Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program

Presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Elijah Watson, MA
PhD/MPH Candidate in
Anthropology and Epidemiology
Northwestern University

Social Epidemiology and the Stories Bodies Tell: How Prenatal Exposure to the 1983–86 Philippine Crisis Became Embodied Across the Life Course

Social epidemiologist Nancy Krieger argues that bodies hold “embodied truths,” revealing stories that individuals may not—or cannot—fully narrate themselves. This talk uses that insight to examine how the 1983–86 Philippine political–economic crisis under the Marcos dictatorship became biologically embodied from gestation through midlife. Because the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey began enrolling pregnant women just weeks before the assassination of opposition leader Ninoy Aquino—a catalytic event that precipitated rapid economic deterioration—some children were born before the crisis intensified while others experienced it in utero, creating exogenous variation in the timing of prenatal stress signals. As economic conditions deteriorated after birth—reflected in population-level declines in healthful infant feeding behaviors—the setting offers a rare opportunity to test whether prenatal stress acts as an adaptive cue, calibrating physiology in ways that help or hinder individuals depending on how well in utero expectations match later environments. Using four decades of longitudinal epidemiological and biomarker data, I trace how these early signals were taken up biologically and how their effects unfolded across the life course. More broadly, the work shows how bodies function as historical archives, encoding social upheaval and revealing the mechanisms through which crises become patterned in health across generations.

This lecture is open to the public and will be held in the Searle Seminar Room in the Lurie Research Building (303 E Superior St), Chicago Campus. For those outside the Chicago area and anyone who would prefer to attend remotely, a Zoom option is also available.

Only Zoom attendees are required to register
** PLEASE REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK**
REGISTER HERE

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Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program

Presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Richard Leiter, MD, MA
Senior Physician
Director, Adult Palliative Care Inpatient Consult Service
Department of Supportive Oncology
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School

Cracking the Code: Unilateral DNRs, Moral Distress, and
Narrative Coherence

Clinician-initiated do not resuscitate orders (“unilateral DNRs) involve the decision to withhold CPR and mechanical ventilation without a patient or their surrogate’s consent. In this talk, I will examine the ethics of these orders, using case examples from my clinical experience as a palliative care physician. Drawing on an approach based in narrative ethics, I will suggest a path forward that recenters patients and families in care decisions, while acknowledging healthcare worker expertise and emotion.

This lecture is open to the public and will be held in the Searle Seminar Room in the Lurie Research Building (303 E Superior St), Chicago Campus. For those outside the Chicago area and anyone who would prefer to attend remotely, a Zoom option is also available.

Only Zoom attendees are required to register
** PLEASE REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK**
REGISTER HERE

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Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program

Presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

John Franklin MD, MSc, MA
Professor of Psychiatry, Transplant Surgery, 
Medical Humanities and Bioethics
Associate Dean, Health Equity and Student Support
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

Secrets of a God Committee

Dr. Franklin will reflect on his 35 years of transplant selection committee membership, focusing on psychological and ethical aspects of the work.

This lecture is open to the public and will be held in the Searle Seminar Room in the Lurie Research Building (303 E Superior St), Chicago Campus. For those outside the Chicago area and anyone who would prefer to attend remotely, a Zoom option is also available.

Only Zoom attendees are required to register
** PLEASE REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK**
REGISTER HERE

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Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program

Presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Mohammad Hosseini, PhD, MA
Assistant Professor
Department of Preventive Medicine
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine 

Ethical Implications of Using AI Agents in Research

AI agents are compound AI models that are connected to other resources like datasets, repositories and robots, and can autonomously conduct research. Questions explored in this talk include: Are ethical values and principles of science threatened by AI agents? How should we use AI agents responsibly to avoid erosion of public trust?

This lecture is open to the public and will be held in the Searle Seminar Room in the Lurie Research Building (303 E Superior St), Chicago Campus. For those outside the Chicago area and anyone who would prefer to attend remotely, a Zoom option is also available.

Only Zoom attendees are required to register
** PLEASE REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK**
REGISTER HERE

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Description:

The Montgomery Lecture series addresses diverse topics within bioethics and the medical humanities. Presenters are faculty, affiliates, and alumni of the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Graduate Program—along with special guests. The lectures run every other Thursday from noon to 12:45pm during The Graduate School's fall, winter, and spring quarters. They are open to students, faculty, and the general public. Formerly titled, "Special Topics in MH&B," this series was renamed in 2013 for Emeritus Professor Kathryn Montgomery.

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This lecture is open to the public and will be held in the Searle Seminar Room in the Lurie Research Building (303 E Superior St), Chicago Campus. For those outside the Chicago area and anyone who would prefer to attend remotely, a Zoom option is also available.

Only Zoom attendees are required to register
** PLEASE REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK**

REGISTER HERE

Read more about this series | Sign up for lecture announcements