Bioethics Concentration Students

 

Graduates

 

Brooke McMillen

Received a B.S. in Biology from Butler University in 2005. In January 2008, she completed her M.A. with a concentration in bioethics. Her thesis is entitled, “Embryo Adoption: Implications on Personhood, Marriage, and Parenting,” and was directed by Dr. Peg Brand. She is currently working with the Fairbanks Institute for Healthy Communities.

 

Michelle Ruben

Received a B.A. in Religious Studies from IUPUI in 2004 and completed her M.A. with a concentration in bioethics in December 2007. During her studies, she has worked with Dr. Jason Eberl on the concept of ordinary vs. extraordinary treatment applied to the use of Left Ventricular Assist Devices. Since 2005, she has been a graduate assistant in the Department of Philosophy and is currently enrolled in the IU School of Nursing.

 

Daniel Rieger
Received a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Michigan in 2005. In September 2007, he completed his M.A. with a concentration in bioethics. During his studies, he worked with Dr. Eric Meslin on issues related to international research ethics. He is currently enrolled in doctoral studies in Philosophy at the University of South Carolina.

 

Mary Huerter
Received a B.S. in Biology from Loyola University-Chicago in 2005. In August 2007, she completed her M.A. with a concentration in bioethics. Her thesis is entitled, “Prenatal Screening: Quality Control and the Genetics Gateway,” and was directed by Dr. Jason Eberl. In 2006-07, she was awarded a graduate assistantship at the IU Center for Bioethics. She is currently enrolled in medical school at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
 

Rebecca Ballard

Received a B.S. in Microbiology from Southwest Texas State University in 1999. In August 2006, she completed her M.A. and has the distinction of being the first recipient of the combined J.D. and M.A. degrees with concentrations in health law and bioethics. Her capstone project focused on ethical and legal issues concerning genetic testing of third parties as a means of discovery in civil lawsuits. Having passed the Indiana Bar Examination in July 2006, she is currently serving as Law Clerk to the Honorable Robert D. Rucker at the Indiana Supreme Court. In 2005-06, she was awarded a graduate assistantship at the IU Center for Bioethics. Currently, she and Dr. Jason Eberl are completing a research project on the ethical implications of creating animal-human chimeric embryos. She has also been appointed an adjunct faculty member of the IU School of Law-Indianapolis and will teach a course concerning research on human and nonhuman subjects.

 

Paper Presentations

  • (w/ J.T. Eberl) “The Creation and Use of Animal-Human Chimeric Embryos: Metaphysical and Moral Ambiguities,” Bioethics Research Rounds, IU Center for Bioethics, April 2006.
  • (w/ J.T. Eberl) “The Creation and Use of Animal-Human Chimeric Embryos: Metaphysical and Moral Ambiguities,” Health Care Ethics Seminar, IU Bloomington Poynter Center, March 2006.

 

 

2004

 

Patrick Barrett

Received a B.A. in Religious Studies from Wabash College in 2004. He is currently pursuing combined M.D./M.A. degrees and was awarded a graduate assistantship at the IU Center for Bioethics for 2007-08.

 

Rachael Eckles

Received a B.A. in Philosophy from IUPUI in 2004. She has served as a research assistant and project manager under Dr. Paul Helft at the IU Cancer Center and the Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics. She was also awarded a graduate assistantship at the IU Center for Bioethics in 2004, as well as a visiting scholarship at Eli Lilly and Company. She is currently completing her M.A. thesis while pursuing a J.D. with a concentration in health law.

 

Publications

  • (w/ E.M. Meslin, M. Gaffney, and P.R. Helft) “Medical Ethics Education: Where are We? Where Should We Be Going? A Review,” Academic Medicine 80:12 (2005): 1143-52.
  • (w/ P.R. Helft, C. Stair Johnson-Calley, and C.K. Daugherty) “Use of the Internet to Obtain Cancer Information among Cancer Patients at an Urban County Hospital,” Journal of Clinical Oncology 23 (2005):4954-62.
  • (w/ P.R. Helft, V.L. Champion, C.S. Johnson, and E.M. Meslin) “Cancer Patients’ Attitudes toward Future Research Uses of Stored Human Biological Materials,” Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics 2:3 (2007):15-22.

 

Mitchell Klopfenstein

Received a B.A. in Philosophy and English from IUPUI in 2003. Also served in the United States Marine Corps (4 years active, 4 years inactive reserve). He is currently completing his thesis concerning ethical values underlying emergency preparedness and response to pandemic outbreak and works at the Indiana State Department of Health.

 

David Stout

Received a B.A. in Philosophy and a B.S. in Psychology from IUPUI in 2004. He is broadly interested in ethics, including philosophy of law, political philosophy, philanthropy, bioethics, and ethical theory. He is currently interested in both bioethics and pragmatism, particularly in regard to how pragmatism may be applied to the field of bioethics and how a more useful ethical theory might be developed. Stout is president of graduate student government, president of the graduate philosophy club, and a member of an Institutional Review Board for biomedical research at Indiana University. In 2005 and 2006, he served as a judge in the Central States Ethics Bowls. Prior to becoming a student, Stout worked for several years as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician, gaining field experience and familiarity with this aspect of bioethics. As an undergraduate, he worked as a technical editor for several philosophy texts on Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Plato.

 

John Witt, III

Received a B.A. in Biology from DePauw University in 2000. He currently works as the clinical laboratory general manager for Mira Vista Diagnostics. Witt has focused on research ethics and is particularly interested in the ethics of clinical trials. His other philosophical interests include philosophy of science and existentialism. He is currently completing his thesis under the direction of Dr. Eric Meslin, and has been appointed as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Philosophy.

