UW-Madison Medical History & Bioethics

A woman with wavy gray and brown hair stands confidently outdoors in front of a brick building. She is wearing blue glasses, a black leather jacket, and layered necklaces. Her arms are crossed, and she is smiling warmly. Decorative street lamps and trimmed hedges are visible in the background.

We’re thrilled to announce Dr. Leslie Reagan's keynote theme for our 75th/50th Anniversary Celebration: “Doing Histories of Medicine and Public Health: A Radical Project,” promises to be a powerful highlight of the evening!
📍 10/9/2025, 5:30–7:30 PM, Pyle Center
Register: bit.ly/45GtfR4 #OnWisconsin

Gregg Mitman receives the Humane Order of African Redemption from Liberian Vice President Jeremiah Koung during an official ceremony. Both men wear formal attire and ceremonial medals. Mitman holds a certificate, and the Liberian flag is visible in the background.

Honored news! Prof. Gregg Mitman has received the Humane Order of African Redemption from the Republic of Liberia in recognition of his decades of justice-driven scholarship and deep collaboration with Liberian communities. 7/24/2025 @uwmadison.bsky.social #MedicalHistory #MedHum #OnWisconsin

Better Conversations for Better Informed Consent - Whiteboard Video

🧠💬 Better Conversations for Better Informed Consent
In this new whiteboard video, Dr. Gretchen Schwarze shares a 5-step framework to help patients feel more prepared & aligned with their surgical decisions.
Watch & rethink the way we talk about surgery. #MedEd #Bioethics bit.ly/3TSsptl

image of a medal awarded to Humane Order of African Redemption

We’re proud to share Emeritus Prof. Gregg Mitman will receive the Humane Order of African Redemption from Pres. Boakai on Liberia’s 178th Independence Day, July 24—honoring decades of justice-driven scholarship, global health work & partnership with Liberian communities. #UWMadison #WisconsinIdea

New book: The Social Cost of Carbon by Dr. J. Paul Kelleher.

The SCC isn’t one number—it’s four. Kelleher explains how each works, why they fall short ethically, and how they can guide real #climate policy.

Sharp read for those thinking climate + justice.

#CarbonCost #Ethics bit.ly/44zUCeG

Nicole Nelson : « Les travaux des métascientifiques auront probablement des effets inattendus » — TheMetaNews Ce contenu est réservé à nos abonné·es. TheMetaNews, propose des offres d’abonnement aux bibliothèques 59 bibliothèques ont déjà souscrit : MNHN I Musée du Quai Branly | Avignon Université | Dauphine ...

🧪 “The work of metascientists will likely have unexpected effects.” In her new interview with @themeta.news, Dr. Nicole Nelson unpacks the reproducibility crisis, open data’s hidden costs, & why reforming science might deepen global inequalities. bit.ly/45VV9bR
#Metascience #Reproducibility #STSHub

Big congratulations to Dr. Paul Kelleher and Dr. Pablo F. Gómez on their promotion to full professor! We're proud to celebrate their outstanding contributions in teaching, research, and service—both in our department and across the field. #UWMadison #OnWisconsin #MedHum #MedicalHistory #Bioethics

logo for medical history and bioethics 75 and 50 event, black lettering with red heart beat in the middle of the image

🎉 Celebrating 75 Years of Medical History & 50 Years of Bioethics!
📍 UW–Madison | 📅 Oct 9–10
Panels, keynotes, food from Ahan, & more.
RSVP by Sept 9 to join us! bit.ly/45GtfR4
#UWMadison #MedHum #Bioethics #WisconsinIdea #SMPH #MedEd

New from Dr. Karola Kreitmair in Hastings Center Report: Why “empathic AI” is a dangerous illusion. She breaks down 3 essential conditions for real recognition—voluntariness, consciousness, and mutuality—and why AI can’t meet them. bit.ly/4nh9Tbz #AI #HealthCare #MedHum #Bioethics #SMPH

New SMPH class drop! 💥 Health Disparities Research: Histories, Practices & Methods kicks off Sept 15. Tackle the roots of health inequities + draft your NIH Aims Page. Co-taught by Drs. Landress & Powell. #UWMadison #SMPH #HealthEquity #CHDR #MedHist

images of a cow, capital, state, flamingo, ice-cream, above the words wisco welcome

Who’s ready to celebrate? 🎉 We’re heading to the Wisco Welcome for Dean Nita Ahuja TODAY!

🍦 Ice cream
🧀 Cheese from the mini farmer’s market
🎯 Yard games

What better way to say “hi” to the new #SMPH Dean? Catch us at HSLC from 1–3 p.m.—see you there! 🙌🌼 #GrowWithAhuja #WiscoWelcome #OnWisconsin

Heat waves everywhere in the global north this week, so time for a thread on heat humanities research. Humanities scholars are exceptionally good at analyzing intersections of race, class, gender, and labor to highlight social vulnerabilities to meteorological disasters.

