Executive Director

Ana Lita, Ph.D.

Dr. Lita is the executive and founding director of the Global Bioethics Initiative, a new international not-for-profit organization incorporated in the State of New York, and the former director of the Appignani Bioethics Center. Dr. Lita sits on the Ethics Committee of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering, the NGO HIV/AIDS Committee as well as the Genetics Policy Institute. She was a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics from September 2009 to June 2010. The author of numerous conference presentations, in addition to scholarly and popular publications, Lita is an active voice in public and academic discourse. Her teaching and writings have focused on ethics, especially in health care, medicine, and business. She has received a Soros Foundation Fellowship and a National Association Fellowship for International Scholars and was a visiting researcher at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy in 1995. She served as a junior researcher at the Institute for Educational Sciences in Bucharest, Romania from 1991-1995, where she was responsible for a joint research project on Adult Education with UNESCO and the Institute for Education in Hamburg, Germany. She held a tenure track position (2001-2004) as an assistant professor of philosophy at Lincoln University, Missouri. She earned her B.A. in history of western philosophy from the University of Bucharest, Romania and an M.A. in sociology focused on political culture from the Central European University in Prague. She received her Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University specializing in applied ethics and social philosophy. She is fluent in fluent English, Romanian, French, and Italian.

 

President and Founder

Charles Debrovner, M.D.

Dr. Charles H. Debrovner is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Yale University. He graduated from NYU School of Medicine in 1960. He has been a member of the New York Society for Ethical Culture since 1984. He served as its President for six years. He was the President of the Humanist Institute for twelve years. He has served on the Board of the Ethical Culture Fieldston Schools for over 20 years. Dr. Debrovner devoted much of his professional career to helping couples challenged with reproductive difficulties and infertility to achieve their dreams of a family. He was the former chair of the department of OB/GYN at the French & PolyClinic Hospitals in New York City, and was an Emeritus Senior Attending Physician at St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital. Though retired from clinical practice, he remains a Clinical Professor of OB/GYN at NYU School of Medicine. He is currently Medical Coordinator for Obstetrics and Gynecology at the New York State Department of Health Office of Professional Medical Conduct. Fitting his expertise, Dr. Debrovner is especially interested in ethical issues related to abortion, female genital mutilation, and cloning, within the framework of human reproductive rights. He continues to serve as an expert in medical legal matters and lives in New York City.

 

Visiting Researchers and Professionals

Jonathan Moreno, Ph.D.

After the 2008 presidential election, Professor Moreno was appointed to the transition team of US President-elect Barack Obama and led the review of the President George Bush’s Council on Bioethics. Moreno is a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a visiting Professor at the University of Virginia. At the Center for American Progress, he is a Senior Fellow, directing the Bioethics program, and is the editor of the Center’s Science Progress website and magazine. His edited anthology, Progress in Bioethics (2010), is the first collection of papers on bioethical progressivism. His other books include Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense (2006), Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans (1999), Ethical Guidelines for Innovative Surgery (2006); Is There an Ethicist in the House? (2005); In the Wake of Terror: Medicine and Morality in a Time of Crisis (2003); Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Clinical Research (2003); Deciding Together: Bioethics and Moral Consensus (1995); Ethics in Clinical Practice (2000); and Arguing Euthanasia (1995). Moreno serves on the East Coast Advisory Board of the Women’s Bioethics Project, and from 2004 to 2005, he co-chaired a committee of the National Academies that drew up guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research.

 

Jason Lott is a dermatology resident at Yale University Medical Center and a visiting researcher on a volunteer basis for the new Initiative. He is a former Marshall Scholar at Oxford University and a Gamble Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. His research interests include clinical ethics, health policy-making, and health economics. He has most recently worked as an intern researcher in the Evidence and Information for Policy Unit of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

Amir Tarsha, B.S., M.S. Candidate

Amir Tarsha is a visiting researcher at The Global Bioethics Initiative. He graduated with distinction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. is Psychology and an Honors Degree in Liberal Arts. He is currently enrolled in the Union Graduate College-Mount Sinai School of Medicine Clinical Bioethics Program and plans to receive his M.S. degree next year. His ultimate goal is a career in health care, either as a physician or medical consultant. He is in the process of applying to MD/MPH programs.

 

Csaba Bardossy

Csaba Bardossy studied medicine at Semmelweis University of Budapest, Hungary. Currently he is a student in the Department of Law at Pazmany Peter Catholic University, starting his third year. After graduation he intends to specialize in biotechnology law. He attends courses at Central European University in Budapest and is applying for a Soros Foundation scholarship. In August 2011 he has been an intern for Global Bioethics Initiative. He is currently involved in our ongoing project on Global Policies in Organ Transplantation. He has also lived and worked in UK and Washington, DC.

Board Members

Charles Debrovner, M.D., President and GBI Founder (see bio above)

Art Caplan, Ph.D., Honorary Member, Emmanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia

Jonathan Moreno, Ph.D., (see bio above)

Frank Breuer, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at Health System of North Shore University Hospital, Pathologist at Long Island Jewish Hospital

Caroline J. Debrovner, M.A., Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Pace University

Linda MacDonald Glenn, J.D., LLM, Lecturer at the University of Vermont College Of Nursing and Health Sciences, Department of Medical Laboratory and Radiation Sciences, and the University of Sciences at Philadelphia

Phillip W. Henderson, M.S., President of Surdna Foundation in New York City

Shirin Karsan, MBE, Special Projects Manager, School of Biomedical Engineering at Drexel University

Frances Kissling, Visiting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania, Center for Bioethics

Rachel Mayanja, LLM, Former United Nations Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women

David O’Brien, M.S., MBA, Ph.D., Former President of Precision Monolithics and Former President and CEO of Elantec Semiconductor

Jay Seaver, CPA, Founding Partner of Seaver & Forck, CPAs

Ashok K. Vaseashta, M.S., Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Advanced Sciences Convergence and the International Clean Water Institute, and U.S. Department of State Franklin Fellow

Anthony Vernillo, DDS, Ph.D., MBE, Professor at New York University College of Dentistry

Nina B.L. Urban, M.D., MSc Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry New York State Psychiatric Institute/ Columbia University Medical Center

Advisory Board

James Hughes, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies

Peter Derkx, Ph.D., Professor of Humanism and Worldviews at the Universiteit voor Humanistiek, (University of Humanism) The Netherlands.

