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 topics such as cross-cultural views of disease, cultural change and health, the medicalization of normal life, corporate shaping of discourse about illness, the regulation of medical products, placebo effects, symptom formation and healing, the high costs of drugs, creating new diseases, 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.
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.
Title TBA.
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.
You can find recordings from our past seminars on our Youtube channel. Fall 2023 speakers included Matthew Biel, MD on “Trauma, Adversity, and Social Determinants of Mental Health”; Neal Barnard, MD on “When Foods Work Like Medicines: Integrating Nutrition Into Clinical Care”; and Shawneequa Callier, JD on “Justice & Equity Considerations in Precision Medicine and Public Health Research”.
Past speakers include Lucille Adams-Campbell PhD, Gary Schwitzer from Health News Review, Sara Rosenbaum JD, Peter Lurie of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Cindy Pearson from National Women’s Health Network.
Rob Wipond
Puya Jafari
Kelly Clark