CURRICULUM VITAE
STUART RENNIE, PHD, MA
CONTACT DETAILS
333D MacNider Hall,
333 South Columbia Street,
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
(919) 590 2178
Email: stuart_rennie@med.unc.edu
EDUCATION
PhD, University of Leuven, 2001, Philosophy
MA, University of Leuven, Belgium, 1994, Anthropology
MA, University of Leuven, Belgium, 1990, Philosophy
BA, University of Leuven, Belgium, 1987, Philosophy
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Associate Professor, UNC Department of Social Medicine, 2013-present
Research Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Social Medicine, 2010-2013
Faculty Associate, UNC Center for Bioethics, 2011-present
Head, Ethics Working Group, UNC Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), 2010-present
Adjunct Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Health Policy and Management, 2007-present
Research Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Dental Ecology, 2004-2010
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Cape Town, South Africa, 2009-2010
Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Greensboro, 2001-2004
Guest Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, 1998-2000
Visiting Researcher, Center for Bioethics, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, 1996-1997
Scientific researcher, Higher Institute for Philosophy, University of Leuven, 1992-1996
Research Assistant, Higher Institute for Philosophy, University of Leuven, 1990-1992
Tutor, Higher Institute for Philosophy, University of Leuven, 1990-1992
HONORS AND AWARDS
University of Leuven, PhD graduation (Philosophy) with Summa Cum Laude, 2001
University of Leuven, MA graduation (Anthropology) with Magna Cum Laude, 1994
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University of Leuven, MA graduation (Philosophy) with Summa Cum Laude, 1990
University of Leuven, BA graduation with Summa Cum Laude, 1987
Dowling College, New York: Deans List (1982-1984)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFEREED ARTICLES
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Rennie S, Perry B, Corneli A, Chilungo A, Umar E. Perceptions of voluntary medical male circumcision
among circumcising and non-circumcising communities in southern Malawi. Global Public Health
(published Online First, January 2015)
Mupenda B, Duvall S, Maman S, Pettifor A, Holub C, Taylor E, Rennie S, Kashosi M, Lema M,
Behets F. Terms used for people living with HIV in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Qual
Health Res 2014, 24(2): 209-16.
Corneli A, Vaz L, Dulyx J, Omba S, Rennie S, Behets F (2009) The role of disclosure in relation to assent
to participate in HIV-related research among HIV-infected youth: a formative study. Journal of the
International AIDS Society 2009, 12: 17.
Vaz L, Corneli A, Dulyx J, Rennie S, Omba S, Kitetele F, the AD Research Group and Behets F. The
process of HIV status disclosure to HIV-positive youth in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
AIDS Care 2008, 20(7): 842-52.
Behets FM, Van Damme K, Turner AN, Rabenja NL, Ravelomanana NL, Raharinivo MS, Zeller KA,
Rennie S, Swezey TA. Evidence-based planning of a randomized controlled trial on diaphragm use for
prevention of sexually transmitted infections. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2008, 35(3): 238-42.
Community attitudes toward rationing ARVs: a qualitative study of justice and equity.
Rennie S. HIV AIDS Policy Law Review. 2006, 11(2-3): 92-3.
OTHER PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES
Qiao S, Nie Jing-Bao, Tucker JD, Rennie S, Li Xiao-Ming. The role of social relationship in HIV healing
and its implications in HIV cure in China. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine 2015, 3(1): 115-127.
Rennie S, Siedner M, Tucker JD, Moodley K. The ethics of talking about ‘HIV cure’. BMC Medical Ethics
2015, 16: 18.
Tucker JD, Volberding PA, Margolis DM, Rennie S, Barre-Sinoussi F. Words matter: discussing research
towards an HIV cure in research and clinical contexts. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2014, 67(3): e110-1.
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Tucker JD, Rennie S, Social and Ethical Working Group on HIV Cure. Social and ethical implications of
HIV cure research. AIDS 2014, 28(9): 1247-50.
Rennie S. Tinkering with the health of the poor. Am J Bioeth 2014, 14(2): 43-2.
Rennie S. Ethical use of antiretroviral resources for HIV prevention in resource poor settings. Dev World
Bioeth 2013, 13(2): 79-86.
Tshikala T, Mupenda B, Dimany P, Malonga A, Ilunga V, Rennie S. Engaging with research ethics in
central Francophone Africa: reflections on a workshop about ancillary care.
Philosophy, Ethics and Humanities in Medicine 2012, Aug 6;7(1):10.
Rennie S, Mupenda B. The ethics of globalizing bioethics. Ethics in Biology, Engineering and Medicine
2012, 2: 147-156.
Rennie S. Medical scholarships and the social determinants of health. American Journal of Bioethics,
2012, 12(5): 38-39.
Moodley K, Rennie S. Advancing Research Ethics Training in Southern Africa. South African Journal of
Bioethics and Law 2011, 4(2): 104-105.
Rennie S. Viewing research participation as a moral obligation: in whose interest? Hastings Center
Report 2011, 2, March-April: 40-47.
Rennie S. Regarding Research Participation as a Moral Obligation: Who Shoulders the Burdens and
Who Reaps the Benefits? Asian Bioethics Review 2010,
2 (4).
Rennie S, Sugarman J. Developing ethics guidance for HIV prevention research: the HIV Prevention
Trials Network approach. Journal of Medical Ethics 2010, 36: 810-5.
