The Ethics of Stem Cell Engineering

James H. Shepherd, Jr. and Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. presented a debate on March 10, 2011 from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm in the Suddath Seminar Room of the IBB building on the Georgia Tech campus.Runtime: 56:53 minutesJames H. Shepherd, Jr. On both the state and national level, James H. Shepherd, Jr., has made a tremendous commitment and contribution to providing exceptional healthcare for people with spinal cord and/or brain injuries. In co-founding and developing Shepherd Center in Atlanta, James Shepherd has built a facility that has garnered international recognition for the treatment of spinal cord injury, brain injury and multiple sclerosis. Also, Shepherd Center has become a nationally recognized advocate for people with disabilities. James and his parents received a national award for distinguished public service in 2007 from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In 1973, at age 22, James sustained a spinal cord injury while bodysurfing off the coast of Brazil. With his parents’ enthusiastic support, James and his family founded Shepherd Center in 1975 as a six-bed unit. Almost immediately, there was a waiting list. James recognized early on that it wasn’t enough to build a hospital to treat people for an illness or injury: He had to work to change communities so people with disabilities would be accepted. Through the years, James has regularly communicated with community leaders, legislators and the news media to increase public awareness of people with disabilities and to change society’s attitudes and misperceptions. He frequently tours groups through Shepherd Center, speaks to community organizations, and makes advocates of his friends, family, staff, patients and their families.Rev. Dr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk. After earning a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Yale University where he focused on University where he focused on cloning genes for neurotransmitter transporters which are expressed in the brain, Rev. Dr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk did post-doctoral research at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He subsequently studied for 5 years in Rome where he did advanced work in dogmatic theology and in bioethics. He has testified before members of the Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Virginia and North Carolina State Legislatures during deliberations over stem cell research and cloning. Fr. Tad has given presentations and participated in roundtables on contemporary bioethics throughout the U.S., Canada, and in Europe. He has done numerous media commentaries, including appearances on CNN International, ABC World News Tonight, and National Public Radio. He is Director of Education for The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. He has presented on the Science and Ethics of Stem Cells and Cloning in many schools, universities, and hospitals including UCSF, Cornell Univ., Boston College, Univ. of Arizona, MIT, Univ. of Louisiana, Purdue Univ., Jordan Hospital, Univ. of Chicago, Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Cambridge Health Alliance Hospital, Marquette Univ., Univ. of Notre Dame, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Salve Regina Univ., Univ. of Dallas, Southern New England School of Law, Marymount Univ., Univ. of St. Thomas, Wellesley College, Stonehill College, and Boston Univ.This debate was sponsored by Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students (BBUGS) and the Bioengineering Graduate Student Advisory Committee (BGSAC)The use of human embryonic stem cells in research has sparked many discussions concerning ethical considerations since the outset of the technology. Join us as James Shepherd, founder and chairman of the Shepherd Center, and Rev. Dr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, present both sides of the argument to our faculty and students. Dr. Aaron Levine is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy and will be moderating the event. Any questions will be written on note cards and provided to Dr. Levine for him to present to the speakers at the end of the debate.Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students (BBUGS) and the Bioengineering Graduate Student Advisory Committee (BGSAC