Alan and Sybil Edelstein Professionalism and Ethics in Medicine Lecture

Alan & Sybil Edelstein Professionalism and Ethics in Medicine Lecture 2025

The Ethics of End of Life Care

On Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 6pm (ET) the 2025 virtual lecture took place, featuring the topic the Ethics of End-of-Life Care. 

Moderator:

David R. Edelstein, MD (CAMED’80)

Dr. David R. Edelstein is the Former Chief of Otolaryngology at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital (MEETH) and the former Chair of Otolaryngology at Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH). He is a clinical professor of otorhinolaryngology at Weill Cornell Medical College, and is nationally known for work in endoscopic sinus surgery, CT-guided nasal surgery, balloon sinuplasty, hearing loss, nasal polyps, and nasal aging. He is a past chair of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Otolaryngology (AAOHNS), the senior editor of Revision Surgery in Otolaryngology, and has won numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award from AAOHNS, the Practitioner of the Year from AAOHNS, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Boston University Avedisian & Chobanian School of Medicine (BUSM)  and from the Physician Attending Association of LHH, and several Patients’ Choice Awards. He has been included among the “Best Otolaryngologists in New York” by New York Magazine, “New York Super Doctors,” “America’s Top Doctors,” and “New York’s Most Compassionate Doctors” for many years. He also sits on the Deans Advisory Board at Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

Panelists:

Alan Carver, MD (CAMED’95) – Neurologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dr. Carver is an Attending Neurologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and an Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology at the Weil Cornell School of Medicine.  Dr. Carver advocates passionately for the Basic Human Right of patients to be cared for by health care providers whose skill set includes state of the science palliative medicine at all stages of illness.

After graduating from Harvard College and Boston University School of Medicine and following his Residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell and Fellowship at MSKCC, Dr. Carver earned dual Board Certification in Neurology and in Hospice & Palliative Medicine.

Dr. Carver joined his chief mentor, Dr. Kathleen Foley, in surveying members of The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) as to their attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge regarding end of life care (Neurology 1999; 53:2, 284-293).  As a result of this groundbreaking publication, they established a new course, Palliative Care in Neurology at the annual meeting of The American Academy of Neurology in 2001, initiating programs, seminars, annual meetings, publications, and more for neurologists and allied professionals on the principles and practice of palliative medicine.

In 2001, Drs. Carver & Foley were Co-Editors of the first-ever volume of Neurologic Clinics dedicated to Palliative Care.  This pioneering text defined best practice standards and evidence-based palliative care guidelines in several categories of neurologic disease.   The following year Dr. Carver was recruited to develop a Division of Pain Medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City.   Dr. Carver’s leadership skills, public speaking abilities, engaging teaching style, and sharp clinical acumen were duly noted.   In recognition of these attributes, he was invited to serve as Associate Dean of Admissions at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Dr. Carver returned to the Dept. of Neurology at MSKCC in 2010 to help develop essential palliative care competency standards in the care of patients with brain tumors and their families.  He has developed a clinical practice for patients with neurologic complications of cancer and its treatment, and trains others in excellence in communication among other elements of state of the art palliative and end of life care.

Co-Sponsored by Weill Cornell Medical College, The Salzburg Seminars, The Austrian-American Foundation, and George Soros’ Open Society Institute, Drs. Carver and Foley launched “Neurology, Neuro-Oncology, & Palliative Care,” in Salzburg, Austria, to improve the care of dying patients and those in the advanced stages of neurologic illness throughout Eastern Europe.  Neurologists, Nurse Practitioners, Palliative Care specialists, Internists, Surgeons, and others have since travelled to Salzburg to broaden their knowledge and learn how to become palliative care champions in their home countries.   Dr. Carver and his faculty have returned by invitation to Salzburg multiple times in recent years, most recently, and for the sixth time, in the Spring, 2024.

Dr. Carver was elected to the two-year position of Chairman of the Pain and Palliative Medicine Section of the American Academy of Neurology.   Dr. Carver is the two-time recipient of The Annual Weill Cornell Medical College Award for Excellence in Teaching, and is regularly listed among the “Best Doctors” in the United States.