Azetsop J., Rennie S. Bioethics, medical individualism and health: can autonomy based bioethics
promote social justice in resource-poor settings? Philosophy, Ethics and Humanities in Medicine 2010, 5
(1).
Rennie S, Stürmer T. Strengthening Howick's argument against the alleged superiority of placebocontrolled trials. American Journal of Bioethics 2009, 9(9): 62-4.
Rennie S, Rosenfeld LB. Deflating rhetoric about "ethical inflation". American Journal of Bioethics 2009,
9(11): 58-60.
Rennie S. The struggle for ethical conduct in medicine. Revue congolaise de philosophie 2009, 2 (July December) : 59-63.
Rennie S, Turner A, Mupenda B, Behets F. Unlinked anonymous HIV surveillance in developing
countries: lingering ethical, epidemiological and public health system concerns. PLoS Medicine 2009,
6(1): e1000004.
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Rennie S, Mupenda B. Living apart together: reflections on bioethics, global inequality and
social justice. Philosophy, Ethics and Humanities in Medicine 2008, 3: 25.
Carrell M, Rennie S. Demographic and health surveillance: longitudinal ethical considerations. Bulletin
of the World Health Organization 2008, 86(8): 612-6.
Rennie S, Mupenda B. The ethics of mandatory pre-marital HIV testing in Africa: the case of Goma.
Developing World Bioethics 2008, 8 (2): 126-137.
Rennie S. The ethics of using male circumcision as HIV prevention: exploring the middle ground.
Therapy 2007, 4 (6): 731-735.
Rennie S, Muula A, Westreich D. Male circumcision and HIV: ethical and public health tradeoffs in low
income countries. Journal of Medical Ethics 2007, 33: 3057-361.
Rennie S. Is it ethical to study what ought not to happen? Developing World Bioethics 2006, 6(2): 71-7.
Rennie S, Behets F. Desperately seeking targets: the ethics of routine HIV testing in low-income
countries, Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2006, 84, 1: 52-57.
Rennie S, Behets F. AIDS care and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa: implementation ethics. Hastings
Center Report 2006, 36, no.3: 23-31.
Rennie S. Elegant variations: remarks on Rorty’s liberal utopia. South African Journal of
Philosophy 1998, 17: 313-342.
Rennie S. Moral Perception and Virtue Ethics (in Dutch) In: B. Raymakers (ed.), Gehelen en fragmenten:
de vele gezichten van de filosofie: acta van de 14e filosofiedag te Leuven. (Totalities and Fragments:
the Many Faces of Philosophy. Acts of the 14th Annual Dutch-Flemish Philosophy Conference). Leuven:
University Press 1993: 84-87.
Rennie S. Putnam and the Absolute Conception of Reality (in Dutch). In: W. Van Dooren, T. Hoff (eds.),
Aktueel filosoferen: Nederlands- Vlaamse filosofiedag Delft (Philosophizing today: Annual Conference of
Dutch-Flemish Philosophy). Delft 1993: Eburon: 245-249.
EDITORIALS OR LETTERS
Westreich D, Rennie S, Muula A. Comments on Brewer et al., "Male and female circumcision associated
with prevalent HIV infection in virgins and adolescents in Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania". Annals of
Epidemiology 2007, 17(11): 926-7.
Rennie S. The FDA and Helsinki. Hastings Center Report 2009, 39(3):49. Invited editorial.
Mills E, Rennie S. HIV testing and individual rights. Science 2006, Oct 20;314(5798):417-9.
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Rennie S. Do the ravages of HIV/AIDS ethically justify mandatory HIV testing? Developing World
Bioethics 2007, 7(1): 48-9.
Rennie S. Is there a place for benevolent deception? Trends in Parasitology 2004, 20(4):163
PUBLISHED ABSTRACTS
Mupenda B, Holub C, Pettifor A, Mujalambo K, Taylor E, Duvall S, Kiyombo M, Rennie S,
Behets F. Informing Measures for Positive Prevention: Perceived stigma, depression and social
support among Youth Living with HIV/AIDS in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC). Abstract THPE0449. International AIDS Conference, Mexico City, August 3-8 2008.
Behets F, Taylor E, Mupenda B, Mujalambo K, Holub C, Duvall S, Rennie S, Pettifor A. Knowledge of
HIV status, Demographic and Psychosocial Characteristics of HIV+ Adolescents in Kinshasa. Abstract
WEPE0555. International AIDS Conference, Mexico City, August 3-8 2008.
Taylor E, Pettifor A, Mupenda B, Mujalambo K, Holub C, Duvall S, Rennie S, Behets F. Met and
Unmet Needs Reported by HIV+ Adolescents Participating in Care and Support Programs.
Abstract WEPE0218. International AIDS Conference, Mexico City, August 3-8 2008.
Taylor E, Behets F, Mupenda B, Mujalambo K, Holub C, Duvall S, Rennie S, Pettifor A.
Knowledge of HIV status and Wellbeing Reported by HIV+ Adolescents in Kinshasa.
Poster presentation at the XVII International AIDS Conference Mexico City, August 3-8,
2008.
Vaz L, Corneli A, Dulyx J, Omba S, Rennie S, Badinga T, Kutumbakana N, Daiku O, Ilaka M,
Kalengi K, Kayumba J, Callens S, Van Rie A, Behets F The process of HIV status disclosure to
HIV-positive children: Experiences from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Abstract TUPE0763, International AIDS Society conference 2006, Toronto, Canada.
