hastings Center board chair Joseph J. Fins in an essay in Stat about cuts to National Institutes of Health funding. “Patients will be harmed, and lives will be lost. Needed cures and therapies will be delayed or never come to be.”
What are lessons learned about responding to misinformation and distrust in medical science? In a Q&A with AAMC News, Hastings Center board member Reed Tuckson, cofounder of the Coalition for Trust in Health & Science, focuses less on specific tactics than on foundational strategies to address the relationship of health professionals, scientists, and academic medical institutions with patients and the public.
Surgical sterilization has been increasing among young women in the United States since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. While the decision to have this procedure must be considered carefully, it should be available to all women equally, and yet there are disparities in access, said Hastings Center research associate Danielle Pacia in an interview with Deseret News.
Hastings Center Recommends: FASPE symposium on health care
Patient care is now not just in the hands of doctors. Multiple constituents play an important role, including insurance providers, governmental bodies, pharma and biotech companies, investors, etc. A symposium presented by FASPE and multiple partners will explore how these stakeholders interact in the provision of health care; the tensions between optimal patient treatment and the economics of health care delivery; and how ethical considerations in both medicine and business must intersect in order to ensure quality and trustworthy health care for patients. March 8, University of Chicago. Learn more and register.
Current and Emerging Prenatal Testing Technologies: Bioethical Implications. A presentation by Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Centre for Bioethics 10th Anniversary Celebration. February 21.
Binocular Vision: A Metaphor to Help Comprehend Persons. A talk by Hastings Center senior research scholar Erik Parens, Georgetown University. February 25.
What Do We Have in Common? Thinking Together About Good Lives for Older Adults and Caregivers in Aging Societies. Presentation by Hastings Center senior research scholar Nancy Berlinger at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Centre for Bioethics 10th Anniversary Celebration. March 3.
The Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research: Challenges and Emerging Guidance. Panel discussion with Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky. March 5.
Five to Be Inspired By: Women in Regenerative Medicine. Virtual panel discussion with Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky. March 6.
Polygenic Embryo Screening: Ethical Challenges. A lecture by Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitksy. March 11.
An Israeli Perspective on Bioethical Dilemmas. A talk by Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky, Miami Beach JCC. March 17.
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