Thu • Jan
19

Thursday, January 19, 2017

6:00PM-8:00PM

This event has been postponed, and a new date will be announced. Please contact Donna Fingerhut at dfingerhut@nyam.org with any questions.

Join us for a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Joseph J. Fins with leading experts exploring the medical and ethical issues in bearing, caring for and raising a baby/child with Zika-related complications. This cross-disciplinary event will be of interest to specialists in Pediatrics, Obstetrics-Gynecology, Psychiatry, Medical Ethics, Nursing, Social Work, and the general medical community.

Moderator:
Joseph J. Fins, MD, MACP is The E. William Davis, Jr. MD Professor of Medical Ethics and Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College where he is a Tenured Professor of Medicine, Professor of Medical Ethics in Neurology, Professor of Health Care Policy and Research, and Professor of Medicine in Psychiatry. He is the founding Chair of the Ethics Committee of New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine where he is an Attending Physician and the Director of Medical Ethics. A member of the Adjunct Faculty of Rockefeller University and Senior Attending Physician at The Rockefeller University Hospital, he Co-Directs, the Consortium for the Advanced Study of Brain Injury (CASBI) at Weill Cornell Medicine and Rockefeller. At Yale Law School, he is the Solomon Center Distinguished Scholar in Medicine, Bioethics and the Law. 

He is a past president of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, former Governor of the American College of Physicians and Trustee Emeritus of Wesleyan University. Dr. Fins is a Member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, an elected Member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an Academico de Honor (Honored Academic) of the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina de España (the Royal Academy of Medicine of Spain). His most recent book is Rights Come to Mind: Brain Injury, Ethics & The Struggle for Consciousness, published by Cambridge University Press.

Speakers:
Alan R. Fleischman, MD is Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Population Health (in the Center for Bioethics) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.  He joined the faculty at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Montefiore Medical Center in 1975, where he became Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Epidemiology and Social Medicine and served as Director of the Division of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics until 1994.  In 1994, he became Senior Vice President of the New York Academy of Medicine, where he catalyzed the Academy’s growth into a research intensive think tank in public policy, urban health, and bioethics.  In 2004, Dr. Fleischman became Ethics Advisor to the National Children’s Study at the National Institutes of Health and served as Chair of its Federal Advisory Committee from 2005-2010.  In 2007, Dr. Fleischman became Senior Vice President and Medical Director of the March of Dimes Foundation where he developed multiple clinical and research initiatives to prevent preterm birth, infant mortality and birth defects.  He ended his tenure at the March of Dimes in 2012, and returned to the teaching faculty at Einstein-Montefiore.

In the academic area, he has been a pioneer in the fields of bioethics and research ethics.  This work has resulted in over one hundred sixty publications in peer reviewed journals and book chapters, including a book edited with Robert Cassidy, entitled "Pediatric Ethics--From Principles to Practice," published by Harwood Press in 1995. His new, solo-authored book, “Pediatric Ethics—Protecting the Interests of Children,” was published in September, 2016 by Oxford University Press.

Dr. Fleischman has also been appointed to several national committees including: National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee for the Office for Human Research Protections (DHHS), Secretary’s Advisory Committee (DHHS) on Human Research Protections, Subcommittee on Research Involving Children, National Research Council/Institute of Medicine Committee on Ethical Issues in Housing-Related Health Hazard Research Involving Children Youth, and Families, American Academy of Pediatrics National Bioethics and AIDS Committees, and expert advisor to the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children.  He was also a founding member of the New York State Governor's Task Force on Life and the Law (Bioethics Commission) and served for 27 years.  In addition, Dr. Fleischman has been a consultant to several federal agencies including National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, and Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  He is an elected Fellow and a member of the Board of Directors of the Hastings Center and an elected Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.

Shari Gelber, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Director of Perinatal Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Gelber received her B.S. from Stanford University with honors in Biological Sciences. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in Neurobiology and Behavior from the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, where her research focus was in understanding the physiology of the receptors for nicotine in the brain. Dr. Gelber completed clinical training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Drexel University College of Medicine followed by a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Cornell University Medical College, where she is currently the Donna Redell Clinical Scholar in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Dr. Gelber has an active clinical practice in which she performs ultrasound examinations, amniocentesis, preconceptual counseling, and consultations for patients with high-risk pregnancies. Dr. Gelber has a special interest in maternal medical conditions that may affect pregnancy including infectious diseases that cause congenital and perinatal infections. Dr. Gelber has published widely in both clinical and research ethics as well as patient decision-making.

Dr. Gelber’s research interests are in understanding the origin of adverse pregnancy outcomes. She contributed to the discovery and characterization of a novel toxin from Gardnerella vaginalis, a microorganism strongly associated with preterm birth. She has also studied the role of antimicrobial proteins in the amniotic fluid and their ability to regulate inflammation in the placenta and fetus. Her current research is focused on understanding the role of insulin resistance and activation of the immune system in adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Charles C. Camosy, PhD is Associate Professor of Theological and Social Ethics at Fordham University, where he has taught since finishing his PhD in theology at Notre Dame in 2008. Among other places, his published articles have appeared in the American Journal of Bioethics, the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, the Journal of the Catholic Health Association, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Daily News and America magazine. He is the author of four books. Too Expensive to Treat? (Eerdmans) was a 2011 award-winner with the Catholic Media Association, Peter Singer and Christian Ethics (Cambridge) was named a 2012 “best book” with ABC Religion and Ethics, and For Love of Animals (Franciscan) was featured in the “Beliefs” section of the New York Times. His most recent book, Beyond the Abortion Wars (Eerdmans), was also a 2015 award-winner with the Catholic Media Association. In addition to advising the Faith Outreach office of the Humane Society of the United States, Camosy received the Robert Bryne award from the Fordham Respect Life Club, and was also selected for the international working group "Contending Modernities" which attempts to bring secular liberalism, Catholicism, and Islam into dialogue about bioethics. He is the founder of the Catholic Conversation Project, serves on the board of Democrats for Life, and advises the ethics committee of the Children's Hospital of New York.

M. Elizabeth Ross, MD, PhD is the Nathan Cummings Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University Medical College, and her training in Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. She directs the Center for Neurogenetics in the Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, which supports research into the genetic causes of neurological disorders in children and adults. Her research group, the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Development, focuses on discovery of gene mutations associated with structural birth defects and investigation of how these genes direct the construction of brain. Three major projects encompass: 1) spina bifida, 2) cell division regulation and its role in cellular patterning of brain, particularly as it relates to microcephaly and other brain malformations and 3) regulation of neuronal motility, including cell movement during brain construction and synaptic plasticity that sculpts brain architecture and function through infant and adolescent development and even aging. These three areas of study are approached from both basic science and clinical genetic perspectives. Dr. Ross is the recipient of numerous distinctions, including an NIH Director’s Transformative Research Projects Award, which supports innovative ideas that challenge the status quo and have the potential to propel fields forward and speed the translation of research into improved health for families bearing genetically determined risk factors for disorders of the nervous system.

Angel Mendoza, MD is The New York Academy of Medicine’s Director of the Center for Health Policy and Programs, after many years in New York City government and non-profit organizations serving and advocating for under-represented and vulnerable communities. He was the founding Medical Director for the New York City Administration for Children’s Services. Prior to that, he was Chief Medical Office for the NYC Early Intervention Program. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at New York University/Bellevue and is board certified in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics.