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PZI's Congressional Briefing

2023 Capitol Hill Briefing

Transforming Medical Research:
Advancements in Science and Ethics

Monday, January 30, 2023

Person's fingers holding an organ-on-a-chip; Image via NIH

Given the frequency of legislative and regulatory efforts to modernize medical research, including through nonanimal methods, what is the current state of play in terms of medical innovation, research, and advancements in science and ethics?

What role can Congress play in driving advancements, and how can staffers feel prepared to approach these seemingly complex scientific and medical issues?

In this Congressional briefing held on January 30, 2023, a panel of experts in medicine, bioethics, research, and public health reviewed:

  • Physician and patient perspectives on the strengths and limitations of current research
  • Evolving public opinion on the need for, and permissibility of, certain types of research
  • The important intersection where science and ethics meet
  • Challenges to progress and opportunities for advancement
  • Legislative and regulatory state of play and opportunities for advancement
PZI’s expert panel spoke to members of Congress and their staff about how Congress can help transform medical research to protect and benefit both people and animals.

Our Featured Speakers:

  • Hope Ferdowsian, MD, MPH, FACP, FACPM, Physician and Public Health Specialist
    Internal medicine, preventive medicine, and global public health physician, with expertise in research ethics and policy; founder and president of Phoenix Zones Initiative, a global nonprofit working to make public policy, institutions, and practices more scientifically and ethically sound.
  • Jim Corbett, CEO and Board Member, Emulate, Inc.
    International business leader in sectors that include biotechnology, medical imaging, analytical instruments and in vitro diagnostics—ranging from Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurial start-ups.
  • L. Syd M Johnson, PhD, Philosopher, Bioethicist, and Neuroethicist
    Associate Professor of Bioethics and Humanities, SUNY Upstate Medical University Center for Bioethics & Humanities.
  • Barbara J. King, PhD, Anthropologist
    Professor Emerita of Anthropology, William and Mary; author and science writer who has published seven books and numerous works that have appeared in outlets that include Scientific American, NPR, Aeon, Psyche, Undark, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and the Times Literary Supplement.
  • Paul A. Locke, JD, MPH, DrPH, Scientist and Attorney
    Environmental health scientist and attorney; Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Find out more about our speakers.

Find out more about how you can take action to transform medical research.

Watch the Recording of PZI’s January 2022 Transforming Medical Research virtual panel:

 

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