Faculty
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics; Chair of the University of Miami/Holtz Children's Hospital Pediatric Bioethics Committee at Jackson Memorial Hospital
Dr. Alladin is an attending physician in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care and practices primarily in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. She previously served as an attending physician in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. She is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in General Pediatrics (2013). Pediatric Critical Care (2016), and Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2020). Read Full Bio »
Director, Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs, Maternal Child Health Bureau, U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration; Director, Population Health Ethics; Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Dr. Brosco is a clinician-educator who contributes to science by translating evidence-based clinical and organizational practice into ethically optimized public policy. Read Full Bio »
Director, Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy; Director, UM Ethics Programs
Kenneth W. Goodman, PhD, FACMI, FACE, is founder and director of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy and director of the university’s Ethics Programs. The Institute has been designated a World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Ethics and Global Health Policy, one of 13 in the world and the only one in the United States. Dr. Goodman is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Miami with appointments Read Full Bio »
Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Advanced Practice Providers, UHealth System
Dr. Houghton is the Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Advanced Practice Providers for the UHealth system, where he has leadership of more than 600 nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurse anesthetists. He was a member of the Jackson Health System Ethics Service for close to 20 years prior to joining UHealth in 2023. Read Full Bio »
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine; Medical Director of Institute of Bioethics and Health Policy; Medical Director of Ambulatory Palliative Medicine
Michael Huber MD, MS, HEC-C is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee at UHealth / University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Read Full Bio »
Director, Global Bioethics
Dr. Litewka completed his medical degree at the University of Buenos Aires and his master’s in public health at the University of El Salvador, also in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a faculty member in the UM Department of Surgery and the director of global bioethics at the University of Miami Institute of Bioethics, a World Health Organization (WHO) on Ethics and Health Policies. Read Full Bio »
Distinguished Research Scholar
Dr. Eric Meslin’s 35-year long career spans clinical, academic, government and not-for profit settings, the common thread running through his career is a focus on ethical, social and policy implications of health, science, and technology with a particular expertise in genomics, global health, science policy and human research. In 2023, Dr. Meslin stepped down after 8 years as President and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies, a not-for-profit organization conducting assessments Read Full Bio»
Faculty Affiliates
Visiting Scholar
Roberto Cañete Villafranca, MD, MS, PhD, is a titular member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, director of the Matanzas Council of Scientific Societies of Health as well as senior researcher and professor of parasitology and bioethics at the University of Medical Sciences in Matanzas, Cuba. He is Vice-President of the Cuban Society of Microbiology and Parasitology in Havana, President of the Cathedra of Bioethics in Matanzas, and Invited Faculty of the Caribbean Research Read Full Bio »
Director, Business Ethics Program; Co-Director, UM Ethics Programs (Retired)
Anita Cava is Professor of Business Law in the UM School of Business. Professor Cava’s research interests are the legal and ethical aspects of health administration as well as corporate/community engagement and business ethics. As part of the Legal, Ethical and Social Implications (ELSI) Workgroup at UM, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Project Health Design, she addressed Read Full Bio »
Professor, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Dr. Thomas H. Champney earned his PhD in Biomedical Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1984. His research investigated the role of the pineal gland and its hormone melatonin on integrative physiology. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Delaware investigating reproductive physiology and then accepted a faculty position at Texas A&M University’s College of Medicine. He spent 18 years at Texas A&M Read Full Bio »
Distinguished Visiting Scholar
Tracey L. Cohen is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Bioethics & Health Policy. As a healthcare attorney, Ms. Cohen has represented national and Florida healthcare systems in regulatory compliance, peer-review, transactional and litigation matters. She also has practiced as an intellectual property Read Full Bio »
Emeritus Director, Clinical Ethics Program (Retired)
Dr. de Velasco, Voluntary Associate Professor of Medicine, received his medical degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. After his medical internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital he joined the Indian Division of the Public Health Service where he served as a medical officer in the Zuni and Navajo reservations for two years. Returning to Miami, he completed his internal medicine Read Full Bio »
Health Policy Advocate (Retired)
Dr. Ann-Lynn Denker is a nurse educator, researcher, nursing consultant and health policy expert. Dr. Denker has extensive experience in clinical practice, education and research including roles of pediatric clinical nurse specialist, director of research, (IRB) human subjects, privacy and clinical electronic systems. She currently teaches graduate students at the Barry University School of Nursing. She has served as the director of the Florida Action Coalition (Future of Nursing) statewide Read Full Bio »
Special Ethics Initiatives
Dr. Robin Fiore joined the University of Miami Ethics Programs in 2010 and went on voluntary status in 2015. Formerly, she was Adelaide R. Snyder Professor of Ethics and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida. While at FAU, she served as Senior Assistant Vice President for Research Ethics (2006-2008) and as Special Assistant to the Dean of Arts and Letters for Read Full Bio »
Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery and of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Dr. França is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She did a fellowship in General Dermatology in UM’s Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery (2011), an observership in Cosmetic Medicine in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology & Facial Plastic Surgery Read Full Bio »
