Previous Santander Scholarship Recipients
Scholarship recipients enroll in Ethics and Society courses and participate in a broad range of the Center for Ethics Education events, including sponsored lectures, faculty ethics seminars, and other Center events. Below are brief biographies of our past Santander Universities/Fordham Ethics and Society Scholarship recipients.
2016 Scholarship Recipients
Cheryl Chin | St. Mary's University (England) | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Cheryl Chin is a MA student in Bioethics and Medical Law at St. Mary’s University Twickenham in the UK. She is a qualified medical doctor who has undergraduate degrees in the Biomedical Sciences and Medicine from University of Southampton. Her final research project was in the field of neuropsychiatry, which formed part of a larger project subsequently published in the Journal of Neuropsychology. In addition to her time as a clinician in numerous departments including geriatrics, emergency medicine and pediatrics, she developed and maintained a keen interest in theology and the liberal arts which culminated in her study of bioethics. Being a native of two countries, Singapore and England, she has an interest in how differing cultural contexts impact bioethical practices. Her recent work as a public policy researcher for Christian Medical Fellowship included contributing to government consultations on behalf of Christian doctors and allied health professionals on religion and belief as well as informing the public on mitochondria donation techniques and end of life issues. She has a particular interest in health organizational ethics and the impact of technologies on the traditional caring role of the doctor.
Cornelius Ewuoso | Stellenbosch University, South Africa | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Cornelius Ewuoso was an international visiting fellow at the institute for Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, Ruhr- Universitait, Bochum; and a recipient of the Master of Science in Bioethics scholarship award of the West African Bioethics Training Programs. He has published articles with Ibadan Dominican Studies and in the Journal of Global Bioethics. Currently, he is enrolled in the Center for Applied Ethics, Department of Philosophy, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa: for a PhD in Applied Ethics with concentration in Bioethics. His Ph.D. research is focused on Information management in Physician-patient consultative encounters. His other research interests include Ethics of community-engaged Research, Applied Ethics, and Research Ethics.
Agata Ferretti | Università degli Studi di Milano | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Agata will be graduating with a Master of Arts in Moral Philosophy from the Università degli Studi di Milano in June 2016. During her studies she focused on bioethics and neuroethics. Her master’s thesis focuses on the ethical implications of human enhancement. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in June 2014 with a B.A. in Moral Philosophy with a thesis titled “Free Will and Responsibility: Neuroscientific discoveries challenge the freedom of the will and moral responsibility”. Last year, Agata completed an exchange program at KU Leuven (Belgium), attending courses in the Erasmus Mundus Master of Bioethics Program. She attended bioethics lectures also at Helsinki University and participated in a series of conferences at the Zurich University Winter School on Human Enhancement. In the summer 2015 she was an Intern at the UN-afiliated non-profit organization "Global Bioethics Initiative” (New York City). Agata is currently collaborating with the Sasso-Corbaro Foundation (Switzerland) department of Medical Humanities. She will be pursuing an M.Sc. in Global Health at the London School of Economics. She hopes to attain a Ph.D. integrating her interests in philosophy, bioethics, and health policy
Jodie Satterley LL.B | The University of Kent | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Jodie graduated from the University of Kent with an LL.B degree in Law with a year in China. She spent a year studying at Southwest University of Political Science and Law where she was awarded the Chongqing Mayor’s Scholarship. Whilst abroad Jodie studied Chinese and international law in addition to the Mandarin language. She received undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships to study at the University of Kent where she is currently completing an LL.M masters degree in International Law and International Relations. She has focused on security, terrorism and international criminal law and cooperation. She is currently developing a dissertation on extradition to death penalty states. Jodie has experience as an intern at global law firm King and Wood Mallesons, as a pro bono Student Caseworker at Kent Law Clinic, and as a Paralegal in local government. She will be joining the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office this summer. Her paper ‘Terrorism in the Eye of the Beholder: The Imperative Quest for a Universally Agreed Definition of Terrorism’ was recently published by the Kent Student Law Review.
Waisan Ng | Rice University | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Waisan is a first year philosophy graduate student at Rice University. Before he came to America, he had earned his bachelor degree in Hong Kong, where he is born and raised. Currently Waisan has a strong research interest in Metaphysics, Logic, and Neo-Confucianism, but his primary concern is how morality could be grounded in a natural world in which multifarious cultures are found. Apart from Western
Philosophy, Waisan is well-trained in classical Confucianism and neo-Confucianism (especially in Song-Ming Dynasty). Fascinated by the reaction of a Confucian society towards Christianity and the dialects between the two, he did his undergraduate thesis on moral naturalismin late Imperial China. His background both in Confucianism and Christianity makes him very sensitive to the conflicts in moral judgements between cultures and religion, as well as the how the paradigm of morality has shifted over the history. Apart from being a philosophy student, Waisan has found and served as president as the chairperson of a charitable organization which aims op provide free tutorial education to underprivileged students in Hong Kong, where the income disparity between the rich and the poor is ranked 1st among the world. The organization is registered and it is now operating with funding from various big foundations.
