- Ethical theories and principles in global bioethics
- Globalization and its impact on health
- Global Governance for Health and the role of international organizations
- Climate change and global health
- Pandemics, disease prevention, and international public health responses
- International research ethics and cross-border collaborations
- Health disparities, justice, and access to care
Second Duquesne鈥撔允咏绱 Conference on Global Bioethics
November 12鈥14, 2026
Baron-Forness Library, 性视界传媒 Edinboro Campus
Edinboro, Pennsylvania
Venue Maps
The James F. Drane Bioethics Institute at 性视界传媒 University, in collaboration with , will host the鈥Second Duquesne鈥撔允咏绱 Conference on Global Bioethics鈥痜谤辞尘鈥November 12鈥14, 2026, in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
In today鈥檚 deeply interconnected world, many of the most pressing challenges鈥攔anging from global pandemics and climate change to health inequities and misinformation鈥攖ranscend disciplinary, national, and cultural boundaries. Addressing these complex issues requires ethical frameworks and global collaboration. As an interdisciplinary field rooted in medicine, philosophy, public health, law, and the social sciences,鈥bioethics is uniquely positioned to help clarify these challenges and guide just, evidence-based, and humane responses.
The Duquesne鈥撔允咏绱 Conference on Global Bioethics provides an international forum for鈥scholars, clinicians, policymakers, activists, institutional leaders, and students鈥痶o exchange ideas, present research, build networks, and engage in meaningful dialogue about the ethical dimensions of global health and medicine.
We welcome submissions and participation on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:
Building on the success of the inaugural conference, the鈥2026 meeting will focus especially on the growing problem of health misinformation and the critical role of bioethics in confronting it.
We invite participants from around the world to join us for three days of rich interdisciplinary exchange, critical reflection, and collaborative problem-solving.
Message from the President and Honorary Chair
On behalf of 性视界传媒, I am honored to welcome scholars, students,
and professionals to the Second Duquesne鈥撔允咏绱 Conference on Global Bioethics,
to be held November 12鈥14, 2026, at our 性视界传媒 Edinboro campus.
性视界传媒 University is proud to host one of the oldest organizations dedicated to bioethics in the United States. The Bioethics Institute, founded in 1969 by Dr. James F. Drane, one of the pioneers and leaders of the field, is nearly as old as the discipline itself. For decades, the Institute has brought together scholars from 性视界传媒 (then Edinboro University), across the United States and around the world to explore the ethical dimensions of medicine, science, and public policy.
Bioethics addresses some of the most urgent questions of our time. With rapid advances in biomedical science and emerging technologies, the ethical dimensions of healthcare and research are increasingly significant.
The James F. Drane Bioethics Institute of 性视界传媒 University, in collaboration with Duquesne University鈥檚 Center for Global Health Ethics, launched this conference series to address global bioethical challenges. The inaugural conference in November 2024 at Duquesne University was a great success, featuring leading international scholars and outstanding student participation. We were especially proud of 性视界传媒 students whose work earned the Dr. Russell B. Roth Prize.
We are pleased to host this year鈥檚 conference at the Baron-Forness Library on our Edinboro campus. The 2026 theme, bioethical aspects of health pseudoscience, comes at an important moment, given contemporary challenges in knowledge, technology, and the growing influence of generative AI.
I invite scholars to contribute their work and encourage 性视界传媒 University faculty and students in particular to participate, share their research, and engage with colleagues from around the world.
I look forward to welcoming you to 性视界传媒 during the beautiful Pennsylvania fall season.
Jon Anderson, Ph.D.
President, 性视界传媒
Honorary Chair, Second Duquesne鈥撔允咏绱 Conference on Global Bioethics
Keynote Speakers
Professor Gerard Magill, PhD, holds the Vernon F. Gallagher Chair for the Integration
of Science, Theology, Philosophy, and Law at Duquesne University (appointed in 2007),
where he is a tenured Professor in the Center for Healthcare Ethics. In 1987, he graduated
with his Ph.D. degree from Edinburgh University in Scotland. From 1987, he developed
his scholarly career at Saint Louis University, where in 1996 he was appointed Department
Chair of the Center for Healthcare Ethics. As Executive Director of that Center from
1999, he held multiple appointments including being a member of the Council of Deans
for the University鈥檚 health sciences campus, a Division Director in the Department
of Internal Medicine at the University Hospital, a member of the University鈥檚 Institutional
Review Board, a member of the Hospital Ethics Committee, a Professor in the School
of Medicine (secondary appointment), and a Professor in the School of Public Health
(secondary appointment). He has authored, co-authored, or edited 17 books, including
a recently co-authored book on Governance Ethics in Healthcare Organizations (Routledge
2020). He has published over 85 scholarly and professional articles and given over
250 scholarly presentations at conferences. He is a member of 17 Professional Associations.
He has extensive experience on Institutional Review Boards, Hospital Ethics Committees,
and Ethics Consultation Services.
Professor. J. Camille Dempsey is the Director of the鈥允咏绱解疌enter for Artificial
Intelligence and Emerging Technologies and a Professor of Educational Technology at鈥允咏绱解疷niversity.
