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Thomas A. Pitts Memorial Lectureship

Thomas Antley Pitts, II, M.D. (1893-1991) served as a member of the Board of the Medical University of South Carolina for thirty-six years and served as its chairman for twenty-five of those years. He left a substantial bequest to the Medical University of South Carolina to endow "a series of lectures on medical ethics." The series has become known as the Pitts Memorial Lectureship, and has been held annually since 1993.

The Thomas A. Pitts Memorial Lectureship is supported by the MUSC Foundation.

Additional Information

Any question about this conference or the Institute of Human Values in Health Care should be directed to Grant Goodrich, Ph.D., at goodricg@musc.edu or 843-792-9652, or to Dana J. Zeelsdorf at zeelsdor@musc.edu.

Upcoming Lectureships

The 31st Annual Thomas A. Pitts Memorial Lectureship: "Disability and Ethics" will take place on April 11, 2025. The event will be held in person and online; in-person limited to 70 people. In-person session will take place at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital at 10 McClennan Banks Drive, Room 7010, Charleston SC 29425.

Previous Lectureships

View recordings, programs, and other information about past lectureships.

Date: April 12, 2024

Topic: The Ethics of Precision Medicine (Program)

Session 1: Justice and Responsibility (video)

Session 2: Precision Medicine, Privacy, and Informed Consent (video)

Session 3: Ethics and Nanomedicine (video)

Session 4: AI and Precision Medicine with Question and Answer session (video)

Date: April 7, 2023

Topic: The Ethics of Organ Transplantation (Program)

  • Keynote and Session I Video
    • Keynote: Panel on the Experience of Donation
    • Session I: The Ethics of Transplantation Research
  • Session II and III Video
    • Session II: It's Time to Abandon the Dead Donor Rule
    • Session III: The UAGA & Objections to Donation
  • Session IV: Social Determinants & Barriers to Transplant (Video)

Date: April 8, 2022

Topic: Gun Violence & Public Health (Program)

  • Keynote: Panel on the Effects of Gun Violence (Video)
  • Session I: Gun Violence, Policy and Public Health (Video)
  • Session II: Debating the Boundaries of the 2nd Amendment (Video)
  • Session III: Breaking the Cycle: Interventions for Stopping Gun Violence (Video)

Date: February 19, 2021

Date: April 4, 2019

Topic: Opioid Controversies: The Crisis - Causes and Solutions

Speakers

  • Richard C. Ausness, JD, LLM
  • Paul J. Christo, M.D., MBA
  • Rebecca L. Haffajee, JD, Ph.D., MPH
  • Stefan Kertesz, M.D., MSc
  • Richard S. Larson, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Robert Malcolm, M.D.
  • Jacob Sullum
  • Arthur R. Williams, M.D., MA

Date: April 4, 2019

Topic: Opioid Controversies: The Crisis - Causes and Solutions

Speakers

  • Richard C. Ausness, JD, LLM
  • Paul J. Christo, M.D., MBA
  • Rebecca L. Haffajee, JD, Ph.D., MPH
  • Stefan Kertesz, M.D., MSc
  • Richard S. Larson, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Robert Malcolm, M.D.
  • Jacob Sullum
  • Arthur R. Williams, M.D., MA

Date: April 6, 2017

Topic: Perspectives of Alzheimer's Disease: Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues

Speakers

  • Jonathan Haines, Ph.D.
  • Mary W. Sheldon, M.D.
  • Jacobo Mintzer, M.D.
  • Annette Leibing, Ph.D.
  • Robert H. Blank, Ph.D.
  • Dena Davis, J.D., Ph.D.
  • Elaine Amella, Ph.D.
  • Jason Karlawish, M.D.
  • Elinor Fuches, Ph.D.