Corneli A., Vaz L, Dulyx J, Omba S, Rennie S, Badinga T, Kutumbakana N, Daiku O, Ilaka M,
Kalengi K, Kayumba J, Callens S, Van Rie A, Behets F. Addressing the relationship between
informed assent and disclosure of HIV status to HIV-positive children participating in HIV
operational research in Kinshasa, DRC: Findings from formative research. Abstract TUPE0757,
International AIDS Society conference 2006, Toronto, Canada.
Corneli A, Rennie S, Vaz L, Dulyx J, Omba S, Kayumba J, Badinga T, N. Kutumbakana N,
Daiku O, Ilaka M, Kalengi K, Callens S, Van Rie A, Behets F. Perspectives of minors and
caregivers on the rights of minors to be involved in decision making about research
participation: Findings from formative research on assent and disclosure for HIV positive
children in Kinshasa, DRC. International AIDS Society conference 2006, Toronto, Canada.
Rennie S, Corneli A, Vaz L, Van Rie A, Callens S, Kitetele F, Behets F. Development of guidelines for
obtaining assent and disclosing HIV status to HIV-infected children participating in HIV research. 14th
ICASA. Abudja, Nigeria, December 2005.
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Corneli A, Rennie S, Vaz L, Van Rie A, Callens S, Kitetele F, Behets. Disclosure of HIV status to children:
developing culturally appropriate guidelines. F. Annual meeting of the Society for Applied
Anthropology. Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 2005.
SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION
Wassie L, Gebre-Mariam S, Tarekegne G, Rennie S. Enhancing ethics review of social and behavioral
research involving human subjects: a template for use in low- and middle-income countries. Submitted
to BMC Medical Ethics (August 2014).
REFEREED UNPUBLISHED ORAL PRESENTATIONS AND ABSTRACTS
Rennie S. When bioethics mimics medical humanitarianism. Speaker series. Department of
Medical History and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. January 27, 2015.
Rennie S. HIV cure research and ethics: what are we worried about? University of North
Carolina Community Advisory Board meeting. Chapel Hill. Presentati0n. November 13, 2014.
Rennie S. HIV cure research: ethical challenges and implications for developing countries. Joint
Center for Bioethics, University of Toronto, Bioethics Seminar Series. November 5, 2014.
Rennie S, Necochea R. HIV cure research: clinical cases and research approaches. Bioethics at
UNC (BUNC) meeting. October 22, 2014.
Rennie S, Juengst E, Gelpi A. HIV cure and social participation: emerging field, emerging ethics.
American Society for Bioethics and the Humanities Annual Meeting. October 16, 2014.
Rennie S. The concept of (HIV) and the ethics of HIV cure talk. Canadian Bioethics Society
annual conference. Vancouver. May 30, 2014.
Rennie S. Concept of cure and the ethics of HIV cure talk. Brocher Foundation Workshop:
Unintended and Intended Implications of HIV cure research: A Social and Ethical Analysis.
Hermance, Switzerland. May 6, 2014.
Rennie S. Ethical considerations in international cure research. AIDS Clinical Trials Group
(ACTG) HIV cure meeting. Washington, D.C. November 18, 2013.
Rennie S. Male circumcision and HIV prevention in Malawi: research, policy and implementation ethics.
First Annual ARESA Conference. Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa. August 31, 2012.
Rennie S. Children, assent and HIV-related research in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Seminar
series. Division of Community Health and Humanities, Memorial University of Newfoundland, June 7,
2012.
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Rennie S. Ethical challenges to conducting research in resource poor settings. NiEHS/OHRP: South
Atlantic National Research Conference. Raleigh Convention Center, March 21, 2012.
Rennie S. Medical ethics in developing world settings: contexts, questions, cases. Duke-UNC Bioethics
Symposium: Cases in Medical Ethics. Duke University. February 6, 2012.
Rennie S. Capacity-building workshop on research ethics and public health ethics. Institut National de
Sante Publique et Communautaire, Antanarivo, Madagascar: Exceptions to informed consent,
December 14, 2011.
Rennie S. Capacity-building workshop on research ethics and public health ethics. Institut National de
Sante Publique et Communautaire, Antanarivo, Madagascar : Ethics of communication in the domain
of health, December 15, 2011.
Rennie S. Capacity-building workshop on research ethics and public health ethics. Institut National de
Sante Publique et Communautaire, Antanarivo, Madagascar : Media and public health, December 15,
2011.
Rennie S. Interview with Frank Stasio. Colonialism’s Past and Present. The State of Things, WUNC
North Carolina Public Radio, December 6, 2011.
Rennie S. Ethics of PreP: a first look at allocative justice. World AIDS Day 2011. 13th Annual HIV/AIDS
Symposium. HIV: the Race to Prevent and Cure. UNC-Chapel Hill, December 1, 2011.
Rennie S. Conference on the Ancillary Care Responsibilities of Researchers, Kinshasa, Democratic
Republic of Congo. Ethics and ancillary care in research: an introduction. May 19, 2011.
Rennie S. Conference on the Ancillary Care Responsibilities of Researchers, Kinshasa, Democratic
Republic of Congo. Ancillary care responsibilities of researchers: the Richardson/Belsky Model, May 19,
2011.
Rennie S. Conference on the Ancillary Care Responsibilities of Researchers, Kinshasa, Democratic
Republic of Congo. Research ethics committees and ancillary care: current guidelines, suggestions and
concerns, May 20, 2011.
Rennie S. Conference on the Ancillary Care Responsibilities of Researchers, Kinshasa, Democratic
Republic of Congo. Incidental findings and post-research obligations, May 20, 2011.
