Bioethics & Health Humanities Committed to moral inquiry, research, teaching, and professional service in healthcare

The Department of Bioethics & Health Humanities is an interdisciplinary research and teaching program rooted in philosophy, literature, religion, history, bioethics, law, and the social sciences. We seek to illuminate value questions in healthcare settings, elicit meaning from illness, and cultivate critical intelligence that probes the making, meaning, and authority of diverse knowledges. This broad-gauged inquiry provides the foundation for the activities of the faculty in medical and graduate teaching, clinical and research ethics consultation, health policy analysis, community engagement, and multidisciplinary, collaborative research.

Our Mission

Interdisciplinary and collaborative moral inquiry, research, teaching, and professional service in healthcare

Our Team

9
Faculty
4
Postdocs
22
Students

 Research Areas

  • Clinical Ethics Research
  • Research Ethics and Integrity
  • Historical Perspectives of Health
  • Public Health Studies
  • Science and Technology Studies
  • Feminist Studies
  • Reproductive Justice
More about Research

 Degree Programs 

Bioethics and Health Humanities
PhD
MA in Bioethics and Health Humanities
Master of Arts (MA)
Bioethics
Master of Public Health (MPH)
Bioethics and Health Humanities Certificate
Certificate Program

News & Events

 Upcoming Events

Logo for UTMB National Public Health Week 2026

National Public Health Week 2026

National Public Health Week is a time to recognize how public health improves daily life and to focus on practical steps that strengthen communities. UTMB SPPH will mark the week with panel discussions, a career mixer, a student symposium featuring Dr. Umair Shah as keynote speaker, and a community service day.

This page will be updated as details are finalized.

April 6–10, 2026

Apr
6
Monday — Community Voices Panel
12:00–1:00 p.m.  ·  HEC 1.202  ·  A conversation on community care access for chronic health conditions, centered on HIV/AIDS patients and care providers, with audience Q&A. Panelists are staff from Access Care of Coastal Texas (ACCT).
Travis Newman Director of Nutrition, Events, and Volunteers Darron Miller Transportation & Nutrition Coordinator
Tom Griffiths Outreach & Prevention Coordinator Thomas Fisher Front Office Manager
Moderator Katie Markello , Behavioral Health Services Coordinator
Apr
7
Tuesday — Career Connections Mixer
10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.  ·  HEC 3.222  ·  An informal career fair where each organization will have a table. Students rotate between tables to meet representatives, learn what skills and experience they look for, and explore internship and job opportunities across healthcare, government, nonprofits, consulting, industry, and more.
Participating organizations include UTMB, Houston Methodist, Kelsey Seybold, Mental Health West Oaks, Equality Health, Episcopal Health Foundation, As One Foundation, American Heart Association, AHEC, CDC, DSHS, Galveston County Health District, City of Houston Health and Human Services, Harris County Public Health, Dallas County Health and Human Services, Harris County Library Services, City of Deer Park, Dow Chemical, ConocoPhillips, Eli Lilly, January Advisors, Ford Momentum, Qualtrics, and Conduent.
Apr
8
Wednesday — Public Health Symposium
1:00–4:30 p.m.  ·  HEC  ·  An afternoon symposium showcasing public health work through student poster presentations and a 3:00 p.m. keynote address by Dr. Umair Shah, Chief Medical Officer at Jaan Health and former Washington State Secretary of Health.
KeynoteNavigating Health in a Divided Nation: Trust, Transformation, and Technology
Six abstracts from students at Badya University in Egypt have been accepted for presentation during the 1:00–2:30 p.m. session in HEC 3.206. Presentations are pre-recorded; students will join live via Zoom for Q&A.
Alumni and students are also welcome to join a lunch and Dean's Reception in HEC 1.200 beginning at 12:00 p.m., one hour before the symposium. Please RSVP if you plan to attend. Alumni visiting campus, please park in Garage #2 and bring your parking ticket to the lunch so we can help validate it.

RSVP for the Alumni Lunch and Dean's Reception

Apr
9
Thursday — Making Preparedness Real: How a Biocontainment Unit Builds Safe Care for High-Consequence Infection
12:00–1:00 p.m.  ·  HEC 3.200  ·  How do hospitals prepare for highly infectious diseases before a crisis arrives? This panel brings together researchers from UTMB's SPECTRE and the Department of Bioethics and Health Humanities to examine how safety is built through training, protocols, PPE, and coordination across clinical and biosafety teams. The session concludes with a live demonstration of donning and doffing gowns and biocontainment suits.
Panelists Alberto Aparicio, Corri Levine, Susan McLellan, Stephen Molldrem, Xiang Yu    Chair Melissa Massey
Apr
10
Friday — Service Day Postponed
The NPHW Service Day beach clean-up has been postponed due to weather.
On behalf of the SPPH Student Association, we sincerely thank everyone who planned to volunteer and support the beach clean-up effort. A new date will be shared soon.

Event Information

National Public Health Week 2026
-, 2026 - -
The University of Texas Medical Branch
Add to Calendar:

Event Contacts

Austin Taylor
See all Bioethics & Health Humanities News & Events

Contact

Contact Information

Phone: (409) 772-2376 | Email: bhh@utmb.edu

 Mailing Address

  • Mailing Address

    The University of Texas Medical Branch
    301 University Boulevard
    Galveston, Texas 77555-1150

 Physical location

  • Institute for Bioethics & Health Humanities
    School of Public and Population Health
    1005 Harborside Drive
    4th Floor, UTMB Health Clinics
    Galveston, Texas 77555-1150