Montefiore Einstein Bioethics

08/31/2026

Welcome to the Fall 2026 semester! 🍂

The Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics is delighted to welcome our newest graduate students and welcome back our returning students. We look forward to another semester of thoughtful discussion, meaningful collaboration, and exploration of the complex ethical questions shaping healthcare and society. Wishing all our faculty and students a rewarding and inspiring semester!

08/27/2026

MECB’S Ethics Question of the Week! 🧠⚖️

This week’s question: Would you rather…
A: Have an AI doctor that is more accurate
OR
B: Have a human doctor who understands you better

Which option would you choose? A or B?

Share your choice in the comments, and tell us why!

Our Ethics Question series invites folks to think about the wide range of ethical choices and sometimes dilemmas that can arise in healthcare, research, public health, and society that can impact people.

08/23/2026

Congratulations to MECB’s Director of Graduate Education, Dr. Paola Nicolas, on her recent U.S. Naturalization Ceremony! 🇺🇸 We’re so happy for you and proud of how long and hard you worked to be granted citizenship.

08/19/2026

Introducing the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics’ Ethics Question of the Week! 🧠⚖️ Every Wednesday, we’ll pose a new question that invites folks to think about the ethical choices that can arise in healthcare, medicine, science, and everyday life.

This week’s question: Would you rather…
A: Have your family make medical decisions for you if you couldn’t make them yourself
OR
B: Have your doctors follow written instructions you made years ago

Which option would you choose? A or B? Share your choice in the comments, and tell us why!

Check back every Wednesday for a new MECB Ethics Question of the Week

08/19/2026

Please join us in welcoming Julio Cesar Rodriguez Araujo, Ph.D to the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics as our new Bioethics Fellow!!

Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Dr. Rodriguez Araujo brings an interdisciplinary background spanning political science, philosophy, and bioethics. He is an alumnus of the University of Houston, Texas State University, Houston Christian University, and UTRGV - The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and holds a PhD in Political Science as well as graduate degrees in Philosophy and Bioethics.

During his fellowship year, Dr. Rodriguez Araujo will receive advanced training in clinical ethics consultation while contributing to the broader academic mission of Montefiore Health System’s Center for Bioethics. His work will include participation in academic research, community engagement projects, and the teaching of medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

We are delighted to have Dr. Rodriguez Araujo joining the Montefiore Einstein community and we look forward to the perspectives, scholarship, and engagement he will bring to MECB.

Welcome, Julio!

08/18/2026

08/18/2026

MECB’s Assistant Director for Graduate Bioethics Education, Dr. Patrick Herron, presented on “Environmental and Ethical Burdens of AI: Who benefits? Who pays?” to fellow members of the Empire State Bioethics Consortium. Dr. Herron is a Clinical Ethicist for Montefiore Health System and an Associate Professor of Family & Social Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

08/16/2026

What’s kinda chic in Bioethics? 💗

As it turns out, many of the things at the heart of good ethics practice.
✨ Asking what matters to a patient before deciding what’s best for them.
✨ Being comfortable saying “I don’t know” when the ethics are complicated.
✨ Making room for disagreement at the bedside.
✨ Considering both the benefits and burdens of care.
✨ Being open to exploring the values and preferences of others.
✨ Bringing ethics into everyday healthcare.

At the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics, these aren’t just kinda chic, they’re part of how we approach clinical ethics, education, scholarship, and our work with patients, families, healthcare professionals, and communities. Thoughtful questions. Difficult conversations. Better care for all.

08/09/2026

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples - today, we honor the knowledge, cultures, resilience, and contributions of Indigenous peoples around the world.

Advancing health equity requires listening to Indigenous voices, respecting Indigenous knowledge and sovereignty, and confronting the inequities that continue to affect Indigenous communities.

We recommit to respect, recognition, relationships, and responsibility in pursuit of a more just and equitable healthcare system.

08/08/2026

As we prepare for the start of the Fall semester, the faculty and staff of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics would like to thank our colleagues, Dr. Craig Irvine and Catherine Rogers, MFA, MS, for an exceptional year of teaching and mentorship as adjunct faculty in our graduate program during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Your passion for the humanities, commitment to excellence, and generosity with our students were very appreciated. We are grateful for the time, expertise, and care you brought to every class and every discussion. We wish you the best in your future endeavors and hope to have opportunities to collaborate again!