Legal bioethics professor Carl Coleman, the associate dean and a professor at Seton Hall School of Law, has been named a fellow by the Hastings Center, the oldest independent, nonpartisan interdisciplinary research institute of its kind in the world – one that plays a critical role in establishing the field of bioethics.
The fellowship is a lifelong honor that acknowledges individuals of outstanding accomplishment whose work demonstrates uncommon insight and impact in areas of critical concern, according to the Center.
Coleman, who specializes in the legal, ethical, and public policy implications of medical treatment, research, and public health, was humbled by the opportunity.
“It’s a real honor to be joining this illustrious group of scholars,” he said. “I have long admired the Hastings Center for its pathbreaking work in bioethics and health policy, and I look forward to becoming a part of this unique academic community.”
Coleman, a graduate of Harvard Law who joined the Seton Hall Law faculty in 2000, currently serves as associate dean of graduate studies and on the faculty at the Law School’s Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law, an academic center of excellence focusing on health law programs, research, and policy.
He has an impressive resume.
Coleman served as bioethics and law adviser at the World Health Organization from 2006-07 and has continued to work closely with WHO’s Global Health Ethics team. In addition, he is the lead author of numerous WHO guidance documents on topics such as ethical issues in infectious disease outbreaks, tuberculosis care and control, and clinical trials oversight.
From 201-13, he was a member of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections, which is charged with providing expert advice to the Office for Human Research Protections of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Prior to joining Seton Hall, he served as executive director of the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, supporting the Task Force’s work in the areas of end-of-life decision-making, assisted reproductive technologies, and genetic testing and screening.
Ronald Weich, dean of Seton Hall School of Law, said the appointment distinguishes both Coleman and Seton Hall Law’s Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law.
“Professor Coleman has been a leader in the field of medical ethics and has played a key role in the development of policies that improve public health and patient care,” he said. “His appointment as a Hastings Fellow provides an even more significant platform to work on bio-ethical issues in an interdisciplinary and international context.”
Coleman is among 13 Hastings fellows recognized this year for their work advancing scholarship and public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, life sciences research and the environment. He joins a group of approximately 300 individuals of outstanding accomplishment whose work has informed scholarship and public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, science, and technology.
“Our new fellows are leaders in a wide range of areas of global importance, including ethical issues in infectious disease outbreaks, AI in health, neuroscience, reproductive rights, genetics and race, and disability,” Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky said. “I welcome them and look forward to working with them.”