— Palliatively Speaking

Better Conversations, Better Care
Dr. Gretchen Schwarze + Dr. Amy Zelenski
How do we move beyond the “fix it” mindset in surgery? This convo dives into reframing consent, prognostic talk, & using improv to build empathy.
🔗 Listen now: bit.ly/3T3kQj0
#MedEd #Surgery #Ethics #ImprovInMedicine #MedHUm

Dr. Nicole Nelson joined @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social to discuss Model Behavior, exploring how scientists use mice to study complex human behaviors. A deep dive into uncertainty, genetics, and lab life. Listen now: bit.ly/4kwuUx3 #ScienceStudies #BehaviorGenetics #UWMadison

This fall, we welcome Dr. Sadie Bergen as a postdoc in Medical History & Bioethics! Her work on NICUs, reproductive health, and public health ethics brings fresh insight—and furthers the Wisconsin Idea. #UWPostdoc #WisconsinIdea #MedHist #MedicalHumanities #Ethics

For those who missed the spring semester Hot Topics in Public Health Symposium (With our very own Prof. Richard Keller), a recording with continuing education credit is now available: "Hot, Hot, Hot: Climate Change, Heat, and Health" bit.ly/3ZgNa4Y #ClimateChange #PublicHealth #MedicalHistory

1 spot just became available, join @chasmuwmad.bsky.social at @chazenartuw.bsky.social tonight from 5-7pm! #MedHum bit.ly/4kpIgL1

Happy to support @chasmuwmad.bsky.social for this event! #MedHum #OnWisconsin #BuildingCommunity #WisconsinIdea

Quarterly - Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association Quarterly is the alumni magazine for the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, published four times a year by WMAA.

📰 A new Quarterly is out with a spotlight on SMPH's Paths of Distinction. In MHB, we’re proud to sponsor the Bioethics PoD — giving students space to explore the ethical challenges at the heart of medicine and public health. #MedEd #Bioethics #SMPH bit.ly/4j6Ka2g #OnWisconsin

YouTube video by UW School of Medicine and Public Health Dr. Nita Ahuja joins the UW School of Medicine and Public Health as dean

We warmly welcome Dr. Nita Ahuja as the new Dean of #SMPH! We look forward to the future of SMPH under her leadership and can’t wait to explore new connections and ideas in Medical History and Bioethics together. #MedHum #Bioethics youtu.be/zDMF0OR4bNo?...

It's not even #summer, but we are already thinking about fall. Check out our #Fall2025 course offerings here: bit.ly/438bSFH #Undergrads, #Grads, #MedEd, we have you covered!

Alt text: Five people stand smiling in front of a University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health backdrop. From left to right: a man in glasses and a checked shirt, a woman in a floral dress, a smiling man with a name tag, a woman in a white top and red floral skirt, and a woman in a black dress with colorful embroidery. To the far right is a life-size cutout of Bucky Badger, the university mascot.

Congrats to our recent POD-B grads! 🎉 Pictured: Alexandra Center, Yusuf Mohamoud, Brittany Russell, and faculty Dr. Kelleher and Dr. Kreitmair. Wishing you all the best in your next chapter! #OnWisconsin @uwmadison.bsky.social

Congrats to this years cohort of the Path of Distinction in Bioethics!

🎓👏 Alexandra Center, Bethany Erb, Cuong Phuoc Luu, Yusuf Mohamoud & Brittany Russell 🎓👏

You’ve set the bar for excellence in ethical leadership in medicine. The future is brighter because of you. #OnWisconsin #UWGrad

Image of a heart, a biker is on the heart, as well as a person dangling, and a ladder leaning on it with a person climbing the ladder. Dozens of collaged words surround the heart.

Brittany Russell, a visual artist & POD Bioethics student, has had her collage selected for the Spring 2025 issue of Corpus Callosum. Her piece, titled The […] and Science of Medicine, explores the complexity and juxtaposition of the emotional experiences physicians navigate. bit.ly/4jHhnCc #MedHum

Congrats to Prof. Dana Landress on a successful First Book Workshop! Her forthcoming book explores the history of pellagra and its public health impact in the early 20th c. South. Thanks to all who joined and shared insights! @uchicagopress.bsky.social #MedHum #History

Chancellor Mnookin: End-of-semester federal updates In many ways, this feels like any other spring semester. Temperatures are warming, graduates are snapping photos on Bascom Hill and across campus, and there was a great celebration at Memorial Union o

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin (@uwchancellor.bsky.social) provides details on recent federal developments concerning international students, research funding and more, and the variety of ways that UW–Madison is responding.

a car is parked in front of a residential street with a rainbow in the sky above it ALT: a car is parked in front of a residential street with a rainbow in the sky above it

Still thinking about that wild #Spring hail storm in Southern #Wisconsin? 🌪️ Come to Hot!Hot!Hot! Join our #Chair @richardckeller.bsky.social TODAY at 5:30pm in 1335 #HSLC to learn how climate change and heat are shaping our health. 🔥🌍 #ClimateChange #PublicHealth Also online: bit.ly/3F7hBU8

Hot Topics in Public Health — A Symposium Series Bringing together experts and our community to focus on a critical public health topics

🔥 Just a week away - register today! Join our Faculty & Chair Richard Keller and a slate of other #SMPH Faculty for Hot, Hot, Hot: Climate Change, Heat, and Health on April 22, 2025, starting at 5:30pm (Hybrid). 🔥 bit.ly/3F7hBU8 #Accreditation

A graphic that reads "Integrative Health Grand Rounds; Food is Medicine: Indigenous Foodways in Wisconsin; Michaela Frey, MD; May 7" over an image of corn and squash.

The next Integrative Health Grand Rounds will be May 7, featuring a presentation by Michaela Frey, MD, titled, "Food Is Medicine: Indigenous Foodways in Wisconsin." Find more info and a link to join here: buff.ly/xq3f3Lh

🎉 A huge congratulations to Gordy Thompson, winner of the 2025 Dr. Norman Fost Award for the Best Medical Student Bioethics Essay! 🏆
Gordy's outstanding essay, "Implications of a Mandatory Hepatitis B Vaccination Requirement at UW–Madison," can be read now on our website! bit.ly/4cmKBU8