Spotlight: Launch of the Justice Dialogues Initiative

We are excited to announce the launch of the Justice Dialogues, a project which will bring together 15-20 scholars for a series of virtual discussions throughout 2025 aimed at advancing justice-centered bioethics research. This initiative addresses the increasing need for comprehensive approaches to justice in bioethics, with a special focus on emerging biotechnologies like genomics, AI, and precision medicine.

The Justice Dialogues is supported by a grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health (3R01HG012841-02S1), and is led by Division Chief Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, PhD in collaboration with Janet Shim, PhD (UCSF), and Shawneequa Callier, MA, JD (George Washington University). 

“Our hope is to build and nurture relationships in the field towards augmenting and enriching the bioethics canon with scholarly work on global frameworks of justice and its application in projects focused on emerging biotechnologies,” Dr. Lee stated.

The discussions will be anchored by assigned readings, featured speakers, and moderated discussions. The focus will be on different frameworks of justice, explicitly designed to reach beyond the Eurocentric bioethics canon, and to consider issues of inequity, injustice and power in the development and application of biotechnologies. Dialogues will involve deep engagement with justice frameworks and group exploration of potential empirical applications and adaptations. 

There is a reimagining of justice frameworks happening across various fields, including bioethics. However, much of the work in these areas has not received enough attention. The Justice Dialogues aims to meet the demand for gaining deep insights into novel justice frameworks and acquiring the tools to integrate and expand on them, said Shawneequa Callier, JD, MA.

The initiative aligns with recommendations from the ABPD Presidential Task Force on Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, published in the American Journal of Bioethics. The Justice Dialogues aims to build lasting relationships among scholars, enrich the bioethics canon, and generate new insights into how justice can shape the future of biotechnology.

I am so thrilled to have this opportunity to connect with scholars in other disciplines who are eager to learn about and incorporate justice frameworks into their own research. There’s so much exciting scholarship that engages seriously with the concept of justice, but we often lack the time in the flow of everyday life to read and reflect on it deeply, remarked Janet Shim, PhD. I’m looking forward to having the protected time and space of the Justice Dialogues to do just that, and to building new relationships and community along the way.

Applications for the Justice Dialogues are due by November 4, 2024. For more information and application details, visit the Justice Dialogues website or contact Project Director Caitlin McMahon, PhD at cem2173@cumc.columbia.edu.