Date: April 8, 2016

Topic: Controversies in Clinical Research Ethics

Speakers

  • Mark Cherry, Ph.D.
  • Susan Ellenberg, Ph.D., MA
  • John Lantos, M.D.
  • Margaret R. Moon, M.D., MPH
  • Robert Nussbaum, M.D.
  • Rosamond Rhodes, Ph.D.
  • Lowell E. Schnipper, M.D.
  • Udo Schuklenk, Ph.D.
  • Robert Schwartz, J.D.eadRpage@d
  • Lois Shepherd, J.D.
  • Susan M. Wolf, J.D.
  • Mark Yarborough, Ph.D.

Date: October 18, 2013

Topic: Ethical and Legal Issues in Pediatrics

Speakers

  • Melissa Wasserstein, M.D.
  • Norman Fost, M.D., MPH
  • Stan L. Block, M.D.
  • Douglas Diekema, M.D., MPH
  • Michael T. Brady, M.D.
  • J. Steven Svoboda, J.D.
  • Minoo Kavarana, M.D.
  • Eric Graham, M.D.

Date: October 26, 2012

Topic: Brain Science in the 21st Century: Clinical Controversies and Ethical Implications

Speakers

  • Jonathan Edwards, M.D.
  • Joe DeLamielleure
  • Robert Adams, M.D.
  • Wally Smith, M.D.
  • Ronald Acierno, Ph.D.
  • Mark Hamner, M.D.
  • Peter Tuerk, Ph.D.
  • Nicholas Avgeropoulos, M.D.
  • Michael K. Gusmano, Ph.D.

Date: October 28, 2011

Topic: The Health Care Reform Law (PPACA): Controversies in Ethics and Policy

Speakers

  • Allan Brett, M.D.
  • John Geyman, M.D.
  • Ronald Hamowy, Ph.D.
  • Paul T. Menzel, Ph.D.
  • Robert Moffitt, Ph.D.
  • Len Nichols, Ph.D.
  • James Taylor, Ph.D.
  • Griffin Trotter, M.D., Ph.D.

Date: October 29, 2010

Topic: From Laboratory to Bedside: Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in Translational Research

Speakers

  • Mark Bernstein, M.D.
  • Benjamin Djulbegovic, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Scott D. Halpern, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Gail E. Henderson, Ph.D.
  • Charles W. Lidz, Ph.D.
  • Franklin G. Miller, Ph.D.
  • Nathan Nobis, Ph.D.
  • Dario Ringach, Ph.D.

Date: October 30, 2009

Topic: The Graying of America: Challenges and Controversies

Speakers

  • Daniel Callahan, Ph.D.
  • P. Dilworth-Anderson, Ph.D.
  • Muriel Gillick, M.D.
  • David A. Gruenewald, M.D.
  • Yale Kamisar, J.D.
  • William F. May, Ph.D.
  • Thomas P. Miller, J.D.
  • Timothy E. Quill, M.D.

Date: September 5, 2008

Topic: Conundrums & Controversies in Mental Health and Illness

Speakers

  • Raymond F. Anton, M.D.
  • Joseph D. Bloom, M.D.
  • Mark J. Cherry, Ph.D.
  • M. Carmela Epright, Ph.D.
  • Rikki Lynn Halavonich, M.D.
  • Robert Kinscherff, Ph.D., J.D.
  • Robert L.M. Phillips, M.D.
  • Jeffrey A. Schaler, Ph.D.
  • Howard V. Zonana, M.D.

Date: September 8, 2007

Topic: Dangerous Liaisons? Industry Relations with Health Professionals

Speakers

  • Paul Anthony, M.D., MPH
  • Howard Brody, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Sigrid Fry-Revere, J.D., Ph.D.
  • Harry B. Greenberg, M.D.
  • Peter Lurie, M.D., MPH
  • Bruce W. Lytle, M.D.
  • Paul H. Rubin, Ph.D.
  • Lance K. Stell, Ph.D.
  • Matthew Wynia, M.D. MPH

Date: September 8, 2006

Topic: Religions & Cultures of East and West Perspectives on Bioethics

Speakers

  • Shahid Athar, M.D.
  • S. Cromwell Crawford, Ph.D.
  • Russell Kirkland, Ph.D.
  • William LaFleur, Ph.D.
  • Andrew Lustig, Ph.D.
  • Laurie Zoloth, Ph.D.

