Seminar Series

The Health and the Public Interest Virtual Seminar Series

The Health and the Public Interest Seminar Series is a forum in which Georgetown students, faculty, and the general public engage with key leaders in healthcare research, policy, and advocacy. Seminar topics may include cross-cultural views of disease, improving healthcare outcomes in underserved communities, corporate influences on prescribing, the regulation of medical products, symptom formation and healing, and the opioid epidemic.

The Seminar Series is open to prospective students, the Georgetown community, and interested members of the general public. The 75-minute-long virtual lectures are held on Wednesdays from 12pm to 1:15pm EST. Speakers usually present for 30 minutes to an hour, leaving time for questions and discussion from the audience.

Fall 2o25 Seminar Series Schedule

Measuring What Matters: Health System Performance Unveiled

September 3 – Dr. Vincent Turbat (Georgetown U)

The Social Life of Diagnosis
September 10 – Annemarie Jutel (Victoria U of Wellington)

Precision Medicine and the Genomification of Health Disparities Research
September 17 – James Tabery (U of Utah)

Using Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods to address discrimination in research practices
September 24 – J. Corey Williams (Georgetown U)

Where Do Hospice and Palliative Care Fit in the Ecosystem of Contemporary American Healthcare?

October 1 – Charlea Massion (MD)

Posted, Polarized, and Distorted: What to Do When Public Health Communication Has Been Subverted

October 8 – Lenette Golding (Georgetown University)

Decision making rights in persons with cognitive disabilities
October 15 – Julia Duffy (Australian Centre for Health Law Research)

Modernizing Medicare at Age 60
October 22 – Richard Kaplan (U of Illinois)

Title TBA
October 29 – Greg Pappas (FDA)

Legal Epidemiology: Assessing the Health Impact of State Laws
November 5 – Lisa Landsman, JD, MPH

Title TBA
November 12 – Courtney Pladsen

Global Social Determinants of Health
November 19 – Matthew Kavanagh

Spring 2025 Seminar Series Schedule

Healing Through Strengths, Culture, Movement and Love

January 22 – Anthony Fleg, MD, Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine at University of New Mexico.

Health Equity, Poverty, and Rural Resilience in Appalachia

January 29 – Michael Brian Meit, MA, MPH, Eastern Tennessee State University.

A Call for Healthy Skepticism to Improve Critical Thinking about Healthcare

February 5 – Gary Schwitzer, Adjunct Professor at University of Minnesota.

Losing Trust in Public Health Agencies: What We Got Right and What We Got Wrong During the COVID-19 Pandemic

February 12 – Paul Offit, MD, Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania.

A Prescription for Distortion

February 19 – Ed Silverman, Senior Writer at STAT News.

Disarming the Debate: Understanding Gun Violence as a Public Health Issue

February 26 – Cass Crisafi, PhD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University.

Men & Reproductive Health

March 12 – Dominick Shattuck, PhD, Associate Scientist and Community Psychologist, John Hopkins University.

GLP-1 Agonists: Creation of a Billion-Dollar Gold Rush

March 19 – Martha Rosenburg, Freelance Journalist.

Justice System Strengthening: At the Nexus of Primary Violence Prevention and Protection

March 26 – Nana Hanson-Hall, DrPH, MPH, Senior Specialist in Research (Violence Against Women and Children), International Justice Mission.

Influencing US Foreign Policy for Children Affected by Conflict: Opportunities and Risks in Today’s Political Climate

April 2 – Leslie Archambeault, JD, MS, Managing Director, Humanitarian Policy, Save the Children US.

Misaligned Incentives: The Economics of Health Care and the Pandemic

April 9 – Dr. Taylor Winkleman, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Using the Law to Advance Health Policy and Protect the Right to Health

April 16 – Sarah Bosha, LLBS LLM MA, Director of Legal Research and Human Rights, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law.