Rennie S. Conference on Reinforcing Capacities in Bioethics and Public Health Ethics, Institut National
de Sante Publique et Communautaire, Antanarivo, Madagascar: Ethics and tuberculosis control. May 910, 2011.
Rennie S. Conference on Reinforcing Capacities in Bioethics and Public Health Ethics, Institut National
de Sante Publique et Communautaire, Antanarivo, Madagascar: Inequalities in health : what is known ?
May 9-10, 2011.
Rennie S. Conference on Reinforcing Capacities in Bioethics and Public Health Ethics, Institut National
de Sante Publique et Communautaire, Antanarivo, Madagascar: Infectious diseases and ethics, May 910, 2011.
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Rennie S. Conference on Reinforcing Capacities in Bioethics and Public Health Ethics, Institut National
de Sante Publique et Communautaire, Antanarivo, Madagascar: Ethics and sexually transmitted
infections: HIV testing and partner notification, May 9-10, 2011.
Rennie S. Ensuring treatment for seroconverters in HIV prevention research: moral obligation or
symbolic gesture? Faculty Forum, Department of Social Medicine, UNC-Chapel Hill, April 6, 2011.
Rennie S. Ethics and HIV Prevention Research. National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference, Duke
University, March 21, 2012.
Rennie S. IRENSA and its sister Fogarty program in Francophone Africa: similarities, differences,
variations. International Research Ethics for Southern Africa (IRENSA) Seminar, Cape Town, South
Africa, August 15, 2011.
Rennie S. Health research in resource-poor countries and exploitation: some standard and neglected
worries. NC Tracs Institute Research Ethics Grand Rounds, January 20, 2011.
Rennie S. Lessons from Central Africa: training research committee members. International Research
Ethics for Southern African (IRENSA) Seminar, Cape Town, South Africa, September 7, 2009.
Rennie S. Is participation in biomedical research morally obligatory? Philosophy Department Seminar,
University of Cape Town, August 24, 2009.
Rennie S. The struggle for ethical conduct in medicine. Conference on current issues in clinical ethics.
University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 2009.
Rennie S. Ethical issues in research. 30th Annual Minority Health Conference. The William and Ida
Friday Center, Chapel Hill, February 27, 2009.
Rennie S. Living apart together: bioethics in an interconnected, divided and dysfunctional world. VIII
Northwestern University Human Rights Conference, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (invited
speaker), April 12, 2008.
Rennie S. Interview with Neil Cohan. Ethics, male circumcision and the prevention of HIV in Africa. Talk
of the Nation, National Public Radio (NPR), August 17, 2006.
Rennie S, Nsitu A, Birindwa E, Corneli A, Strauss R. (2006) Community attitudes towards rationing antiretroviral treatment in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: a qualitative study of justice and
equity. Poster presented at the XVI International AIDS Conference, Toronto, August 14 2006.
Rennie S, Nsitu A, Corneli A, Birindwa E, Strauss R. Can we rollout justice? Ethical
complexities in the provision of Antiretroviral treatment in low-income countries. First
National Conference on HIV/AIDS and STIs, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo,
February 15-16, 2005.
Rennie S, Corneli A. Qualitative research on ethical issues in cross-cultural health
research. Student Global Health Committee Seminar Series, UNC-Chapel Hill, April 1,
2005.
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Corneli, Amy, Rennie S., Vaz, L., Van Rie, A., Callens, S. Kitetele, F., and Behets, F. Disclosure of HIV
Status to Children: Developing Culturally Appropriate Guidelines. Annual conference of the Society for
Applied Anthropology, Sante Fe, New Mexico, April 8, 2005.
Rennie S. Ethical complexities in provision of AIDS treatment in low-income countries. World Congress
of Bioethics, Sydney, Australia, November 12, 2004.
Rennie S. Moral Luck and Shared Responsibility, Departmental Lecture, University of Stellenbosch,
South Africa, June 1999.
Rennie S. Is Moral Luck Unfair? National South African Philosophy Conference. Port Elizabeth, South
Africa, November 1998.
Rennie S. The Moral Ought and the Unthinkable, 18th International Wittgenstein Symposium.
Kirchberg am Wechsel, Austria, July 1995.
Rennie S. Science and the Manifest Image, World-Views Philosophy Conference, Brussels, Belgium,
December 1994.
Rennie S. Moral Realism and Secondary Qualities. First European Congress of Analytic Philosophy. Aixen-Provence, France, July 1993.
Rennie S. Putnam and the Absolute Conception of Reality, Annual Dutch-Flemish
Philosophy Conference. Delft, Holland, February 1993.
Rennie S. Moral Perception and Virtue Ethics, Annual Dutch- Flemish Philosophy
Conference. Leuven, Belgium, February 1992.
OTHER NON-REFEREED WORKS
WHITE PAPERS/GUIDANCE
Rennie S, Sugarman J. HIV Prevention Trials Network Ethics Guidance for Research. June 10,
2009.
Rennie S. Prioritizing Title I and II funds for HIV/AIDS services in Minnesota: an ethical analysis
of the 2006 process. Report commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Health and Human
Services and Minnesota HIV Services Planning Council. November, 2006.
BOOK AND OTHER REVIEWS
Rennie S. Review of When Experiments Travel: Clinical Trials and the Global Search for Human
Subjects by Adriana Petryna. Developing World Bioethics 2010, 10(2): 114-115.