Believing that the rights of the Disabled, the Dying, and the Elderly, among other vulnerable groups are threatened by the current national appetite for legalization of physician assisted suicide, Dr. Carver continues to devote much of his professional career to advocating on behalf of patients families struggling with the devastating impact of advanced cancer and other life limiting illnesses.  Such patients deserve to be cared for by providers whose skill sets extend far include basic competency in the art and science of palliative medicine.

Brandon Oddo (CAMED Student)– Co-founder of GRACE, current Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine medical student presently on leave from medical school for two years to pursue a master’s degree at Duke’s Theology, Medicine, and Culture Fellowship.

Shelly Rambo, PhD – Professor of Theology, Boston University School of Theology: “Meaning Making at the End of Life”

Dr. Rambo is Professor of Theology at Boston University School of Theology. Her research and teaching interests focus on religious responses to trauma and moral injury. She is author of two single-authors books Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining (Westminster John Knox, 2010), Resurrecting Wounds: Living in the Afterlife of Trauma (Baylor University Press, 2017), and recently completed a third (Sustaining Spirits on the Open Sea: Meaning Making from Sites of Care) which features the rich meaning-making work of contemporary chaplains in responding to collective trauma. Her work at the intersection of trauma and theology has led to partnership with chaplains and international educators in Northern Ireland, Norway, and Indonesia.

She is co-author, with sociologist Wendy Cadge, of a textbook now widely used to educate spiritual care providers, Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century: An Introduction (UNC Press, 2022). Inspired by the work of military chaplains, she was instrumental in designing Boston University School of Theology’s MDiv track in Chaplaincy. Her current grant project, Trauma-Responsive Congregations, focuses on supporting urban Christian congregational leaders responding to collective trauma. It is funded by Lilly Endowment and is a collaboration between scholars at BU School of Theology and the School of Medicine.

Beth Rooney Suereth (CAS’85) – Founder & Caregiving Partner, Caregiving Pathways

Beth earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University before beginning her career in health care marketing and communications. She later shifted her focus to family caregiving and served as a family caregiving consultant for the AARP Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. She now works as a care manager for Careforth in Yarmouth, where she continues to support caregivers and families. She is the founder and family caregiving partner of Caregiving Pathways, a consultancy dedicated to educating family caregivers on managing the caregiving journey and end-of-life planning. She has coached for certification programs, conducted peer reviews for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and developed educational content for multiple organizations.

Alan & Sybil Edelstein Professionalism and Ethics in Medicine Lecture 2024

Genetic Testing: Ethical Dilemmas

On Monday, March 25, 2024 at 6pm (ET) the 2024 virtual lecture took place, featuring the topic of Genetic Testing: Ethical Dilemmas.  The program featured a panel of Alumni and Faculty moderated by David R. Edelstein, MD ’80.  The lecture also included introductions by Marcia Edelstein Herrmann, MD ’78 and Greg Grillone MD.

Read the article about the 2024 Alan and Sybil Edelstein Professionalism and Ethics in Medicine Lecture on Genetic Testing.

Moderator:

David R. Edelstein, MD ’80: Chief of Otolaryngology at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital (MEETH)

Dr. David R. Edelstein is the Chief of Otolaryngology at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital (MEETH) and the former Chair of Otolaryngology at Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH). He is a clinical professor of otorhinolaryngology at Weill Cornell Medical College, and is nationally known for work in endoscopic sinus surgery, CT-guided nasal surgery, balloon sinuplasty, hearing loss, nasal polyps, and nasal aging. He is a past chair of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Otolaryngology (AAOHNS), the senior editor of Revision Surgery in Otolaryngology, and has won numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award from AAOHNS, the Practitioner of the Year from AAOHNS, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Boston University Avedisian & Chobanian School of Medicine (BUSM)  and from the Physician Attending Association of LHH, and several Patients’ Choice Awards. He has been included among the “Best Otolaryngologists in New York” by New York Magazine, “New York Super Doctors,” “America’s Top Doctors,” and “New York’s Most Compassionate Doctors” for many years. He also sits on the Deans Advisory Board at Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