2015 Scholarship Recipients
Rebecca Brione | Twickenham, U.K. | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Rebecca Brione is a MA student in Bioethics and Medical Law at St. Mary's University, Twickenham, UK. She has an undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge, with a final year specialization in molecular biology. During her time at Cambridge, she carried out research projects at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, and at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Following graduation, Rebecca joined the prestigious Civil Service Fast Stream which prepares graduates for senior management roles in Government administration. Over the next ten years, she held a variety of positions across environmental and agricultural policy, leading interdisciplinary teams and working with Ministers, high profile non-Governmental organizations and major UK businesses to develop and implement policy. Rebecca started the study of bioethics after realizing that it brought together all her interests in biological sciences, medicine, the law and public policy. She has a particular interest in issues around reproduction, autonomy and gender and in May 2015 will be publishing her first paper on women's autonomy and Caesarean section. She is currently scoping her MA dissertation on the topic of autonomy and homebirth, and hopes to continue to a PhD in the future.
Princess A.U. Chukwuneke | Lagos, Nigeria | MA Ethics and Society Program Scholarship
Princess A.U. Chukwuneke is a native of Lagos, Nigeria, and a 2015 graduate of Fordham University, Rose Hill. She is currently enrolled in the Ethics and Society Master’s Program at Fordham. As an undergraduate, Miss Chukwuneke conducted biotechnological research, where she designed and synthesized novel ethical substitutes (usually plant-based nano-materials) to aid in drug delivery to cancerous tumors and act as antimicrobials and photocatalysts, to name a few. She has published research articles and presented her research at various conferences in the U.S. Her desire to become a medical doctor influenced her interest in bioethics. Of particular concern to her is the impact of the progressive field of medical technology on choice and action, especially when viewed under a religious lens. To what extent is technology replacing “God”? Is the need to heal and cure becoming a spring board for sex and character selection, as well as the practice of withholding death despite its inevitability? In general, Ms. Chukwuneke seeks to understand the current arguments in medical ethics to enable her engage in these discussions once in medical school.
Danielle Couch | Notting Hill, Australia | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Danielle Couch has a Master of Public Health (MPH) and is currently is a PhD candidate with Centre for Ethics in Medicine and Society at Monash University in Australia. During her MPH Danielle undertook research into online dating, sex and risk, using online qualitative data collection methods. Her PhD research uses sociological perspectives to explore how health issues (particularly body weight) are portrayed in contemporary popular Australian media. An area of emerging focus in this research is the relationship between public health programs, data and surveillance, and media. Danielle’s professional experience includes setting up a consumer-focused research unit for Arthritis Victoria, a state-based peak musculoskeletal organization. She also spent a number of years working in the development and delivery of online health programs, including the analysis of large data sets collected through online health risk appraisals. Danielle currently works in a program for people with severe and persistent mental illness and complex service needs, with her focus being on system reform projects around homelessness, consumer and carer participation, rurality, concepts of recovery and stigma-reduction. Danielle is a peer-review for a variety of health and internet/new media journals.
Tory Hibbitt | Kent, U.K. | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Tory Hibbitt completed her Baccalaureate of Arts Honours in Philosophy at Queen’s University, Canada, in 2011. In 2010 she was awarded the opportunity to study at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. It was throughout her philosophy degree that she acquired an interest in ethics, particularly pharmaceutical ethics. Having a background in philosophy, the ‘critical law school’ at the University of Kent provides the ideal academic environment for Tory to study law. The critical approach favored by Kent Law School allows for her to combine her analytical skills and preference for ethics and philosophical inquiry with the study of law. Tory completed her LLB at the University of Kent with First Class Honours in July 2014. Having been awarded an International Scholarship for Postgraduate Students by the University of Kent, Tory is happy to be continuing her studies in pursuit of an LLM, specializing in Medical Law and Ethics with a particular interest in end-of-life issues.
Koko Kwisda | Vienna, Austria | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Koko is a Research Fellow in Bioethics at the Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences, Hannover. She is currently pursuing her PhD focusing on ethical issues related to chimera research. She simultaneously conducts research within the excellence cluster REBIRTH and the IMI project for establishing a European bank for induced pluripotent stem cells (EBiSC). Koko holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in both Molecular Biology and Philosophy from the University of Vienna. In the course of her Masters in Molecular Biology, she specialized in Molecular Medicine, Neuroscience, and Cell Biology. She gained lab experience at Yale University School of Medicine, the Research Center of Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM) and the Center for Brain Research of Vienna University of Medicine. Her thesis was undertaken at the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Molecular Biological Food Analysis (CD-MOFA) at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, where she conducted research on method development for the molecular biological detection of food pathogens. Her philosophy thesis explored ethical issues regarding pre-implantation diagnosis and human embryonic stem cell research.