Rennie S. Review of the film Health for Sale by Mannut Film. American Journal of Bioethics
2009, 9(12): 83-84.
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Rennie S. Review of Ethics and AIDS in Africa: The Challenge to our Thinking by Van Niekerk
AA and Kopelman LM, AIDS Research and Therapy 2006, 3(24).
Rennie S. Review of Risk and Luck in Medical Ethics by Donna Dickenson, Ethical Perspectives (Leuven),
June 2004.
TEACHING RECORD
COURSES AND PROGRAMS
Advanced Research Ethics for Southern Africa (ARESA). Module 3 of Fogarty-NIH funded Masters-level
bioethics and research ethics course at University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. September 2011, 2012,
2013.
Advanced Research Ethics for Southern Africa (ARESA). Module 1 of Fogarty-NIH funded Masters-level
bioethics and research ethics course at University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. February 2011, 2012,
2013.
Medicine and Society, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Observing first-year medical
student course with Mara Buchbinder, September 2012-May 2013.
MED 231, Humanities and Social Science Seminar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:
Global Health and Medical Ethics. Spring 2011, 2012, 2013.
Training program in Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV (Program Director William Miller
MD, PhD, MPH): leading sessions on ethical issues in STI/HIV research 2010-2014.
EPID 891, UNC-Chapel Hill, History and Philosophy of Epidemiology, Doctoral Seminar (coteaching with Steve Wing and Frieda Behets) from 2006-2009; 2012.
EPID 898, UNC-Chapel Hill, Global Health Ethics: (co-teaching with Frieda Behets); organized
and taught sessions on ethical issues in health research and implementation in a global context
at UNC School of Global Public Health from 2005-2008; 2010.
Modules for Third Year Medical Students (MBChD program) at Groote Schuur Hospital,
University of Cape Town; Reasoning in Ethics I, Reasoning in Ethics II, Informed Consent:
February-May 2010.
Modules for Fourth Year Medical Students (MBChD program) at Groote Schuur Hospital,
University of Cape Town; Abortion, Euthanasia, Resource Allocation, Health Professionalism:
February-May 2010.
PHI 2037F, University of Cape Town, Applied Ethics, Spring 2010. Theme: Everyday Ethics.
Undergraduate course.
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PHI 4013F, Applied Ethics, Honors Seminar, University of Cape Town, Spring 2010. Theme: Justifiable
killing: some varieties. Upper-level undergraduate and graduate course.
Modules on ethical argumentation and ethical relativism in the International Research Ethics
for Southern Africa (IRENSA) program at University of Cape Town, South Africa, February 3-4,
2009. Post-graduate course.
Modules on Ethics and Implementation Research, Male Circumcision and Ethics, and
Community Engagement in the International Research Ethics for Southern Africa (IRENSA)
program at University of Cape Town, South Africa July, 2008. Post-graduate course.
PHI 220, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Medical Ethics. Undergraduate course.
PHI 121, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Contemporary Moral Problems.
Undergraduate course.
PHI 361, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Business Ethics. Undergraduate course.
PHI 331, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Social and Political Philosophy.
Undergraduate course.
PHI 332, University of Stellenbosch (South Africa), Political Philosophy, co-teaching with Dr.
Willem Verwoerd, 1998-1999.
PHI 105, University of Leuven (Belgium), Free will and Responsibility. Undergraduate course.
LECTURES
Guest lecture in DENT 100 at UNC School of Dentistry. Ethical and philosophical issues in health
care (Course Director Richard Mumford). Sept 27, 2012.
Guest lecture in EPID 757, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Global Public Health, Epidemiology and
Social Aspects of Medicine (Course Directors Sharon Weir and Frieda Behets): Ethical
Argumentation in Public Health, An Introduction. September 23, 2012.
Guest lecture in PUBH 510, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Global Public Health, Interdisciplinary
Perspectives in Global Health (Course Directors Peggy Bentley and Mamie Sackey Harris)
Human Rights, Social Justice and Ethics in Health. September 5, 2012.
Science of Medicine Seminar Series, UNC School of Medicine (Course Director, Michael Myer,
MD): Conscience and Doctoring; led seminar for fourth year medical students, 2012.
National Student Medical Association, UNC-Chapel Hill: Global Health Disparities, Ethics and
HIV Testing in Low-Income Countries. February 22, 2012.
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Guest lecture in MA in Conservation program, Faculty of Engineering and the Built
Environment, University of Cape Town: Ethics and the Heritage Practitioner, January 26, 2010.
Guest lecture in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences,
University of Cape Town: Resolving ethical problems: a very brief guide, October 8, 2009.
Guest lecture in DENT 100 at UNC School of Dentistry. Ethical and philosophical issues in health
care (Course Director Richard Mumford). Sept 21, 2008.
STUDENTS MENTORED
GRADUATE
Margaret Carrell, UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate. Mentor for publication of course paper,
2008.
Bavon Mupenda, Kinshasa School of Public Health, Doctoral Program at the University of
Louvain (Belgium), Dissertation advisor 2010-2012.
Felicien Munday, University of Kinshasa, PhD program in Philosophy, Dissertation advisor
2006-2010.
Noroseheno Felasoa Ramiandrisoa, Institute National de Sante Publique et Communautaire,
(Antananarivo, Madagascar), Mentored on research paper for publication, 2011-2012.
Adri Labuschagne, Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC), Mentor for final paper in
the ARESA program, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2012.
