Ethics Grand Rounds
Are We Ready for Psychedelic Medicine?
December 10, 2024 - 12 p.m. ET, The Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, Room 401
In this session, guest speaker Amy McGuire, JD, PhD, will be joining us from Baylor College of Medicine to discuss her work in psychedelic ethics with Division of Ethics Chief Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD.
There is tremendous excitement about the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances like MDMA and psilocybin, and impressive bi-partisan advocacy for access to these drugs, both within and outside of the healthcare system. Are healthcare providers ready for what many are calling “The Psychedelic Renaissance”? In this grand rounds, Dr. Amy McGuire will explore alternative pathways to access psychedelics in the U.S. and the appropriate role of healthcare gatekeeping. Drawing on her research on psychedelic retreat organizations and experience working with Indigenous communities in South America, Dr. McGuire will examine the potential risks of unregulated psychedelic use and explore what it means to approach psychedelic drug research with epistemic humility.
This is a hybrid event. You can reserve your in-person seat using the button below, or register to attend virtually. Lunch will be provided.
Current Series
November 2024: All Health Politics is Local
On November 12, Division of Ethics affiliate faculty member Merlin Chowkwanyun, PhD joined us for Ethics Grands Rounds to discuss their new book: All Health Politics is Local: Community Battles for Medical Care and Environmental Health, in conversation with Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD.
October 2024: Normothermic Regional Perfusion: Ethical Challenges in the Transition from Life to Organ Donation
On October 15, 2024, Dr. Kenneth Prager, MD spoke on the ethical challenges of Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP), in conversation with Division of Ethics Chief Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD. This was a hybrid event, taking place at the Vagelos Education Center, and online.
About Ethics Grand Rounds
Each academic year, the Division of Ethics hosts a Grand Rounds series highlighting important debates in Medical Ethics. This series aims to provide space for the CUIMC community and beyond to engage in the critical ethical debates underpinning the uptake of novel technology, disrupt health disparities, and ground health policy decisions. Attendees will leave sessions with a greater understanding of the ethical implications of clinical care and medical research.
Previous Series
2023-2024 Series: Ethics and Climate Change
The Ethics Grand Rounds 2023-24 series focused on Ethics and Climate Change. Learn more about each event and watch the recordings below.
Equity in the Face of Climate Change: Confronting Global Health Challenges
Speakers: Darby Jack, PhD, Sabiha Essack, B. Pharm., M. Pharm., PhD, Laura Bothwell, PhD, MA.
Moderator: Alexis K. Walker, PhD
Global populations experiencing health inequities, such as life expectancy, infant mortality, infectious diseases, and chronic illness, are also more vulnerable to the harms of climate change. Climate change significantly impacts global health, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. What health risks are being introduced by climate change, and how will existing challenges be exacerbated? By understanding who is most affected and how, this session will discuss practical solutions to stemming global disparities from climate change. Our expert panel will explore the health disparities arising from climate change, including the emergence of diseases in new areas and the exacerbation of existing health challenges.
Climate Change and Children’s Health: Challenges and Solutions
Speakers: Samantha Ahdoot, MD, Frederica P. Perera, DrPH, PhD, & Stephanie Lee, MD, MPH, FAAP.
Moderator: Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD
In an era marked by escalating climate change, what health issues are children likely to encounter? Children are uniquely vulnerable to the impact of climate with lifelong consequences on learning, physical development, chronic disease, or other serious complications. There is mounting evidence of increased risk to children due to increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, and unpredictable wildfire seasons. For example, the recent EPA report notes the dramatic increase in diagnoses of asthma resulting from global warming. Watch our conversation with leading experts in pediatrics and environmental health on strategies for mitigating the potential harm of climate change on children’s health.
The Greenwall Foundation's William C. Stubing Memorial Lecture: Can Mental Health Save the World?
Speakers:
- Gary Belkin, MD, PhD
- Michel Martin
The Greenwall Foundation and Columbia University’s Division of Ethics hosted the 2023 William C. Stubing Memorial Lecture in-person in New York City and online. Gary Belkin, MD, PhD, Director of the Billion Minds Project and Chair of COP2 discussed: Can Mental Health Save the World? Dr. Belkin was joined by NPR’s Michel Martin, host of NPR’s Morning Edition and contributor to PBS’s Amanpour & Company, in a discussion on issues at the intersection of mental health, climate change, and bioethics.
