Robert Truog, MD
Director, Center for Bioethics
Frances Glessner Lee Professor of Medical Ethics, Anaesthesiology & Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School

Robert Truog, MD is Frances Glessner Lee Professor of Medical Ethics, Anaesthesiology and Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School. He also practices pediatric intensive care medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Truog has published more than 300 articles in bioethics and related disciplines.  With Frank Miller, he is the author of Death, Dying, and Organ Transplantation (Oxford, 2012).  He lectures widely nationally and internationally; and is an active member of numerous committees and advisory boards. He is the author of current national guidelines for providing end-of-life care in the intensive care unit.  In 2013 Dr. Truog was honored with the Spinoza Chair at the University of Amsterdam.

James L. Bernat, MD
Professor of Neurology and Medicine, Active Emeritus
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

James Bernat, MD was formerly the Louis and Ruth Frank Professor of Neuroscience and has been a faculty member at Dartmouth for 42 years.  He was elected to fellowships in the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Neurology, the American Neurological Association, and the Hastings Center. He is a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. Dr. Bernat’s scholarly interests are in ethical and philosophical issues in neurology, particularly brain death and disorders of consciousness. He has authored over 250 articles and chapters on topics in neurology and bioethics. He is the author of Ethical Issues in Neurology, 3rd ed. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008) and co-editor of Ethical and Legal Issues in Neurology (Elsevier, 2013) and Palliative Care in Neurology (Oxford University Press, 2004.) 

Sandra Coley, D.Min.
Professor of Christian Education
Shaw University

Sandra Coley, D.Min. is an ordained minister at Goldsboro Chapel Free Will Baptist Church and a professor of Christian Education at Shaw University. Her son and only child, Demetrius, was an organ donor.

 

James DuBois, DSc, PhD
Steven J. Bander Professor of Medical Ethics and Professionalism
Washington University at St. Louis

James DuBois, DSc, PhD directs the Bioethics Research Center at the Washington University School of Medicine. His research interests include: ethics in organ transplantation, research ethics in mental health, and empirical research on bioethical issues. He has received more than $10 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health for his research and training programs. He has served on the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Increasing Rates of Organ Donation and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Ethics Committee.

Stuart Knechtle, MD
Mary and Deryl Hart Professor of Surgery
Executive Director, Duke Transplant Center
Duke University School of Medicine

Stuart Knechtle, MD, a surgeon-scientist, has led and/or participated in a diverse portfolio of hypothesis-driven research projects centering on the immunology of surgery and transplantation, including both cellular and antibody-mediated immune responses. He is currently studying means of reducing immunologic memory that might allow more successful transplantation in sensitized recipients. His research group has been involved in translational and clinical research to develop mechanistic tools for the benefit of human organ transplant recipients.

Nancy Knudsen, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
Associate Professor in Surgery
Duke University School of Medicine

Nancy Knudsen, MD pursues research interests in utilizing scarce resources for the most appropriate patients, those who will derive the most benefit from Intensive Care Unit (ICU) care. Dr. Knudsen’s goals are to continue to improve outcomes for patients and their families by streamlining care yet keeping an eye on the individual patient and their family’s emotional needs. She is also interested in mechanical ventilation and ways to improve morbidity/mortality in this group of patients.

Michael Nair-Collins, PhD
Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine
Florida State University College of Medicine

Michael Nair-Collins, PhD is a philosopher with specializations in bioethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science.  His research addresses ethical issues and public policies at the end of life, particularly the nature of death, brain death and disorders of consciousness, and medical futility.  He has published widely in major bioethics journals including Hastings Center Report, Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, and the Journal of Medical Ethics.

Carolyn Pizoli, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Affiliate of the Center for Brain Imaging and Analysis
Duke University School of Medicine

Carolyn Pizoli, MD, PhD is the director of the pediatric neuro-critical care program at Duke Children’s Hospital. Her clinical work is aimed at improving the neurodevelopmental outcomes of critically ill neonates and children. Dr. Pizoli’s research interests focus on neurodevelopment and recovery after brain injury.

D. Alan Shewmon, MD
Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and Neurology
UCLA

Alan Shewmon, MD has been on the medical school faculty at UCLA since 1980, where he directed first the Pediatric Clinical Neurophysiology Lab and then the Clinical Neurophysiology Lab.  In 2011, he became clinical professor emeritus while continuing as chief of neurology at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center.  He is co-editor and chapter author of Brain Death and Disorders of Consciousness (Springer, 2004), as well as many papers on brain death and on coma and vegetative state.  His presentation to the President’s Council on Bioethics in 2007 greatly influenced its eventual white paper, Controversies in the Determination of Death.

Julius Wilder, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine

Julius Wilder, MD, PhD earned the first MD, PhD in Medical Sociology in the history of Duke University and currently holds a secondary appointment in the Duke Department of Sociology.  His research and training focuses on how fundamental causes of disease like race, gender, education, and wealth contribute to adverse health outcomes and health disparities in the areas of gastroenterology, hepatology, and transplant hepatology. Dr. Wilder has numerous publications and has won multiple awards for research. His clinical duties include working as a gastroenterologist/hepatologist at Duke University and Duke Regional Hospitals in Durham, North Carolina.