POSTGRADUATE
Beyene Wondafresh Ademe, MD, University of Jimma (Ethiopia), Mentor for final paper in the
ARESA program, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2012.
Minrie Greeff, PhD, North-West University (South Africa), Mentor for final paper in the ARESA
program, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2014.
GRANTS
COMPLETED
UNC Center for AIDS Research, Career Development Award – PI [$8000 for research expenses only].
Can we rollout justice? Ethical complexities in provision of AIDS treatment in low-income countries,
2005-2006.
S. Rennie
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Family Health International/HIV Prevention Trials Network – Consultant [10% effort] Developing HPTN
Ethics Guidance for Research, 2008-2009.
UNC Center for AIDS Research, Supplemental Award – PI [$90,000, 20% effort] Male circumcision as
HIV prevention strategy in Malawi, 2008-2011
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Consultant [$200,000, 10% effort], University Technical
Assistance Projects in Support of the Global AIDS Program, 2007-2008.
ONGOING
National Institutes of Health/Fogarty International Center – Principal Investigator [$235,000, 40%
effort] Strengthening Bioethics Capacity and Justice in Health, 2004-2017.
National Institutes of Health/Fogarty International Center – co-Principal Investigator [$235,000, 20%
effort] Advancing Research Ethics in Southern Africa (ARESA), 2011-2015.
National Institutes of Health – Co-Principal Investigator [$400,000, 20% effort] Unintended and
intended implications of HIV cure research, 2013-2018.
National Institutes of Health – Co-Investigator [$350,000, 15% effort] Ethics of HIV-Related Research
Involving Adolescents in Kenya, 2014-2017.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
SERVICE TO DISCIPLINE
OFFICES AND COMMITTEES
Member, Grant Review committee, Wellcome Trust, 2008-present
Member, Review Committee for Ethics Capacity Grants, European Union, European and
Developing World Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), 2006-2010
Member, Canadian Bioethics Society, 2010-present
Member, American Philosophical Society, 2005-2011
CONSULTANT APPOINTMENTS
Ethics consultant, HIV Prevention Trials Network, 2008-2009
Ethics consultant, Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services, AIDS Drugs
Assistance Program (ADAP), 2006
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Ethics consultant, The Palabre Project: Developing Research Ethics Guidelines for the
Democratic Republic of Congo. EDCTP funded project, 2010-2011
Ethics consultant, The Mzadi Project: Developing Research Ethics Capacity in the Republic of
Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2010-2011
Ethics consultant, Save the Children USA, 2014-present
INTERNET CONTRIBUTIONS
Director, Global Bioethics Blog (http://globalbioethics.blogspot.com), 2005-present
Guest blogger for American Journal of Bioethics blog (http://www.bioethics.net), 2005-2008
Twitter manager, Global Bioethic Blog (@BioethicsGlobal)
PEER REVIEW
AIDS Care, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, IRB: Ethics and Human Research,
Developing World Bioethics, International Journal of STD and AIDS, HIV Therapy, American
Journal of Bioethics, Health Policy, American Journal of Public Health, Hastings Center Report,
Pediatrics, Journal of Medical Ethics, Global Public Health
SERVICE TO UNIVERSITIES
UNC Non-Biomedical Institutional Review Board, co-Chair, 2007-2014
UNC Non-Biomedical Institutional Review Board, Member 2014-present
Search Committee, UNC Center for Bioethics, Member 2011-12
UNC School of Public Health-Nursing Institutional Review Board, Member, 2006-2010
Student representative, Philosophy Department, University of Leuven, 1992-1994
REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
My interest in ethics dates back to my undergraduate and graduate education in philosophy,
culminating in a PhD dissertation on the relationship between luck and ethical responsibility. My
current work addresses the ethical complexities involved in the conduct of medicine, public health,
and research involving human participants in resource-poor settings, particularly (but not
exclusively) in developing countries. A persistent theme in my scholarship is how efforts to reduce
global health inequalities through health research, policies and interventions often give rise to
significant ethical challenges, and how identification and analysis of these challenges in remote
contexts may illuminate and reframe neglected bioethical issues closer to home.
The approach to these issues has been shaped by my education in philosophy and anthropology,
my experiences in the field with health researchers struggling to ‘do the right thing’ in contexts of
poverty and oppression, and my involvement in bioethics training grants in Francophone and
Southern Africa. Following my doctoral defense at the University of Leuven (Belgium), I taught a
wide range of philosophy courses at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. During this
period, I had the opportunity to lead a successful UNC-Chapel Hill application for a NIH/Fogarty
grant to establish a bioethics unit at the Kinshasa School of Public Health in the Democratic
Republic of Congo. In 2004, I joined the UNC Department of Dental Ecology, and over the years
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developed a substantive portfolio of bioethics scholarship, research, teaching, consultancy and
grant-writing achievements. In 2010, I became Research Assistant Professor in the UNC
Department of Social Medicine, and in 2011 joined the Center for Bioethics at UNC as core faculty.
In 2013, I was promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Social Medicine.
RESEARCH
My research approach is interdisciplinary, combining philosophical reflection and analysis,
qualitative research methods and – by acting as ethics consultant to global research teams -sensitivity to the real-world experiences of clinicians, public health professionals and researchers
working to promote health in low-resource settings. I have had the opportunity to pursue a wide
range of ethical challenges in global health with the support of the NIH, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Family Health International, and UNC Center for AIDS Research. My
current research interests and activities fall into four interrelated areas of focus.
