Panel Examines Scientific Research And Freedom
Muhlenberg College’s Center for Ethics will host a panel discussion on scientific research and freedom on Tuesday, December 5 at 7 p.m. in Miller Forum, Moyer Hall.Tuesday, November 28, 2006 01:59 PM
Speaking on the panel will be Dr. David J. Graham, Associate Director for Science and Medicine in the FDA’s Office of Drug Safety, and Dr. Susan Wood, Research Professor at George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services. The event, part of the semester-long series Freedom Matters, is free and open to the public.
What impact are governmental controls and corporate interests having on scientific inquiry? What are the appropriate roles of government and private industry in healthcare choices and options? What pressures exist to suppress or delay the release of scientific results that do not support the cause of those subsidizing the research? What options do working scientists have in such situations?
Both Drs. Graham and Wood have had to grapple with these questions within the context of their working lives. They will share some of their individual experiences and discuss the broader questions mentioned above.
Graham graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and trained in Internal Medicine at Yale University and in adult Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. After this he completed a Masters in Public Health at John Hopkins, with a concentration in epidemiology and biostatistics. He has been working for the cause of patient safety at the FDA for over 20 years. Dr. Graham made national headlines when he voiced his concerns about the handling of scientific information linking Vioxx and heart attacks.
Wood received her Ph.D. in Biology from the Boston University Marine Program. Dr. Wood served as Assistant Commissioner of Women’s Health and Director of the Office of Women’s Health at the FDA from 2000 – 2005. She drew national attention to the issue of science being overruled in public health decisions in 2005 when she resigned her post at the FDA, citing the agency’s continual delays in approving the use of Plan B as a non-prescription product. Since then, she has traveled around the country meeting with various contingents to address how controls on scientific research are affecting public health and welfare.
Freedom Matters, sponsored by the Muhlenberg College Center for Ethics, about the history, limits and controversial components of freedom.
For more information on the series, please visit: www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/ethics.
Muhlenberg College gratefully acknowledges the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation’s support for the Center for Ethics.