Professor, Educator; Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
WayWay M. Hlaing, MBBS, MS, PhD, FACE, is a Professor of epidemiology in the division of Epidemiology and Population Health Sciences in the Department of Public Health Sciences (DPHS) at the Miller School of Medicine (MSOM) with appointment as a faculty affiliate in the Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy. Dr. Hlaing is an educator, researcher... Read Full Bio»
Distinguished Visiting Scholar
Dr. Cathy Purvis Lively’s professional and educational background combines healthcare, law, and ethics. In healthcare she has experience as a critical care nurse in adult and neonatal intensive care, case management, and as a program director. As an attorney her practice has been in family law and mediation. She is a member of bar committees, including the Florida Bar Journal/News Editorial Board... Read Full Bio»
Ethics Consultant (Retired)
Dr. Stephen Olvey is an associate professor of clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is vice chair of the University of Miami Hospitals and Clinics Ethics Committee and the Jackson Health System Adult Ethics Committee. He served as the Director of the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital for 25 years. He remains active in motor sports as a member of the Fédération Read Full Bio »
Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences Chief, Division Reproductive Endocrinology, and Infertility University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
Dr. Pasquale Patrizio is a board-certified specialist in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Andrology. He holds a Master in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania (2003). He is currently Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Chief, Division Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Miami, Miller School of Read Full Bio »
Psychiatrist, ethicist, author, corporate leader and digital health expert
Dr. Vasiliu-Feltes is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatry Association. She has a longstanding interest in bioethics. She holds bioethics certifications from Harvard University and the National Institute f Health, is an Advisory Partner at Virtue Consultants, Read Full Bio»
Health Policy Advocate
Dr. Vizcarrondo attended Temple University Medical School in Philadelphia and received a masters degree, in bioethics from Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL. He completed a residency in pediatrics at University Hospital, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, and sub-specialty training in pediatric cardiology at University Hospital, Puerto Rico, and Kings County Read Full Bio»
In Memoriam
Scientist, mentor, leader
Richard Bookman, a longtime supporter of the Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, exemplary mentor and unparalleled contributor to the intellectual life of the University of Miami, has died. Richard was smart without hubris and encouraging without pause. His interest in health information technology and the ethical issues it raises contributed to an environment that made UM Read more »
Co-founder of U.S. hospital ethics rounds
Dr. Donald M. Buckner, a pediatric surgeon described by a colleague as having saved more babies than anyone in the history of civilization, died on July 21. He was 86.
Dr. Buckner practiced at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital from 1973 until his retirement in 2014. In addition to 40 years of surgical practice, he was a pioneer in introducing medical ethics into teaching Read more »
Co-Founder, CITI Program
Dr. Paul Braunschweiger, Professor Emeritus at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where he co-founded the international CITI Program in research ethics education, died May 19, 2024. Dr. Braunschweiger was a successful basic cancer researcher. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Buffalo. After spending time at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and at AMC Cancer Center in Denver, he came to the University of Miami in 1990 Read more »
One of the founders of the field of bioethics in the United States.
“Chuck,” as he was known, and his longtime friend and collaborator Prof. Bernard Gert, helped establish the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center Ethics program in the mid-1970s and, later, the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Ethics Committee, one of the first in the country. It has been described as one of the country’s first fully operational ethics committees. Dr. Culver was the committee’s first chair, succeeded by Dr. James Bernat, the Dartmouth neurologist. Drs. Culver and Gert, along with Prof. K. Danner Clouser, Dr. Bill Nelson and and Dr. Bernat, did much Read more »
An early supporter of and advocate for UM's Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy.
Dr. Lawrence M. Fishman, an early supporter of and advocate for UM’s Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, died on January 27, 2021. He was 87. Dr. Fishman, trained as an endocrinologist, helped build the research program at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Miami. Indeed, the ethics institute’s Read more »
Medical Director Emeritus
Mervin H. Needell, MD, MA, who served as the UM Bioethics Programs’ first Medical Director, died October 24, 2014. He was 90. Dr. Needell was present at the UM Bioethics Program’s founding and participated in its earliest activities. He helped introduce bioethics into third-year medical clerkships and ethics rounds in the Department of Family Medicine. He also taught bioethics at Barry University and at Nova Southeastern University from 1991 to 2000. He was uncompromising in his conviction that the improvement of critical thinking skills was essential Read more »
Founder, Health and Human Values Programs
J. Phillip Pennell, 68, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Medical Director at the University of Miami dialysis unit, died September 27, 2007, at home in Coconut Grove. Dr. Pennell, while caring for dialysis patients, was a medical educator and researcher. He enjoyed teaching, and focused on bioethics. He was a leader in introducing ethics into medical school curricula in Florida. He founded and directed UM's former Read more »
Educator, Rhetorician
Dr. Prineas, a longstanding friend of and collaborator with the UM Ethics Programs, died January 30, 2010, in Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Prineas was the elder daughter of Mr. Winsleigh Swynny and Gladys (June) Swynny (nee Johns). She is survived by her beloved sister, Yolande Oakley of Malacoota, Australia; a brother, Phillip Swynny of Sydney, Australia; her husband of 49 years, Dr. Ronald Prineas, Professor Read more »
Co-Founder, "Therapeutic Jurisprudence"
Bruce Winick was a Professor of Law and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He died Aug. 26, 2010. The co-founder of the school of social enquiry known as therapeutic jurisprudence, Winick was Director of the University of Miami School of Law Therapeutic Jurisprudence Center. He was the first the recipient of the Read more »