A. Implementation ethics. Much of research and scholarship in bioethics is devoted to ethical
issues related to new biomedical innovations, while far less attention is drawn to the ethical
challenges involved in implementing proven efficacious health interventions in the field. In 2006,
Frieda Behets (Professor of Epidemiology at UNC) and I coined the concept ‘implementation ethics’
(“AIDS care and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa: implementation ethics,” Hastings Center Report)
to describe the cascade of ethical, cultural, political and practical challenges encountered when
attempting to increase access to antiretroviral treatment in low-income, high HIV prevalence
settings. Much of the inspiration for the article came from the experiences of UNC research teams
conducting operational research on delivery of HIV/AIDS treatment and care to pregnant women
and their families in Central Africa. The randomized controlled trials in Africa indicating that male
circumcision could significantly reduce risk of female-to-male HIV transmission was another
application of implementation ethics: this led to a collaborative publication in 2007 with young
investigators at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health (Daniel Westreich and Adamson
Muula) on an ethical framework for male circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy (“Male
circumcision and HIV: ethical and public health tradeoffs in low income countries,” Journal of
Medical Ethics). Some of the empirical and ethical questions raised in that article were pursued
further in a UNC-CFAR funded qualitative research study on attitudes towards male circumcision as
a HIV prevention approach among traditionally circumcising and non-circumcising communities in
Malawi. This study, a collaboration between UNC, Family Health International and the College of
Medicine in Blantyre (Malawi), has completed data collection and we are in the process of analyzing
and writing up our findings. New developments in HIV prevention – namely the use of pre-exposure
prophylaxis (PreP) and early initiation of antiretroviral treatment for prevention of HIV transmission
(‘treatment as prevention’) are poised to be implemented in resource-poor settings, and this is
another important area of implementation ethics waiting to be explored.
B. Infectious disease control and ethics. Many developing countries have a high incidence and
prevalence of serious infectious diseases, including HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The central
concern of public health ethics is how disease threats can be effectively tackled without unduly
infringing on other important social values. The ethics of HIV testing approaches has been an area
of research focus for me since the World Health Organization changed its policy from voluntary
testing and counseling (VCT) to an ‘opt out’ approach aimed at increasing the numbers of tested
individuals who know their HIV status. In our article “Desperately seeking targets: the ethics of
routine HIV testing in low-income countries” (Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2006),
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Frieda Behets and I explored the possibility (based on experiences in the DR Congo) that women
under an ‘opt out’ HIV testing policy are likely to feel that they had no real choice to be tested, a
claim that has since been confirmed by a number of qualitative studies. A Congolese colleague and
trainee within our NIH/Fogarty bioethics program (Bavon Mupenda) and I analyzed the ethics of a
mandatory pre-marital HIV testing policy in the Eastern Congo, arguing that the policy has a weak
justification from a public health and ethical perspective, and recommending that the policy be
reconsidered. The severe toll of HIV/AIDS has understandably tempted some commentators to
embrace other forms of mandatory HIV testing, and I have explored the pros and cons of these
coercive approaches (“Do the ravages of HIV/AIDS ethically justify mandatory HIV testing,”
Developing World Bioethics, 2007; “HIV testing and individual rights”, Science, 2006).
HIV surveillance is another important public health tool that can raise ethical concerns. Experiences
with the way that unlinked anonymous HIV surveillance is actually conducted in developing
countries led to an examination of its rationale, particularly when such surveillance reveals HIV
diagnoses that cannot be returned to patients, access to antiretroviral treatment is increasing in
developing countries, and there are alternative means of measuring HIV prevalence and incidence
(Unlinked anonymous HIV surveillance in developing countries: lingering ethical, epidemiological
and public health system concerns, PLoS Medicine, 2009). Much research and scholarship remains
to be done in public health ethics regarding disease control and ethics, particularly as many
developing countries are experiencing a rapid epidemiological transition to non-infectious, chronic
conditions such as cardiovascular disease and obesity.
C. Health inequality, social determinants of health and ethics. Public health practitioners are well
aware that there are dramatic differences in health indicators between and within countries, and
that these differences are largely determined by social, political, historical and economic factors.
This insight has, until recently, not made a strong impact in bioethics, due in part to the neglect of
public health ethics in general. Working in developing countries, however, makes relationships
between health, inequality and social justice impossible to ignore. When impoverished health
research participants have serious health needs unrelated to the research question (the ‘ancillary
care responsibilities’ problem), this indicates that health research cannot be easily disentangled
from questions about social injustice and its effects on health. In Kinshasa, DR Congo, local health
researchers consider the problem of ancillary care one of the most pressing research ethics
challenges, and our NIH/Fogarty bioethics program recently organized a 2-day workshop to this
theme. Along with members of the Centre Interdisciplinaire de Bioethique pour L’Afrique
Francophone (CIBAF), established as part of the NIH/Fogarty grant, I co-authored an article on
ancillary care in the context of the DR Congo (“Engaging with research ethics in central
Francophone Africa: reflections on a workshop about ancillary care,” Philosophy, Ethics and
Humanities in Medicine, 2012). Experiences with research in developing countries also permitted me
to take alternative angle on a conventional question, namely whether participation in biomedical
research should be considered a moral obligation, given the social benefits of (successful) research.
Global inequalities mean that the fruits of research only arrive in developing world health systems
partially, expensively, slowly, or not at all. The call to reframe research participation as a moral
obligation, as research is becomes increasing globalized, is therefore likely to disproportionately
benefit affluent countries and exacerbate existing inequalities (“Viewing research participation as a
moral obligation: in whose interest?,” Hastings Center Report, 2011).