2024 Panelists:

Jodi Hoffman, MD: Chief of Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Speaking Topic: The Ethics of Genetic Testing

Dr. Hoffman graduated from Harvard University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She did her residency in Pediatrics at Yale Children’s Hospital and was a Fellow in Medical Genetics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia/Hospital of the Univ. of PA. She is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University, Chief of the Division of Genetics, Chair of the BUMC Genetics Oversight Committee, Medical Director of the BU Genetic Counseling Master’s Degree Program and Chair of the BUMG Work-Life Harmony group. She served 9 years on the Tufts Medical Center Ethics Committee. She is currently the Vice Chair of the Program Committee for the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and previously chaired the ACMG Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues Committee.

Margaret A. Kenna, MD, MPH ’79: Sarah Fuller Chair for Hearing Loss and Hearing Restoration, Director of Clinical Research, Dept. of Otolaryngology and Communication Enhancement at Boston Children’s Hospital; Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School

Speaking Topic: From Conception to College: Genetic Diagnosis of Pediatric Hearing Loss

Dr. Kenna received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her MD from Boston University School of Medicine. She completed a residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine). She completed a Master’s in Public Health degree (MPH) in the area of Clinical Effectiveness at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2005.

Before coming to Boston Children’s, Dr. Kenna was on the academic faculty at Children’s Hospital Pittsburgh and Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Kenna has been a member of the Pediatric Otolaryngology faculty at Boston Children’s Hospital since 1995. She co-founded the Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program, and was its Director from 1995-2003. Since 2003, she has been the Director of Clinical Research in the Dept. of Otolaryngology, Boston Children’s Hospital, and is Director of the Hearing Loss Program.

Dr. Kenna’s early research focused on otitis media, and she and her group published several articles demonstrating that chronic suppurative otitis media could be managed medically, rather than surgically, changing the standard of care. Over the past 2 decades, she has focused on the causes of pediatric hearing loss, including genetics, congenital cytomegalovirus, structural anomalies of the temporal bone, and hearing loss secondary to ototoxicity in patients with Cystic Fibrosis. She is a long-standing member of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Committee of the MA Dept. of Public Health, and is a founding member of the Harvard Medical School Center for Hereditary Deafness, the MA Coalition for Congenital CMV, and of the American Society for Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO).

Daniel Faden, MD, FACS ’11: Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School; Head and Neck Surgeon, Mass. Eye and Ear

Speaking Topic: Current role of Genetic Testing and Personalized Medicine in Head and Neck Cancer

Daniel Faden MD, FACS, is a head and neck surgical oncologist and scientist in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School. After completing medical school he was a Howard Hughes Research Scholar in the National Human Genome Research Institute studying cancer genomics. He then completed residency training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UCSF where he was embedded in the laboratory of HHMI Investigator Joe DeRisi studying viral oncogenesis. He completed three fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh in head and neck surgical oncology, in cranial base surgery, and a T32 research fellowship in the laboratory of Robert Ferris, MD PhD. In 2018 he returned to Boston where he is an attending surgeon in the division of head and neck surgical oncology at Mass Eye and Ear and Mass General Hospital and an associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The Faden lab is a translational research laboratory focused on head and neck cancer biomarker discovery. The lab is currently funded by three NIH grants, as well industry and foundation awards, to utilize tissue and blood-based approaches for studying head and neck cancer genomics with a focus on development of liquid biopsies for detecting, diagnosing, and monitoring HPV-associated cancers.

