Starting with a national discussion on vaccinations, public health and autonomy, and ending with widespread reflection on yet another mass shooting, 2015 had no shortage of ethics-related news and events.

Here are a few highlights of the work of Fordham University Center for Ethics Education faculty, staff, and students from 2015:

Dr. Celia B. Fisher Contributes to National Discussion on Ethical Review & Oversight Issues in Standard of Care Research

Common clinical practices might lack a robust evidence base if there have not been empirical interventional research studies to compare an array of available routine or standard treatment options. Fordham University Center for Ethics Education Director Dr. Celia B. Fisher, an internationally renowned expert on empirical research on research ethics, recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in an Institute of Medicine (IOM) workshop aimed to inform practice and policy of regulated research studies involving standard of care interventions. Read more here.

 

Fordham Professor, Coast Guard Pioneer and Civil Rights Activist Dr. Olivia J. Hooker to Receive Recognition following her 100th Birthday

Nationally recognized pioneer in the rights of minority students and retired Fordham University Professor of Psychology Dr. Olivia J. Hooker is a lifelong civil rights activist and the first African American woman to enlist in the Coast Guard. To celebrate her life and 100th birthday, the Coast Guard will name a building on Staten Island in her honor on March 12th. Read more here.

Modern Family: Dr. Celia B. Fisher Discusses Ethics, Biological Parenthood & Sofia Vergara’s Frozen Embryos

On Thursday, April 30th, Fordham University Center for Ethics EducationDr. Celia B. Fisher was interviewed by ABC 7 Eyewitness News on the ethics of the right to biological parenthood and the moral responsibility of prospective parents. These issues were raised in the context of actress Sofia Vergara’s current legal battle with her ex-fiancé regarding the future of two frozen embryos they created when they were together. Read more here.

What are we ready to risk? Academia, advocacy, and activism

In May, Fordham University Center for Ethics Education Postdoctoral Fellow and Program Administrator for the Adolescent Scientific Access Project Dr. Miriam R. Arbeit graduated from Tufts University with a Ph.D. in Child Study and Human Development, and served as the student speaker for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Doctoral Hooding Ceremony. Read more here.

Asst. Director Dr. Adam Fried Takes Over as Ethics Editor for Clinical Psychology Publication

Fordham University Center for Ethics Education Assistant Director Dr. Adam Fried is the new editor of the ethics column of The Clinical Psychologist, a publication of the American Psychological Association (APA). Fried’s first column on affirming ethical responsibilities, appeared in the Spring 2015, Volume 68, Issue 1 of the publication of Division 12 of the APA comprised of professional clinical psychologists. Read more here.

Fordham RETI Faculty Member: Heroin Epidemic is Public Health Problem, Not Criminal Issue

Fordham University HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute Faculty Member Dr. Sean Philpott-Jones recently appeared on WAMC Northeast Public Radio to discuss his experience at the recent Fordham training institute, learning from the trainees, and the resurgence of heroin use as a public health problem. Read more here.

The FDA, Finances, & Feminism: Why the third time was the charm for so-called “female Viagra”

Money can’t buy happiness, but evidently is instrumental in gaining FDA approval for controversial drugs with low efficacy and significant side effects. In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Addyi (Flibanserin) to treat acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women, after denying approval in 2010 and 2013 because the risks of the medication did not outweigh the benefits. Read more from Dr. Elizabeth Yuko here.

Minimal risk and minimal experience: Can researchers competently navigate OHRP’s new risk categories?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced proposed revisions to modernize federal regulations governing the protection of research participants’ rights and welfare. The newly proposed regulations have many positive features that will improve the informed consent process through transparency and stricter requirements to protect participant privacy and enhance informed consent. Read more from Dr. Celia B. Fisher here.

Unethical Teaching: How Perceptions of the Poor Negatively Shape Outcomes and Why Assumptions of Race and Class Must be Challenged

Second-place Chynn Prize winner Halina Shatravka writes about her experience volunteering as a teacher for inner-city, public high school kids. Read more about her experiences here.

Stopping Pseudoscience & Protecting Children’s Lives: Fordham’s Dr. Celia B. Fisher on SAMHSA Expert Panel Behind White House Groundbreaking Conversion Therapy Report

 

 

 

A report released in October is a major step in President Obama’s commitment to expand the number of states enacting “Leelah’s Law,” which would ban the use of conversion therapy to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of lesbian, gay and transgender children and youth. Dr. Celia B. Fisher, Director of the Fordham University Center for Ethics Education and the Marie Ward Doty Endowed Chair and Professor of Psychology served on the expert consensus panel whose recommendations form the basis of this report. Read more here.

‘Family is Family’: Why Intel’s New Adoption & Fertility Policies are a Step in the Right Direction

In October, Intel announced new job benefit policies that include tripling their adoption assistance program, and quadrupling their fertility coverage, noting, “family is family – no matter what it looks like.” Read more from Dr. Elizabeth Yuko here.

 

Ethics & Gun Violence: ‘What is missing from the conversation is a willingness to address the moral implications of these actions & our reactions publicly’

 

December 3, 2015, a BBC News headline reads “California Shooting: Just another day in the United States of America, another day of gunfire, panic, and fear.” By all measures this act of violence claiming the lives of at least fourteen persons, maiming over twenty bodies, and shattering the lives of countless others, constitutes another mass shooting spilling blood over the social fabric of these United States. Read more from M.A. in Ethics & Society student Robert Schmaltz.