Marin Gillis, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Medical Humanities and Ethics, University of Nevada School of Medicine.

Wendy T. Hall, M.S., President of W.T. Hall and Associates, a business and social marketing firm in New Jersey.

Barry Herman, Ph.D., Visiting Senior Fellow at the Graduate Program in International Affairs of The New School in New York.

Edward F. McClennen, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy at Syracuse University and Visiting Centennial Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics.

Stuart Newman, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy at New York Medical College and Fellow at the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future.

Thomas Pogge, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at Yale University and Research Director at the Centre for the Study of Mind in Nature at the University of Oslo, Norway is currently Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the Australian National University.

Laura Purdy, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy and Ruth and Albert Koch Professor of Humanities at Wells College.

Adrian Sângeorzan, M.D., Specialist Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Jamaica Hospital in NYC.

Udo Schuklenk, Ph.D., Professor of Bioethics at Queen’s University, Canada.

Peter Singer, Ph.D., Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University.

James Stacey Taylor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Philosophy at The College of New Jersey.

Lazar Vlasceanu, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology at University of Bucharest and Higher Education Specialist at UNESCO-European Center for Higher Education, Romania.

Jose Pietro Aparicio, M.D., MPH is Medical Doctor and Master in Public Health with expertise in local and international public health. Chair of the UN NGO Health Committee.

Miryam Z. Wahrman, Ph.D. is Professor of Biology at William Paterson University

Michael D, West, Ph.D. is the Chief Executive Officer of BioTime, Inc. (NYSE AMEX: BTIM) and Embryome Sciences, Inc. of Alameda, California.

Ellen Zaroff, President and the founder of Forix Foundation, President of FridayZaroff, Inc. a company which builds in Search Engine Optimisation and Information Architecture; she studied at Vassar College, New York University and obtained a MCS/IS from Pace University.

Former Interns

Mark Ho, B.A.

Mark Ho completed his B.A. in Philosophy with a Certificate in the Program in the Applications of Computers at Princeton University.  A native of New York City, Mark has experience researching at the Columbia University Bioinformatics Center, where he worked on an independent research project developing subcellular nuclear localization signal (sNLS) recognition software and strategies, technology vital to the development of novel drugs.  Additionally, he has worked at several NGOs specializing in the fields of health education in developing countries and women’s legal rights in New York City.  Having spent the past year in England studying in the Oxford-Princeton Physics and Philosophy Exchange Program, he is currently a visiting researcher for the Global Bioethics Initiative in New York City.   Mark has a continually growing interest in the development of biotechnology and the ethical issues posed by such advances to society.

 

Shauna Nep, B.A.

Shauna Nep received her B.A. in the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of British Columbia. She has a M.A. in Bioethics at New York University and a visiting researcher for the Global Bioethics Initiative. Shauna is also a graduate research assistant at the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Applied Ethics where she works on methods to support the ethical analysis of issues in biotechnology and genomics in the public sphere- particularly the method of deliberative engagement.  Her research and analysis on understanding public perspectives and values related to genetically modified salmon was presented at “Fishing and Farming Marine Iconic Species in the Genomics Era” in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.  Shauna’s research interests include ethical issues in public health policy, particularly to do with the connection between the public health and food policies.

 

Christopher Chau, B.A.

Christopher Chau received his B.A. in Behavioral Neuroscience Psychology at Yale University.  Originally from Australia, he is currently a visiting researcher for the Global Bioethics Initiative and plans on going to law school to concentrate in Bioethics & Public Health Law.   Christopher also has experience with research in the fields of biotechnology and environmental studies at the University of Montana and Yale, respectively.  In Bozeman, he developed an independent research project on the inaZ gene and ice-nucleating bacteria as a method to tackle environmental issues like rain seeding and the melting polar ice caps while the Yale Environmental Fellowship for Study and Research allowed him to study the “Environmental Sources of Carbon Monoxide and the Neurological Effects of Chronic Exposure in an Urban Setting” in Shenzhen, China.

 

Wen-Yu Weng, Mahidol University, Thailand

Wen-Yu Weng is finishing her B.Sc. in Biomedical Science from Mahidol University. She has a special interest in studying in Bioethics – namely research ethics and global bioethics – and medical diplomacy. She was also educated at the ASEAN Institute of Health and Development and took courses and training with various institutions and NGOs in topics such as human rights education, social innovation and entrepreneurship, youth activism, and health and socio-economic development in rural communities of Thailand. Wen-Yu came to the U.S. as a summer intern in Columbia University, under Dr. John Loike, and also as a visiting researcher at the Global Bioethics Initiative.

Tabir Akhtar, B.A. in Philosophy, Brooklyn College

Luke Appignani, B.A, Georgetown University

Marianne Goddard, Literature and Philosophy, McGill University

Blake Goodman, Senior, Herricks High School

Karthik Sonty, B.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies, Colby College

Nazia Nayeem, Senior, Herricks High School

Current Interns

Brian Chen, Junior, Herricks High School