Erica Holland, MD: Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine; Interim Director, Division of Maternal and Fetal Medicine, Boston Medical Center

Speaking Topic: Prenatal genetic testing: ethical questions and challenges

Erica Holland, MD is the Interim Division Director for Maternal and Fetal Medicine at Boston Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine. She received her BA from Cornell University and her MD from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She completed a Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology from Boston University/Boston Medical Center, a Fellowship in Maternal and Fetal Medicine from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a Fellowship in Bioethics from the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School. She was recently awarded funding through the Greenwall Foundation to study the ethics issues surrounding urine drug testing of pregnant patients. She is a member of the ethics committee at Boston Medical Center and is currently serving on the national ethics committee for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Wendy Kuohung, MD: Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Boston Medical Center; Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Speaking Topic: Ethical Dilemmas in Preimplantation Genetic Testing

Wendy Kuohung, MD is the Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Boston Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. Kuohung received her medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine and has been in practice for over 20 years. She completed her residency in OB/GYN at BMC and fellowship training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is an expert in treating infertility, in vitro fertilization, fertility preservation, menstrual disorders, fibroids, endometriosis, mullerian anomalies, and minimally invasive and robotic gynecologic surgery. Her research interests lie in disparities in reproductive care, placental and reproductive tract development, and the microbiome of the reproductive tract.

Kathleen Swenson, MS, MPH, CGC: Director of the Master’s Program in Genetic Counseling and Clinical Associate Professor of Medical Sciences & Education, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine

Speaking Topic: The Value of Genetic Counselors for Patients and Providers

Kathleen received an MS in Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College, and an MPH from Columbia University focusing on Population and Family Health. Kathleen’s contributions to the genetic counseling profession include a range from clinical care across many specialties (reproductive care, pediatrics, neurology, and cancer) in New York City and Boston. She led advocacy work at the national level with the Children’s Tumor Foundation and at the community level with the Dominican Women’s Development Center. She collaborated with industry to develop an online genetic counseling platform, which broadened access to genetic counseling services nationally. She is currently active on committees for the National Society of Genetic Counselors and the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling. She is former President of the New England Regional Genetics Group and is a current member of the Executive Committee for the Genetic Counselor Educators Association. Kathleen is passionate about teaching the next generation of genetic counselors. She was recognized as the 2019 Graduate Medical Sciences Educator of the Year and for Outstanding Mentorship in 2021. She will complete her EdD doctorate in 2024.

Alan & Sybil Edelstein Professionalism and Ethics in Medicine Lecture: The Ethical Challenges of the COVID Crisis

Wednesday, November 30, 2022 for the 2022 virtual lecture took place, with the topic of The Ethical Challenges of the COVID Crisis.  The program featured a panel of BUMC Faculty & Residents moderated by David R. Edelstein, MD ’80.  The lecture also included introductions by Marcia Edelstein Herrmann, MD ’78, Greg Grillone MD, and Ken Grundfast MD.

2022 Panelists:

Ravin Davidoff, MBBCh, FACC, FAHA, FASE: Executive Medical Director, Boston Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Dr. Davidoff grew up in South Africa and went to the University of Witwatersrand Medical School. He was a resident and chief resident in Internal Medicine at Boston City Hospital between 1981 and 1985 and completed a cardiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1988.

He returned to University Hospital in 1990 and is a Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

In July of 2008 he assumed the role of Chief Medical Officer and is Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs at Boston Medical Center. He served for over 10 years as Associate Editor of the Journal Circulation and Senior Associate Editor for Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. He is the author of over 100 original articles and book chapters. Dr Davidoff has received numerous teaching awards including the Excellence in Teaching Award in Medicine at University Hospital/Boston Medical Center in 1992, 1996, 2003 and 2006 as well as the Stanley L Robbins Excellence in Teaching Award from Boston University School of Medicine in 1994.

Michael Ieong, MD: Medical Director Medical Intensive Care Units and Co-Chair Ethics Committee and Critical Care, Boston Medical Center; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Michael Ieong is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep, and Critical Care Medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and faculty in the Center of Bioethics at Harvard Medical School.  He is the medical director for the Medical Intensive Care Unit and director of the ethics consult service at Boston Medical Center (BMC).  In his roles as co-chair of the Critical Care Executive Committee and co-chair of the Ethics Committee at BMC he was at the nexus of the rapidly evolving clinical and ethical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in March 2020 and throughout much of 2021.  As part of a multi-team effort, he helped launch and collaborated in BMC’s efforts to establish their Crisis of Standards Protocol in addition to helping develop guiding ethical principles hospital leaders could employ as difficult decisions over limited resources began to rapidly surface.  He was also a member of the Region 4 group of ICU directors and other city-wide clinical leaders that, with State support, met near daily to effectively coordinate ICU capacity and the sharing of resources among the Boston-metro academic medical centers (AMCs).  He was also a member of the Harvard Ethics Leaders Group that met regularly throughout the pandemic to assess and address pandemic-related ethical concerns.  His research interests are in healthcare ethics consultation and ICU process implementation and outcomes.

