Ethics Center Lectures
Continuing Education
UCLA Health is an approved continuing education provider by the California State Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #12511, for 1 Contact Hours.
Attendees should contact UCLA Health, Ethics Center at if you need special accommodations or have questions or concerns.
Upcoming Lectures
Previous Lectures
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
“Advancing Health Equity in Genomics Study Design”
Speaker: Vence Bonham, J.D., Director of the Health Disparities Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
“Human Genome Editing: Ethics, Politics and Policy”
Speaker: Françoise Baylis, CM. ONS, PhD, FRSC, FISC, from Distinguished Research Professor Emerita Dalhousie University, Canada
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
“Ethics Considerations and the International Governance of Human Genome Editing: Prospects or Pipe Dream?”
Speaker: Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH, from Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Mom’s Genes: Genetic Testing and Alzheimer’s Disease"
Speaker: Emily Largent, JD, PhD, RN, from the University of Pennsylvania
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Challenges for Global Governance of Human Genome Editing"
Speaker: Alta Charo, Warren P. Knowles Professor of Law & Bioethics, University of Wisconsin
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Contagion Narratives and Genetic Fears: Genetics Research and the Question of Boundaries in the Popular Imagination"
Speaker: Despina Kakoudaki, PhD Associate Professor of Litertaure, Director of the Humanitites Lab, American University Washington, DC
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Noon Ethics Lecture | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"The Duty to Treat in the Face of Risk to Personal Health"
Speaker: David Orentlicher, MD, JD Cobeaga Law Firm Professor of Law | Co-director of the UNLV Health Law Program | William S. Boyd School of Law | University of Nevada, Las Vegas
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Wednesday, March 24, 2019
Noon Ethics Lecture | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Beyond Opioids: Bioethical Issues in Pain Management"
Speaker: Daniel Goldberg, JD, PhD, Center for Bioethics and Humanities | Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine | Scholar in Equity, Health & Law Farley Health Policy Center | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Noon Ethics Lecture | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"The Computer Made Me Do It: The Ethics of A.I. in Precision Medicine"
Speaker: Mildred Cho, PhD, Professor, Stanford Department of Pediatrics, Associate Director, Stanford for Biomedical Ethics
When:12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Lecture: "Enhancing Our Understanding of Moral Distress: The New Measure of Moral Distress for Healthcare Professionals"
Interview: "Recognizing a Nursing Ethics Leader - A Conversation with Ann Hamric"
Speaker: Ann Hamric, PhD, RN, FAANRetired Professor, Former Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Nursing
When: 10:00 – 11:00am (Lecture) and 11:00 - 12:00pm (Interview)
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Noon Ethics Lecture | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Dealing with Racist Patients"
Speaker: Kimani Paul-Emile, JD, PhDAssociate Professor of Law, Associate Director & Head of Domestic Programs and Initiatives, Fordham Law School Stein Center for Law & Ethics
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Noon Ethics Lecture | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Pseudo-Stem Cell Medicine: Treatment Without Evidence"
Speaker: Steven Peckman Deputy Director, UCLA Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Co-sponsored by the UCLA Law School
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Noon Ethics Lecture | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Unbefriended and Unrepresented: Better Medical Decision Making for Incapacitated Patients without Healthcare Surrogates"
Speaker: Thaddeus M. Pope, JD, PhD Director, Health Law Institute, Mitchell Hamline School of Law
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Friday, December 1, 2017
Noon Ethics Lecture | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Do New Tools Need New Ethics? The Challenge of Advancing Biotechnology for Ethics and Policy"
Speaker: Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director | John Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Noon Ethics Lecture | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Why Do We Want to Be Human?"
Speaker: Jonathan D. Moreno, PhD, David and Lyn Silfen University Professor of Ethics
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am at Garden of Peace, Ronald Reagan Medical Center
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
Tuesday, March 7, 2017 | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
"Power, Suffering and the Struggle for Dignity: Human Rights Frameworks for Health and Why They Matter"
Speaker: Alicia Ely Yamin, JD, MPH, Visiting Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Program Director, Health and Human Rights Initiative O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
"Non Verbal Patients: Discovering Capacity"
Speaker: Rebecca Brashler, LCSW, Director, Global Patient Services Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago IL
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
"Political Traps and Female Patients: The New Reproductive Battlefront"
Speaker: Michele Goodwin Chancellor's Professor of Law, UC Irvine
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
"Race, Bioethics & Abortion: Why Dr. King Was Right-Family Planning Is Essential For Women's Liberation & Equality"
When: 5:30 - 7:00 pm. Reception at 4:30pm
Where: Law 1447 (to be confirmed)
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Noon Ethics Lecture | Annual Weinberger-Vermut Genetics Ethics Lecture
Speaker: Jonathan Kimmelman, PhD, Associate Professor, Biomedical Ethics Unit/Social Studies of Medicine, McGill University
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Noon Ethics Lecture
"Health Providers Experiences with the Oregon Death with Dignity Act"
Speaker: Linda Ganzini, MD, MPH, Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine, OHSU – Oregon Health & Science University
When: 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Litvak Public Lecture
"The Oregon Death with Dignity Act: 18 Years' Experience"
Speaker: Linda Ganzini, MD, MPH, Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine, OHSU – Oregon Health & Science University
When: Tuesday, September 27, 2016
6:00 – 7:00 pm Reception
7:00 pm Lecture
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Please RSVP to the Ethics Center – by contacting Janine Burog at or calling
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Noon Ethics Lecture
"The Ethical Considerations of Physician Assisted Suicide"
Speaker: Daniel Sulmasy, MD, PhD, MACP, Associate Director, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, Department of Medicine and Divinity School, University of Chicago Medicine
When: Wednesday, September 21, 2016. 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Lunch provided at 11:30am
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Litvak Public Lecture
"Is Physician Assisted Suicide Really What You Want?"
Speaker: Daniel Sulmasy, MD, PhD, MACP, Associate Director, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, Department of Medicine and Divinity School, University of Chicago Medicine
When: Wednesday, September 21, 2016. 6:00 – 7:00 pm Reception;7:00 pm Lecture
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, B-130
Please RSVP to the Ethics Center – by contacting Janine Burog at or calling
March 21, 2016
UCLA Health Ethics Center Noon Lecture Co-Sponsored by UCLA Faculty Women's Club
"Slow Medicine and the Efficiency of Inefficiency"
When: Monday, March 21, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Where: Tamkin Auditorium, RRMC B-130
Speaker: Victoria Sweet, MD, PhD Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSF
February 17, 2016
"When Patients Make 'Bad' Choices: Complexity in Treatment Decision Making"
Speaker: Rebecca Susan Dresser, JD, Washington University School of Law