Date: September 9, 2005

Topic: Reflection on Emerging Technologies at the Centennial of Organ Transplantation

Speakers

  • Troyen A. Brennan, M.D.
  • H.T. Engelhardt, Ph.D., M.D.
  • Gary Francoine, J.D.
  • Albert Jonsen, Ph.D.
  • Edwin Locke, Ph.D.
  • Carlo Montemagno, Ph.D.
  • Robert M. Sade, M.D.
  • Monique Spillman, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Robert Truog, M.D.

Date: September 10, 2004

Topic: Defining the Beginning and the End of Human Life: Implications for Ethics, Policy and Law

Speakers

  • James L. Bernat, M.D.
  • David DeGrazia, Ph.D.
  • George Khushf, Ph.D.
  • Donald Marquis, Ph.D.
  • William F. May, Ph.D.
  • Jeff McMahan, Ph.D.
  • Lynn M. Morgan, Ph.D.
  • Bonnie Steinbock, Ph.D.

Date: September 19, 2003

Topic: When People Attack People: Ethics Law and Policy of Violence

Speakers

  • Lillian R. BeVier, J.D.
  • Dean Kilpatrick, Ph.D.
  • Stephen Morse, J.D., Ph.D.
  • Lance Stell, Ph.D.
  • Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D.
  • Frans de Waal, Ph.D.
  • David Wasserman, J.D.
  • Franklin E. Zimring, J.D.

Date: September 13, 2002

Topic: Alternative Medical Systems: Here to Stay But on What Terms?

Speakers

  • Kathleen Boozang, J.D., LLD
  • Ruiping Fan, Ph.D.
  • Randall Holcombe, Ph.D.
  • Henry L. Miller, M.D.
  • E. Haavi Morreim, Ph.D.
  • Gary Nestler, DA, DOM
  • Kenneth Pelletier, Ph.D.
  • Stephen Schabel, M.D.
  • Lawrence Schneiderman, M.D.
  • Jeremy Sugarman, M.D.

Date: September 14, 2001

Topic: HIV/AIDS as an Epidemic: Ethical Issues at the 20th Anniversary

Speakers

  • Donald Ainslie, Ph.D.
  • Ronald Bayer, Ph.D.
  • Charles S. Bryan, M.D.
  • Lawrence O. Gostin, J.D.
  • David Kelley, Ph.D.
  • Jan F. Narveson, Ph.D.
  • Samuel H. Nelson, Ph.D.
  • Stephen B. Thomas, Ph.D.

Date: September 15, 2000

Topic: Power Over Information, Power to Decide: Paternalism and Autonomy in Health Care

Speakers

  • Ronald Bailey
  • H.T. Engelhardt, Ph.D., M.D.
  • Lawrence Gostin, J.D.
  • Sherman A. James, Ph.D.
  • Karen Labacqz, Ph.D.
  • David J. Rothman, Ph.D.
  • Alfred I. Tauber, M.D.
  • Beverly Woodward, Ph.D.

Date: January 9, 1998

Topic: Revisiting the First Four Years Where are we Today?

Speakers

  • Stuart J. Youngner, M.D.
  • William Winslade, J.D., Ph.D.
  • E. Haavi Morrein, Ph.D.
  • Rosemary Tong, Ph.D.

Date: November 8, 1996

Topic: Women's Health Issues

Speakers

  • Eileen Hoffman, M.D.
  • Mary B. Mahowald, Ph.D.
  • Carol S. Weisman, Ph.D.

Date: November 17, 1995

Topic: Ethical Issues of Managed Care

Speakers

  • Louis L. Brunetti, M.D., J.D.
  • E. Haavi Morrein, Ph.D.
  • Daniel Sulmasty, M.D., Ph.D.

Date: November 18, 1994

Topic: Dying in America: Choices at the End of Life

Speakers

  • Daniel Callahan, Ph.D.
  • William Winslade, J.D., Ph.D.
  • Timothy Quill, M.D.
  • Mark Siegler, M.D.