Jessica Pisegna, PhD: Section Chief of Speech Language Pathology, Boston Medical Center; Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Dr. Jessica M. Pisegna, PhD, MS-CCC-CLP, MEd received her doctoral degree in 2016 from Boston University: Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She is an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology Head-Neck Surgery at Boston University and is a clinical Speech Pathologist at Boston Medical Center, where she is also the Director of the Voice and Swallowing Center and Section Chief of the Speech Pathology services. Her doctoral work propelled her to researching adult voice and swallowing disorders, which has been a passion of hers. In the world of medical speech language pathology, she particularly enjoys the detective-like skills required to figure out why someone may have trouble voicing, swallowing, or breathing. She specializes in rehabilitating adults with swallowing disorders caused from stroke, head/neck cancer, trauma, and other diseases or disabilities. Her clinical work and research goals aim to improve diagnosis of swallowing disorders to improve diagnosis and recovery time.

David Hamer, MD: Professor of Medicine, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine; Professor of Global Health, Boston University Schools of Public Health

Davidson Hamer, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FASTMH, FISTM is a Professor of Global Health and Medicine at the Boston University School of Public Health and School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Dr. Hamer, a board-certified specialist in infectious diseases with a particular interest in tropical infectious diseases, has extensive field experience in neonatal and child survival research including studies of micronutrient interventions, maternal and neonatal health, malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases. During the last 20+ years, he has supervised and provided technical support to more than 50 studies in developing countries that evaluated interventions for improving neonatal survival, improving access for pregnant women to emergency obstetrical care, treatment and prevention of malaria, HIV/AIDS, micronutrient deficiencies, diarrheal disease, and pneumonia. Dr. Hamer received a MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and a BA in biology and French from Amherst College. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and the International Society of Travel Medicine.

Dr. Hamer currently has active projects in Bangladesh, Zambia, South Africa, and the United States. Major current projects include neonatal sepsis prevention using prebiotics and probiotics in Bangladesh; using community health workers to improve early childhood development in rural South Africa, antiretroviral adherence among congenitally infected HIV-positive children in Lusaka, Zambia; and a scaled-up evaluation of community-based mothers’ groups for improving early child development in rural Zambia. In addition, Dr. Hamer is the PI for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network, a global network of 70 sites in 31 countries that conducts surveillance of emerging infectious diseases using returning travelers, immigrants, and refugees as sentinels of infection (www.istm.org/geosentinel).

Jacob Bloom, MD: 4th year Resident, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Program, Boston University Medical Center

Jacob is a current 4th year resident in the Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery program at Boston University Medical Center. Prior to starting residency, he graduated from Albany Medical College in 2015, where he was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Before medical school, he graduated with honors from the University of Washington with a major in Neurobiology and a minor in Music. He spent two years participating in basic science murine research under Dr. Nino Ramirez at Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute. This work culminated in a publication in Nature regarding the physiology of unconscious breathing. Jacob grew up in Seattle, Washington, and enjoys writing and performing music. One of the albums he recorded was ranked as the #30 album of the year in 2015 by Rolling Stone Magazine. He lives in Boston, MA with his wife, Nicole, who is finishing her Internal Medicine residency at Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center.

Alan & Sybil Edelstein Professionalism and Ethics in Medicine Lecture: Professionalism and Patient Trust

November 24, 2020–The first lecture took place, with the topic of Professionalism and Patient Trust.  The program featured keynote speaker, Mark S. Persky, MD of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health.  Introductions by David R. Edelstein, MD ’80 and Marcia Edelstein Herrmann, MD ’78.