Consortium Introduction
The Consortium conducts original research, serves students and faculty, and advances public dialogue and understanding on emerging issues at the intersection of science and society.
Office closed & working remotely -- The Consortium on Law and Values, along with most of the University of Minnesota, is shifting to remote work for all staff beginning March 16. We will still be online and responding to phone and email, but may be slightly delayed in responding to messages. Thanks for your understanding and please take care of yourselves!
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Health Law, Ethics & Policy
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Environment, Agriculture & Food
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Emerging Technologies
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Public Health & Biosecurity
Latest News
Prof. Damien Fair Receives MacArthur Fellowship
October 12, 2020
Professor Damien Fair, Redleaf Endowed Director at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, has been selected for a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. Prof. Fair also has faculty appointments with the Institute of Child Development and Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. His research has advanced understanding of brain connectivity during development, and his work with atypical brain connectivity may eventually lead to more personalized treatment for common brain disorders like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Prof. Fair is a member of the working group for “Highly Portable and Cloud-Enabled Neuroimaging Research: Confronting Ethics Challenges in Field Research with New Populations,” a Consortium-based project that is supported by a $1.5 million NIH grant. Read more about Prof. Fair and his work on the MacArthur Foundation website.
Center for Bioethics to Host Lecture on Native American Health Care
September 30, 2020
The Center for Bioethics will host “The Ethics of Underfunding: Changing the Narrative about Native American Health Care,” a webinar featuring Dr. Mary Owen, Director of the Center of American Indian & Minority Health; Assistant Professor, Dept. of Family Medicine & Behavioral Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth. The lecture will be held on Friday, October 9 from 12:15 - 1:30 p.m. Dr. Owen will discuss the Trust Doctrine and U.S. government’s obligation to provide health care to Native Americans as well as the history and structure of the Indian Health Service. She will also focus on the long-term effects of chronic underfunding on the Indian Health Service and the impact of COVID-19 on Native American populations nationally and locally. This event is part of the Center for Bioethics 2020 Ethics Grand Rounds series. Find more information and register on the Center for Bioethics website.
Prof. Arturo Casadevall on the Debate Over Convalescent Plasma
September 25, 2020
Professor Arturo Casadevall, chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, authored a recent opinion article for the Wall Street Journal on issues surrounding convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19. Prof. Casavedall will be a featured panelist for “Reconciling Research and Treatment: Seeking Answers & Saving Lives,” the second of the Consortium’s “COVID Controversies: Ethical Challenges in Research & Treatment" webinar series. The webinar takes place Friday, October 16 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Central time. Register now to attend.
Prof. Holly Fernandez Lynch on COVID-19 Vaccine Trials and Transparency
September 18, 2020
In an article featured on STAT, Professor Holly Fernandez Lynch comments on transparency and trust related to ongoing AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trials. Prof. Lynch will be a featured panelist for “Reconciling Research and Treatment: Seeking Answers & Saving Lives,” the second of the Consortium’s “COVID Controversies: Ethical Challenges in Research & Treatment" webinar series. The webinar takes place Friday, October 16 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Central time. Register now to attend.
COVID Controversies: Ethical Challenges in Research & Treatment - Webinar Series
Webinar #2
Reconciling Research and Treatment: Seeking Answers & Saving Lives
Friday, October 16, 2020 - 11:30am to 1:00pm Central
Video coming soon!
Webinar #1
COVID Vaccine Research & Deployment: Reconciling Speed & Safety
Friday, August 28, 2020
Video of original webinar
Video of supplemental session
COVID-19 Resources: Ethical, Legal & Social Implications
The COVID-19 pandemic is posing profound ethical, legal, and social challenges. The Consortium is compiling relevant resources offered by our member centers and by other organizations to help researchers, clinicians, legal professionals, students, and communities navigate these challenges. View COVID-19 resources here.
Upcoming Events
LawSeq: Facing the Legal Barriers to Genomic Research & Precision Medicine
December 2, 2020 - 10:00am to 2:45pm
Webinar Only
(All agenda times are Central time)
Message from the Consortium Chair
Our Consortium is a large, interdisciplinary community, linked by work on the ethical, legal, and social implications of biomedicine and the life sciences. Across our community, this is a time of deep mourning and challenge. We face a global pandemic that has already taken too many lives. At the same time, we face the brutal murder of George Floyd here in Minneapolis and the entrenched structural racism it revealed. To learn that Mr. Floyd was burdened by COVID-19 in the weeks before his killing makes it dramatically clear that the COVID pandemic and racism are intertwined. The pandemic is starkly illuminating the long-standing health disparities in this country and persistent failure of health care and governing institutions to advance health equity and justice. The results of that failure are horrific.... Read full message here.
LawSeqSM Database
Use the LawSeqSM Database to search the law of genomics in the U.S. – both federal and state law. The Database also offers a Bibliography collecting relevant secondary sources. The goal of the LawSeqSM project is to map and shape the law of genomics to build a solid foundation for clinical integration. Creation of this unique resource was funded by a grant from NIH.