D. Globalizing bioethics. Bioethics as a field of inquiry has its historical origins in the United States.
Observers have claimed that some of the assumptions and preoccupations of bioethics reflect its
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social and cultural roots, particularly the emphasis on individual autonomy and the focus on
biotechnological innovations. This has led me to explore two questions: (1) Can bioethics be taught
in developing countries without being guilty of ‘cultural imperialism’? (2) Are there bioethics issues
in developing countries that are neglected in more affluent societies, and can attention to these
neglected issues enhance the richness of this field of inquiry? Reflective articles in collaboration
with Congolese and Chadian colleagues attempted to make some headway with these questions.
Our collective experiences with bioethics capacity-building in the Congo and Madagascar indicate
that imposition of foreign cultural values never really takes hold, and that while stimulating interest
and skills in bioethics faces considerable ethical, political and cultural challenges, a critical bioethics
culture can be valued locally as an counterweight to potential exploitation (“The ethics of
globalizing bioethics,” Ethics in Biology, Engineering and Medicine, 2011). In relation to question (2),
to the extent that mainstream bioethics emphasizes the value of autonomy and keeps analyses at
the level of individual behavior, many of the key ethical questions in medicine and public health in
developing countries may be rendered invisible. How to incorporate more social conceptions of
disease causation, prevalence, distribution and prevention into mainstream bioethics thought
remains a challenge (“Bioethics, medical individualism and health: can autonomy-based bioethics
promote social justice in resource-poor settings?,” Philosophy, Ethics and Humanities in Medicine,
2010). While the striking socio-economic and political inequalities between developed and
developing countries may lead to a presumption that bioethics issues in the two contexts are
radically different, illuminating similarities exist between the ethical challenges in medicine, public
health and health research in low-income countries and underserved, marginalized communities
within more affluent nations. Similar experiences with historical inequities, limited access to health
care, environmental injustice, racial/ethnic discrimination and gender violence mean that attention
to the perhaps more conspicuous ethical problems far away could be relevant to and have a
salutary effect on the practice of bioethics closer to home (“Living apart together: reflections on
bioethics, global inequality and social justice,” Philosophy, Ethics and Humanities in Medicine, 2007).
TEACHING
I have had the opportunity to teach research ethics, public health ethics and medical ethics to many
different audiences – medical and dental students, doctors, public health practitioners, law
students and lawyers, nurses, social science and health researchers – in an array of institutional
settings in North America, Europe and Africa. I have been involved in training grants in Central and
Southern Africa since 2004, whose goal is to build capacity in bioethics and research ethics in those
regions; the project’s core activities are teaching, mentoring and curriculum development. I am
proud to have contributed to the career development of Congolese and Malagasy colleagues, some
of whom I have co-authored publications with, and who are now in a position to take a leading role
in bioethics in their respective countries. I am also proud of the cohorts of trainees in our
NIH/Fogarty-funded bioethics program in Stellenbosch, who will return to their home institutions in
Southern Africa with the knowledge and skills to enhance the ethics of medicine and biomedical
research locally. Through my participation in these capacity-building projects, I have either
personally developed or have access to a wealth of pedagogical materials that I can use and share
with others. This resource is helpful as I continue to teach in the UNC Gillings Global School of
Public Health, UNC School of Medicine, UNC School of Dentistry, as well as humanities faculties on
campus.
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At the Gillings Global School of Public Health, I am regularly requested to guest lecture in a number
of courses, in addition to co-teaching EPID 898 (Global Health Ethics) and EPID 891 (History and
Philosophy of Epidemiology). These teaching opportunities permit me to build bridges between the
School of Public Health, Social Medicine and the School of Medicine, and I have been happy to see
public health students work their mentored course papers into peer-reviewed publications
(Margaret Carell, “Demographic and health surveillance: longitudinal ethical considerations,”
Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2008; Ross M. Boyce, “Waiver of consent: The use of
pyridostigmine bromide during the Persian Gulf War,” Journal of Military Ethics, 2009). At the UNC
School of Medicine, I am currently observing Medicine and Society, and I have led an HSS seminar
(for second year medical students) entitled Global Health and Medical Ethics for the past two years,
where medical students confront clinical ethics challenges within a global context, including topics
such as medical tourism, international medical internships, organ trade, and medicine in
humanitarian emergencies. During my years at the UNC School of Dentistry, I regularly led
discussions on ethics with students in the Dental Hygiene (BSDH) and Doctor in Dental Surgery
(DDS) programs, and I still guest lecture in the DENT 100 (Social and Ethical Issues in Dental
Practice) in the first year of the DDS. As former co-Chair of UNC’s Non-Biomedical Institutional
Review Board, I am familiar with and often participate in educational efforts about research
regulations and research ethics across campus, particularly in humanities faculties such as
psychology and anthropology. I find the best way of engaging students is to remind them that they
are involved in ethics all the time in everyday life, even if they may not be conscious of it. I find the
best way to raise awareness of the common ethical challenges within their own disciplines is to
provide concrete examples and engage in dialogue rather than starting with theories and giving
lectures. Once reaching a place of comfort, we can move to more provocative and unsettling
questions about institutional integrity, professional identity, and how issues of justice and injustice
impact the struggle to ‘do the right thing’ in medicine, public health and research with human
participants at home or abroad.
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