Alexandra Largu | Iasi, Romania | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Alexandra Largu is a doctoral student at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Iasi, Romania. She is a licensed psychologist, having studied Psychology at the “Al. I. Cuza” University in Iasi. She also has a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. She is currently working as a clinical psychologist at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Iasi, with patients diagnosed with HIV and their families. Alexandra’s research interests and publications deal with ethical aspects and the quality of life in the HIV/AIDS pathology, including the impact of HIV/AIDS on self-esteem and dyadic adjustment in HIV-positive and discordant couples (including disclosure of the diagnosis). Her research is often in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team at the HIV/AIDS Regional Center in Iasi.
Stephanie Puen | Manila, Philippines | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Stephanie Ann Puen graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor of Science in Management Engineering and a minor in Financial Management in 2012. She worked under the Ramcar group of companies, a group of companies in the Philippines that include KFC, Mister Donut, Tokyo Tokyo, Bigoli, Stickhouse Gelato, and Motolite, as an analyst under the corporate planning department. She handled all the concerns of the international markets for Motolite as well as possible acquisitions and external projects. She is now a faculty member of the Department of Theology at the Ateneo de Manila University, having graduated with a Master of Arts in Theological Studies in 2015. Wishing to bridge theology and business, her two passions, she teaches moral theology and ethics to undergraduate students and religious education to graduate students of the university. Her areas of research interest include moral theology, Catholic social thought, business ethics, design thinking and theology, comparative theology, feminist theology, and queer theology.
2014 Scholarship Recipients
Rachel Heavey | Dublin Ireland | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Rachel Heavey earned a First Class honors degree in Law with Philosophy from University College Dublin in 2013. In 2011/2012 she spent a year studying international law and completed graduate courses in philosophy at Stockholm University, Sweden. Former editor at the University College Dublin Law Review, she was runner-up of the inaugural Bold Ideas award for student innovation in the legal sphere, as organized by Ireland’s leading law firm, A&L Goodbody. She is currently pursuing an M. Phil in Creative Writing at the Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing at Trinity College, Dublin and plans to pursue a terminal degree in the area of philosophy and law. A lover of New York, she spent last summer working in the East Village.
Stephan Hecht | Rosenheim, Germany | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Stephan Hecht completed his pre-diploma and undergraduate studies at the University of Munich, where he served as the chief editor of the student journal Rundbogen. He is currently studying at Heythrop College in their master’s program in Philosophy and Religion. Upon completion of the master’s program, he plans to apply for a doctoral degree at Oxford University where he hopes to continue his philosophical and theological studies in the areas of faith and justice. Mr. Hecht’s main area of scholarship centers on ancient and medieval developments within the relationship between moral truth, faith and ethical theory, where he hopes to be able to contribute on a widening of the term justice and its deep metaphysical tradition.
Gregory Jackson | London, England | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Gregory Jackson completed his undergraduate studies in the University of Oxford in Philosophy and Theology. After completing his undergraduate degree, he concluded that the problems and normative ethical questions raised by the constant and rapid advances in medical technology were more pressing than the more epistemological philosophy he studied while at Oxford. As a result, he undertook a one year Masters in Contemporary Ethics in Heythrop College, with an emphasis upon bioethics and medical ethics. This summer, he will be working on his dissertation on the role doctors as professionals. Following his master’s program, Mr. Jackson hopes to return to Oxford in order to do a doctorate in Bioethics and ultimately teach. Next year, while completing his doctoral program applications, he will be working in the British Parliament shadowing a member of parliament (MP).
Michael Afolabi | Lagos, Nigeria | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Originally trained in the biomedical sciences in Nigeria, Michael Afolabi has a keen interest in the social sciences and humanities. His research interests span areas of bioethics such as neuroethics, public health ethics, professionalism, research ethics and theological ethics. He is also interested in academic disciplines such as clinical chemistry, healthcare innovation and medical sociology. He has published research articles and made a number of paper presentations at academic conferences across the continents. Mr. Afolabi is currently a doctoral student at the Center for Healthcare Ethics at Duquesne University and will serve as an Associate Editor of an upcoming volume of the Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics which will be published by Springer. He also writes poetry and has contributed poems to two published anthologies.