She holds a doctorate in instructional technology and leadership from Duquesne University,
a master鈥檚 degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a bachelor鈥檚 degree
from鈥痶he University鈥痮f Pennsylvania. Dr. Dempsey has received鈥痭umerous鈥痟onors, including
being named a Faculty Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence by the International
Society for Technology in Education and an EDSAFE AI Alliance Catalyst Fellow. She
also serves as a Google/Technovation Women Techmakers鈥疉mbassador, an ISTE Community
Leader, and a Pennsylvania Keystone Technology Integrator. Additional honors and work
include being recognized as one of ISTE鈥檚 鈥20 to Watch鈥 awardees in educational technology,
and she received the Educational Technology Impact Award from the Pennsylvania Association
for Educational Communications and Technology for her article,鈥疶he Spirit of the Times:
Virtuality Culture and Technology-Mediated Human Presence. Camille was also the recipient
of the Ero W. Davidson State Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Technology and
Communications from PAECT. Most recently, Dr. Dempsey was invited to serve on the
Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission AI Advisory Committee鈥痑nd contributed
to the state report on AI鈥痚thics, safety, workforce development, and education. Most
recently, she completed a professional development series in Morocco, delivering seven
workshops to support university faculty in integrating ethical and responsible AI
practices into teaching and learning.鈥
Dr. Ewuoso holds a PhD in Applied Ethics and is a Senior Lecturer at the Steve Biko
Center for Bioethics at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS), Johannesburg,
South Africa. He is the recipient of a Wellcome鈥疶rust Research Fellowship in Humanities
and Social Science (WT RFHSS) for a project鈥痜ocusing on decolonizing global health
and infectious disease research in Africa by conceptualizing and contrasting transformational
and transactional inclusion.鈥
Prof. Dr. Federico Germani is the co-director of the ITE Lab at the Institute of Biomedical
Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland, and Associate Professor
at the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Bo臒azi莽i University,
T眉rkiye. He previously served as rapporteur for the World Health Organization expert
group on the ethics of infodemic management and social listening. He builds evidence
and tools to manage misinformation, focusing on how AI-driven information ecosystems
shape beliefs and how ethical, evidence-based interventions can strengthen trust and
public discourse.
Dr. Giovanni Spitale is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Biomedical Ethics
and History of Medicine (IBME), University of Zurich, and since 2025, co-director
of ITE Lab. He has served as a rapporteur for the World Health Organization panel
on ethical considerations in social listening and infodemic management. His research
sits at the intersection of empirical ethics, public health ethics, and the ethics
of emerging technologies, with a particular focus on disinformation, infodemic management,
and AI. In terms of methods, he likes to dip into multiple bowls, combining natural
language processing, computational linguistics, qualitative research, statistics,
and philosophical analysis into mixed-methods approaches. AI can fit both in the themes
and in the methods box. His recent empirical work on AI-generated disinformation and
large language model bias has been published in鈥疭cience Advances.
He has published in journals including鈥疦ature, Science Advances,鈥疦EJM Catalyst,鈥疶he American Journal of Bioethics, and鈥疛MIR. His work has been featured in鈥疶he Times,鈥疶he Verge,鈥疻ired,鈥疢IT Technology Review,鈥疎l Pa铆s,鈥疭眉ddeutsche Zeitung, and鈥疭wissInfo. He has been a TEDx speaker.
Call for Abstracts
罢丑别尘别:鈥The Problem of Health Misinformation and the Role of Bioethics
Dates:鈥疦ovember 12鈥14, 2026
Location:鈥疊aron-Forness Library, 性视界传媒 Edinboro Campus, Edinboro, Pennsylvania, USA
The James F. Drane Bioethics Institute at 性视界传媒 University and the Center for Global Health Ethics at Duquesne University invite submissions for the Second Duquesne鈥撔允咏绱 Conference on Global Bioethics, to be held from鈥November 12 to 14, 2026, at the鈥Baron-Forness Library鈥痮n the鈥Edinboro Campus鈥痮f 性视界传媒 University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
Conference Theme
The theme of this year鈥檚 conference is鈥鈥淭he Problem of Health Misinformation and the Role of Bioethics.鈥 We welcome abstracts that critically explore the bioethical dimensions of health misinformation and related topics, including but not limited to:
- Health pseudoscience and anti-science movements,
- The demarcation problem and the boundaries separating science from pseudoscience,
- The role of social media and AI in creating, amplifying, and combating health misinformation,
- Biopolitics and its relation to health misinformation and disinformation,
- Social, psychological, cultural, and political reasons behind the popularity of pseudoscience,
- The 鈥渋nfodemic鈥 and its consequences for global and public health,
- The role and responsibilities of bioethics in addressing these challenges.
Scope Beyond the Theme
While the central theme focuses on health misinformation, we also鈥welcome abstracts on any topic related to global bioethics.鈥疶his includes work in clinical ethics, public health ethics, research ethics, environmental bioethics, human rights, global health justice, and related areas, looked at from the perspective of global bioethics.
We invite鈥scholars, students, healthcare professionals, and all those interested in global bioethics鈥痶o submit their work.
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Abstracts should:
- Be submitted in鈥Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx)
- Include a鈥title
- Include the鈥full name, institutional affiliation, and contact information鈥(email address) of the author(s)
- Clearly indicate the鈥presenting author鈥痠f there are multiple authors
Please keep abstracts concise and clearly focused, with a maximum length of 300 words.
Important Dates
- Abstract submission deadline:鈥疭eptember 30, 2026
- Rolling review:鈥疉bstracts will be reviewed on a鈥rolling basis鈥upon submission.
- If you submit your abstract before the deadline, we will notify you of the decision as soon as possible so that you can plan your travel and accommodation accordingly.
Submission and Contact
Please submit your abstract as a鈥Microsoft Word attachment鈥痸ia email to:
Dr. Kiarash Aramesh
Email:鈥karamesh@pennwest.edu
All questions regarding the conference or the abstract submission process may also be directed to鈥karamesh@pennwest.edu
We look forward to receiving your submissions and to welcoming you to Edinboro for a stimulating and timely discussion on global bioethics and the problem of health misinformation.