 

 

2005

 

Brandon Brown

Received a B.A. in Political Philosophy from the University of Dallas in 2003. He is currently pursuing combined M.D./M.A. degrees and was awarded a graduate assistantship at the IU Center for Bioethics for 2005-06. Brandon also received the Medical Humanities Student Essay Award in 2006.

 

Publications

  • (w/ E.D. Morrell, et al.) “The Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Order: Associations with Advance Directives, Physician Specialty, and Documentation of Discussion 15 Years after the Patient Self Determination Act,” Journal of Medical Ethics (in press).
  • (w/ R.B. Gunderman) “Affliction is a Treasure,” The Pharos (in press).
  • (w/ R.B. Gunderman) “Pandemic Influenza,” Radiology 243:3 (2007): 629-632.
  • “Christian Bioethics,” in Masterplots II: Christian Literature (Salem Press, 2007).
  • (w/ J.T. Eberl) “Ethical Considerations in Defense of Embryo Adoption,” in The Ethics of Embryo Adoption and the Catholic Tradition, ed. S.-V. Brakman and D. Weaver (Springer Academic Press, 2007).

 

Paper Presentations

  • (w/ R.B. Gunderman) “Affliction is a Treasure: Suffering and Hope in Donne’s Devotions upon Emergent Occasions,” Suffering and Hope, Center for Thomistic Studies, University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX, November 2005.  

 

Eric Morrell

Received a B.A. in English from Indiana University in 2003. He is currently pursuing combined M.D./M.A. degrees. During his studies, he worked with Dr. Paul Helft on a research project comparing the frequency of do-not-resuscitate orders written by different physician specialists; and he is currently completing his thesis under the direction of Dr. Peter Schwartz.

 

Publications

  • (w/ B. Brown, et al.) “The Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Order: Associations with Advance Directives, Physician Specialty, and Documentation of Discussion 15 Years after the Patient Self Determination Act,” Journal of Medical Ethics (in press).

 

Diana Popov

Received a B.A. in Philosophy from IUPUI in 2002. She is currently an adjunct instructor in the Department of Philosophy, and is completing her thesis under the direction of Dr. Richard Gunderman.

 

David Zahl

Received a B.S. in Biology from Butler University in 2004. He is interested in eugenics and other ethical implications of the Human Genome Project. In 2006-07, he was awarded an internship with the Department of History researching eugenic practices in Indiana.

 

 

2006

 

Robin Bandy

Received a B.A. in Political Science from IUPUI in 2006. She is currently pursuing combined J.D./M.A. degrees. In Spring 2008, she was awarded a legal internship with the Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics.

 

Maureen Craney

Received an M.S. in Applied Health Sciences from Indiana University in 2005 and a B.A. in Germanic Languages from Brigham Young University in 1984.

 

Sarah Goss-Robertson

Received a B.A. in Environmental Studies from IUPUI in 2006 and graduated with the distinction of IUPUI’s Top Female Student. She is currently serving as an intern for a consultancy firm for ecologically sound business practices.

 

Madeleine Kennedy

Received a Ph.D. in Inquiry Methodology (Applied Statistics) in 1980, an M.S. in Applied Linguistics in 1977, and a B.A. in Linguistics and German in 1975, all from Indiana University. She is currently employed at Eli Lilly and is interested in international research ethics.

 

Milton Turner

Received a B.A. in History from Wabash College in 2005. Milton is interested in law, politics, medicine, health policy, and international affairs. He has practiced as a licensed Emergency Medical Technician for St. Joseph Hospital and Health Care Center and received a commendation from Governor Frank O’Bannon in 2001 for independently volunteering more than 2,000 hours in the emergency room, as well as pioneering an in-house internship program for Kokomo-area youth. In 2006, Milton began working for Mercer Belanger P.C. as a legal assistant. He is a 2007 Indiana Conference for Legal Educational Opportunity Fellow and is currently pursuing combined J.D./M.A. degrees.

 

 

2007

 

Emily Barker

Received a B.A. in Philosophy from IUPUI in 2006. She is currently an AmeriCorps member working at the Marion County Health Department in the Fetal Infant Mortality Review program.

 

Christine Hammer

Received a B.S. in Biology from IUPUI in 2007. She is currently pursuing combined M.D./M.A. degrees.

 

Emily Munson

Received a B.A. in Political Science from Hanover College in 2006. She is currently pursuing combined J.D./M.A. degrees, and is interested in advocating for individuals with disabilities.

 

Chiaki Nakanishi

Received a B.A. in the Integrated Science Program from Northwestern University in 2006. She is currently pursuing combined M.D./M.A. degrees.

 

Mary Ott

Received an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994, and a B.A. in Political Science from Princeton University in 1990. She completed a pediatric residency and fellowship in adolescent medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ott is currently an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Section of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, IU School of Medicine. She joined the M.A. program as part of a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. Her research focuses on reproductive health and sexual behavior among adolescents. She is interested in the ethics of research on sensitive issues with vulnerable populations.

 

Matthew John Williams

Received a B.S. in Psychology (with a concentration in Industrial/Organizational Psychology) from IUPUI in 2006. He is currently employed as a graduate assistant at the IUPUI Center for Service & Learning. His bioethical interests include egalitarianism as it relates to health care, as well as health care reform policies. His other philosophical interests include theories of distributive justice and pragmatism (William James and John Dewey).

 

 

Please direct any questions or comments to bioeth@iupui.edu.