About the William C. Stubing Memorial Lecture
William C. Stubing served as President of The Greenwall Foundation for 21 years. In 2016, the Foundation established the William C. Stubing Memorial Lecture in honor of its beloved former President, who guided the Foundation to its current focus on bioethics. Previous Lectures have covered timely topics in bioethics: automation and inequity in healthcare, the public health and ethical challenges of COVID-19, the social inequities revealed by the pandemic, physician aid-in-dying, drug pricing, and genome editing.
2022-2023 Series: Incarceration and Health Justice
The Ethics Grand Rounds 2022-23 series focused on Incarcerartion and Health Justice. Learn more about each event and watch the recordings below.
Medicalizing and Criminalizing Mental Health
Speakers:
- Leah G. Pope, PhD, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University.
- Kimberly Sue, MD PhD, Yale School of Medicine.
- Fay Owens, Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project.
Moderator: Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD, Chief, Division of Ethics, Professor of Medical Humanities and Ethics, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Description: Individuals experiencing difficulties while living with a mental health diagnosis are often picked up by law enforcement. They are then taken – and set up to be entangled in medical and legal systems, or even killed. Despite policies in the United States to address mental health stigma, the gap between needed care and imposed interventions remains wide. How do we know that new interventions are working, and who are they working for? What more could we be doing? This Ethics Grand Rounds session will explore the way mental illness has routinely been both medicalized and criminalized, the impact of incarceration on mental health at large, and the work being done to promote harm reduction in New York City and beyond.
Resources: Click here for a list of resources mentioned during this session.
Improving Equity, Transparency and Accountability of Research in the Age of Mass Incarceration
Division of Ethics Grand Rounds Series on Incarceration and Health Justice
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Speakers:
- Emily Wang, MD, Professor, Yale School of Medicine
- Lisa Puglisi, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine
- Michelle Daniel Jones, ABD, 6th Year Doctoral Student, American Studies, New York University
Moderator: Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD, Chief, Division of Ethics, Professor of Medical Humanities and Ethics, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Description: Research historically has taken advantage of the most vulnerable populations, leading to stricter legal and ethical research guidelines. Still, there are many grey areas in the responsible and ethical conduct of research that remain problematic and unresolved. Are incarcerated individuals truly able to make informed and un-coerced choices about participating in research? This session explores the ethical principles and policies surrounding the conduct of research with incarcerated individuals, and what factors may make research with this population either fair or coercive.
Resources: Click here for a list of resources mentioned during this session.
Viral Justice: Pandemics, Policing, and Public Bioethics
Speaker: Ruha Benjamin, PhD
Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and Founding Director of the Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab
Moderator: Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD
Chief of the Division of Ethics and Professor of Medical Humanities and Ethics, Columbia University, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Description: Dr. Ruha Benjamin examines the topic of incarceration, policing and health justice and specifically, how incarceration in the US must be understood in terms of health and equity. In this talk, Dr. Benjamin discusses the twin crises of COVID-19 and police violence, mapping the multiple vectors through which racism gets under the skin, into the blood stream, attacking our bodies and body politic. She offers a vision of change, viral justice – as a practical and principled approach to transmuting a hostile racial climate into one that is more habitable, hopeful, and just. Following her talk, Dr. Benjamin joined in conversation with the audience moderated by Dr. Sandra Soo-Jin Lee.
Resources: Click here for a list of resources mentioned during this session.
2021-2022 Series: Race and Biomedicine
The Ethics Grand Rounds 2021-22 series focused on Race and Biomedicine. Learn more about each event and watch the recordings below.
Anti-Racism in Medical Education: Addressing Barriers to Change
Speaker: Clarence H. Braddock III, MD, MPH, MACP
Executive Vice Dean and Vice Dean for Education in the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles
Discussant: Monica Lypson, MD, MHPE
Vice Dean for Education and the Rolf H. Scholdager Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Moderator: Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD
Chief of the Division of Ethics and Professor of Medical Humanities and Ethics, Columbia University, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Description: Many medical schools across the US have initiated anti-racism efforts in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020. These efforts mirror broader civic discourse on racism in US society, seen by some as overdue but positive, and by others with skepticism, especially those in Black or other minoritized communities. Will these medical school efforts fundamentally change the nature of medical training and medicine itself? The answer lies in the degree to which so-called anti-racism initiatives authentically address deep-seated barriers that have thwarted all such efforts in the past, and that loom larger as the prospect for fundamental change increases. Dr. Clarence Braddock discusses five substantial barriers that threaten anti-racism goals in medical education. Following his talk, Dr. Braddock joins a conversation with Dr. Monica Lypson moderated by Dr. Sandra Soo-Jin Lee.
