Stephen Barr is professor emeritus of physics at the University of Delaware. He received his doctorate in theoretical particle physics from Princeton University in 1978. He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2011 for his contributions to grand unified theories, the theory of CP violation, and the cosmology of the early universe. He serves as President of the Society of Catholic Scientists.
Prof. Melissa Moschella, Catholic University of America, "Vaccines and cell lines of questionable origin"
Melissa Moschella is Associate Professor of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America, where her teaching and research focus on natural law, biomedical ethics, and the moral and political status of the family. Her book, To Whom Do Children Belong? Parental Rights, Civic Education and Children’s Autonomy was published in 2016 by Cambridge University Press. Dr. Moschella speaks and writes on a variety of contemporary moral issues, including brain death, end-of-life ethics, parental rights, reproductive technologies, and conscience rights. Her articles have been published in scholarly journals as well as popular media outlets, including Bioethics, The Journal of Medical Ethics, The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Christian Bioethics, Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, The American Journal of Jurisprudence, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The New York Daily News, and The Public Discourse. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, received a Licentiate in Philosophy summa cum laude from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, and received her Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Princeton University.
Prof. Paul Scherz, Catholic University of America, , "CRISPR/Cas9 and the Ethics of Gene Editing"
Paul Scherz is an Associate Professor of Moral Theology and Ethics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America. He also co-directs the joint Catholic Clinical Ethics program with Georgetown University’s Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, and is an External Fellow at Duquesne University's Grefenstette Center for Ethics in Science, Technology, and Law. Drawing on his training in both genetics and moral theology, he examines the moral implications of biomedical technologies. Along with many articles in theology, bioethics, and scientific journals, he is the author of Science and Christian Ethics (Cambridge, 2019) and co-editor of The Evening of Life: The Challenges of Aging and Dying Well (Notre Dame, 2020). His most recent book, Tomorrow’s Troubles: Risk, Anxiety, and Prudence in an Age of Algorithmic Governance (Georgetown, 2022), examines the role of risk in contemporary culture.
Prof. Maureen Condic, University of Utah, "Human Stem Cell Research and Therapies"
Dr. Condic is Associate Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Utah. Her research focuses on the role of stem cells in development and regeneration, and has been recognized by both the Basil O'Connor and the McKnight awards. She is currently a member of Pontifical Academy for Life, and in 2018, was appointed by the President of the United States to the National Science Board. She is Board Member of the Society of Catholic Scientists and won its 2019 St. Albert Award. Dr. Condic is the co-author of Human Embryos, Human Beings (winner of the 2020 international Expanded Reason Award), that explores the nature of the human embryo from scientific and philosophical perspectives. Her second book, Untangling Twinning (2020), considers the ethical and biologic issues raised by human monozygotic twinning. Dr. Condic has taught Human Embryology in the University of Utah Medical School for 20 years. She has a strong commitment to public education, and has presented over 250 seminars and interviews, both nationally and internationally, on science policy, bioethics and her own research.
Prof. Paul Hruz, Washington University, "Medical Approaches to Alleviate Suffering in People with Sex-Discordant Gender Identity"
Paul Hruz is an academic pediatric endocrinologist and tenured physician scientist with faculty appointments in both Pediatrics and Cellular Biology and Physiology. He received his MD and PhD degrees from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed residency training in Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle and fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology at Washington University in St Louis. Dr. Hruz has over 25 years of clinical experience in caring for children with disorders of sexual development. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts, scientific reviews and book chapters.
Prof. Christopher Kaczor, Loyola Marymount University, "The Just War Tradition: Evolving Towards Pacifism?"
Dr. Christopher Kaczor (rhymes with razor) is Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University and the St. Thomas Aquinas Fellow for the Renewal of Catholic Intellectual Life at the Word on Fire Institute. He has authored several books, including Jordan Peterson, God, and Christianity: The Search for a Meaningful Life (coauthored with Matthew Petrusek), and his research on issues of ethics, philosophy, and religion has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, National Review, NPR, BBC, EWTN, ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, MSNBC, and "The Today Show." He can be found on Twitter at @Prof_Kaczor.