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

Bioethics Grand Rounds: “Who Decides the Value of New Genomics Technologies for Rare Disease Diagnosis?”

Thursday, March 13, 2025

12 p.m.—1 p.m.

Join us as we discuss the ethical, economic, and policy implications of employing various concepts of value in evaluating these technologies!

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?”

IADRC Memory University 2025 - The Value of Community Connections to Advance Our Knowledge about Alzheimer’s Disease

Friday, April 18, 2025

1 p.m.—2 p.m.

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.

Upcoming Events in Ethics and Humanities

How Can a Patient Be Dead While Their Heart Still Beats? Addressing Ethical Challenges in the Determination of “Brain Death”/Death by Neurological Criteria

Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 12 p.m.—Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 1 p.m.

This session will review prevailing legal and medical standards for determining death, and offer practical strategies for how to ethically approach conflict when death by neurological criteria is at issue.

Exploring Health Inequities Through Live Performances and Open Public Discussion in Washington, DC

Thursday, February 27, 2025, 7 p.m.—Friday, February 28, 2025, 4:30 p.m.

This event features two Greenwall Foundation-commissioned performances of "A Refutation", with Theater of War Productions, that will be hosted in Washington, DC, and webcast live on February 21 and 22.

The Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research: Challenges & Emerging Guidance

Wednesday, March 05, 2025, 10 a.m.—Wednesday, March 05, 2025, 4 p.m.

This conference brings together leading experts from a range of disciplines, from biomedical sciences to the humanities, to confront the challenge of ethical use of AI in research.

Polygenic Embryo Screening: Ethical Challenges

Tuesday, March 11, 2025, 1 p.m.—Tuesday, March 11, 2025, 2 p.m.

Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky will give an Ethics Grand Rounds lecture, “Polygenic Embryo Screening: Ethical Challenges,” via Zoom for The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Open to the public.

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Ethics for the future of health and medicine

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Research

Education

Blog

News from the Center

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Upcoming Events in Ethics and Humanities

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