Innovation for Equity: Fostering a More Democratic & Just Scientific Enterprise
Speaker: Alondra Nelson, PhD
Harold F. Linder Professor, Institute for Advanced Study
Deputy Director for Science and Society, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy www.alondranelson.com(link is external and opens in a new window)
Moderator: Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD
Chief, Division of Ethics Professor of Medical Humanities and Ethics Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Co-sponsored by: The Columbia University Health Equity Lecture Series and the CUIMC Office of Faculty Professional Development, Diversity & Inclusion.
Contact Us
Please let us know your ideas for speakers, topics, and improvements to the series. We want to hear from you! Please fill out the post-event survey which will go to all registants or email us any time at mhe_ethics@cumc.columbia.edu
Code of Conduct and Related Policies
By registering for Ethics Grand Rounds I agree to abide by the following statements.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Our community of scholars has attempted to nurture an academic culture that embraces the importance of diversity, supports the mentorship of young scholars, cultivates the value of interdisciplinarity, exemplifies intellectual and ethical integrity, and respects differences of opinion and perspective. With that academic culture in mind, the organizers and hosts of Ethics Grand Rounds are committed to providing a safe and productive meeting environment that fosters open dialogue and the exchange of scientific ideas, promotes equal opportunities and treatment for all participants, and is free of harassment and discrimination. All participants are expected to treat others with respect and consideration, follow venue rules, and alert organizers, staff or security of any dangerous situations or anyone in distress. Speakers are expected to uphold standards of scientific integrity and professional ethics. The Ethics Grand Rounds organizers recognize that there are areas of science that are controversial. Ethics Grand Rounds can serve as an effective forum to consider and debate science-relevant viewpoints in an orderly, respectful, and fair manner. These considerations apply to all attendees, speakers, staff, and guests at Ethics Round Rounds and apply in both in-person and virtual contexts.
Columbia University prohibits any form of harassment, be it sexual, physical, or verbal ad in-person or online. Harassing behavior includes, but is not limited to, inappropriate or intimidating behavior and language, unwelcome jokes or comments, sustained disruption, unwanted touching or attention, offensive images, photography without permission, and stalking.
Harassment should be reported immediately to an Ethics Grand Round staff in person (if in the immediate vicinity), by email to mhe_ethics@cumc.columbia.edu, or by calling or texting 917-532-3090. For immediate response to a dangerous situation call Public Safety at 212-305-7979 (Medical Center) or 212-854-5555 (Morningside Campus). Sanctions may range from verbal warning, to removal from the meeting without refund, to notifying the appropriate authorities at Columbia University (including the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action for Discrimination, Harassment & Gender-Based Misconduct complaints (212-854-5511) and/or with Public Safety at 212-854-5555)
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Ethics Grand Rounds requires clear disclosures (including a statement on slide or poster presentations) from all presenters regarding any financial holdings, funding sources, or affiliations that might raise questions of bias or be perceived to have potentially influenced presentation content. Grand Rounds organizers expect that all speakers, organizers, and moderators are committed to full, forthright, and transparent disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest. The organizers have not prescribed an exhaustive list of potential conflicts; rather, we ask presenters to make a good faith effort to identify any issues that might reasonably be expected to raise conflict-of-interest questions.
PHOTOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Ethics Grand Rounds aims to encourage presentation of the latest findings by protecting researchers sharing unpublished information and protecting patient privacy. By default, attendees are prohibited from taking photos, videos, or audio recordings of speakers presenting their slides or posters as per the guidelines below. Presenters are requested to announce at the beginning of their presentation whether or not photos, recording and/or sharing of their presentation on social media are permitted during or following their presentation.
Grand Rounds attendees and participants are encouraged to participate in social media activities about the conference by using the hashtag #Columbiaethics. Discussion of general topics, speakers, and presentations is permitted as a way to briefly summarize or highlight material and the conference in general within the following guidelines:
- Taking photos, videos or audiotapes of slides, posters, presenters, or questions and answers are not permitted without explicit permission by the presenter
- Copyright and other intellectual property laws must be followed
- Brief quotes from sessions may be shared unless the speaker explicitly asks that it not be shared (presenters are strongly encouraged to give or withhold permission at the beginning of their session)
- Social media posts cannot imply any kind of endorsement by the Columbia Ethics