Arunansu Talukdar | Kolkata, India | HIV and Drug Abuse Research Ethics Training Institute
Arunansu Talukdar started his professional career as physician and got involved in caring AIDS patients. Later he obtained his PhD in Epidemiology from School of Public Health at University of California Los Angeles in 2007, focusing on sexual risk behavior and STD/HIV scenario among homeless people in Kolkata, India. He has published several articles on association of circumcision and reduced HIV acquisition, inconsistent condom use and high prevalence of STDs among homeless people. He completed WHO Fellowship in 2011 and later published articles on coping strategy, quality of life among HIV infected people. After joining Medical College Kolkata, India, he conducted a course on research methodology in STD/HIV in collaboration with Washington University. He is now guiding five MD students who are conducting research on HIV prevention and care. He hopes to develop a training center for health research for all categories of staff.
2013 Scholarship Recipients
Andreana Marchi | Santa Caterina, Brazil | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Andreana Marchi holds a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature from Federal University of Santa Catarina and a BA in English and Portuguese languages and literatures from UNIDAVI, Brazil. She also lived in the United States from 2007-2009, where she attended classes in a college in Pennsylvania. Ms. Marchi is currently applying to doctoral programs to study linguistics. As a linguist, discourse analyst, teacher and instructor of English and Brazilian Portuguese languages, her research interests focus on the interdisciplinary study of language, culture and society. Ms. Marchi first became interested in the relationship between language and politics during the 2008 U.S. presidential election and continued this line of study throughout her master’s program, focusing on the interdisciplinary features of discourse analysis. Ms. Marchi wrote her MA thesis on the political speeches of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. She has previously taught at Federal University of Santa Catarina and currently teaches English for Specific Purposes at Leonardo da Vinci University Center. Ms. Marchi’s scholarly interests are well aligned with the topics of this year’s Theories and Applications in Contemporary Ethics workshop, which will, in part, focus on understanding ethics across cultures and the cultural determinants of morality and ethical judgements. Her final paper was mentored by social theorist and Professor of Sociology, Dr. Doyle McCarthy, whose scholarship focuses on interdisciplinary studies of culture, language, and emotions.
Stella Njuguna | Nairobi, Kenya | HIV and Drug Abuse Research Ethics Training Institute
Dr. Njuguna is a Research Officer at Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). She earned her pharmacy degree from the University of Nairobi, Kenya and a MPH in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley. Her main research interests include: HIV prevention care and treatment as well as socio-behavioral research especially within HIV discordant couples. Currently, Dr. Njuguna is a co-Investigator for the HIV- Neurology in Kenya Study 2 (THINK-2) and a pharmacist and epidemiologist for Sustainable East Africa in Community Health (SEARCH) study. THINK-2 is a longitudinal study that aims to assess the impact of cognitive impairment on adherence to anti-retroviral therapy (ART). SEARCH project is a cluster-randomized multi-site clinical trial which aims to quantify the health, economic and education impact of early diagnosis and immediate ART treatment using a streamlined care delivery system in rural communities in East Africa. Furthermore, she has a keen interest in research ethics and currently provides technical support to KEMRI’s Ethics Review Committee. Dr. Njuguna is also a member of the ADILI Taskforce Secretariat which has been mandated by the Director of KEMRI to restructure the Institute’s research and regulatory review system. She is also a production editor for KEMRI’s quarterly bioethics newsletter.
2012 Scholarship Recipients
Eduardo Passos| Florianopolis, Brazil | Ethics Intensive Workshop
Eduardo Passos traveled from Florianopolis, Brazil to New York for one week to attend our three-day intensive workshop Theories and Applications in Contemporary Ethics. Mr. Passos has completed a master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from Instituto de Estudos Políticos da Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Portugal and bachelors of science degree in economics from Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil and is currently applying to doctoral programs to study political philosophy. Mr. Passos is an impressive student who, in addition to his bachelor’s in economics and a master’s in political science, has studied and attended conferences all over the world and is in the process of publishing his master’s thesis into a book. Complimenting Mr. Passos’ background and interests, the Theories and Applications in Contemporary Ethics features a cross-disciplinary faculty who present foundations and applications to ethical and moral questions of contemporary social importance. Mr. Passos’s particular political philosophy interests match well with those of Center for Ethics Education affiliated faculty Dr. Nicholas Tampio (political science), who mentored his final paper for the intensive workshop.
Charmaine Thokoane | Capetown, South Africa | HIV and Drug Abuse Research Ethics Training Institute
Charmaine Thokoane is currently a project coordinator at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for the Study of AIDS and brings a wealth of experience in conducting international HIV/AIDS research in a region hardest hit by the epidemic. In addition to managing research on HIV/AIDS throughout Africa, Ms. Thokoane conducts trainings on HIV/AIDS, gender, pre and post-test HIV counseling, stigma and discrimination, and sex and sexuality. Ms. Thokoane participated in institute lectures and activities, had opportunities to individually meet and interact with our distinguished faculty throughout the ten-day institute, and gained valuable knowledge on research ethics that can inform ongoing and future studies at the Center for the Study of AIDS. Following the institute, Ms. Thokoane joined institute fellows and faculty at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C.