MED2029 Bioethics Essay Competition for Undergraduates

[Lori Ferguson]

Dr. Amy Caruso Brown would like to share this opportunity with you. Please see information below.

Have a great weekend,

Lori



From: Amy E. Caruso Brown <BrownAmy at upstate.edu>
Sent: Friday, December 5, 2025 11:08 AM
To: Susan Anderson <AndersSu at upstate.edu>; Dana Mihaila <MihailDa at upstate.edu>; Matthew D. Mason <MasonM at upstate.edu>
Subject: Fw: [EXTERNAL] [ASBH] Bioethics Essay Competition for Undergraduates



Please consider sharing with students. Thanks!



Amy E. Caruso Brown, MD, MSc, MSCS, HEC-C (she/her/hers)

Chair, Center for Bioethics and Humanities

Medical Alumni Association Endowed Associate Professor of Bioethics and Humanities

Associate Professor of Pediatrics

SUNY Upstate Medical University

315.464.8464 office

315.525.9115 mobile

mailto:brownamy at upstate.edu



The Onondaga Nation, firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee, are the Indigenous peoples on whose ancestral lands the city of Syracuse and Upstate Medical University now stand.

________________________________

From: ASBH <asbh-bounces at listserve.com<mailto:asbh-bounces at listserve.com>> on behalf of Patrick Herron via ASBH <asbh at listserve.com<mailto:asbh at listserve.com>>
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2025 2:40:53 PM
To: asbh at listserve.com<mailto:asbh at listserve.com> <asbh at listserve.com<mailto:asbh at listserve.com>>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [ASBH] Bioethics Essay Competition for Undergraduates



Hello, On behalf of the faculty and staff of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics, I’d like to share with you our call for student submissions for the 2026 Dr. Shoshanah Trachtenberg Frackman Annual Essay Competition in Biomedical Ethics!

Hello,



On behalf of the faculty and staff of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics, I’d like to share with you our call for student submissions for the 2026 Dr. Shoshanah Trachtenberg Frackman Annual Essay Competition in Biomedical Ethics!



Our annual essay contest is named in memory of Dr. Shoshanah Trachtenberg Frackman, an Alumna of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Class of 1983. Following her untimely death in 1990, her family endowed a fund in her honor to support the study of biomedical ethics in the aim of furthering her ideals. Three essays will be selected and may be published on our website and social media platforms with monetary awards of $1,000 (first place), $750 (second place), and $250 (third place).



Our theme this year is Conscientious Objection

For our 2025-2026 essay competition, we invite students to submit an essay exploring an issue or examining a question related to the topic of conscientious objection. Is conscientious objection ethically justifiable if/when it conflicts with legal or professional obligations? Essay must explore and discuss the ethical, legal, and societal implications of allowing individuals to refuse duties based on moral or spiritual beliefs and consider how society should balance personal conscience with the common good. Students should use ethical theories and examples to support their arguments and counterarguments.



Essay Guidelines:

• Our essay competition is open to students who are currently enrolled, either full-time or part-time, in an undergraduate program (associate’s or bachelor’s degree) at an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada.

• Students may only submit one essay, and it must be based on the assigned theme of conscientious objection.

• Students should present their essay topic in the form of a thesis statement with well-structured argument(s) supported by applicable ethical frameworks or ethical theories. Essays should also identify and respond to relevant counterarguments.

• Essays must be student applicant’s original work with expectation that any works consulted will be properly cited.

• Essays should be approximately 800 to 1,200 words in length (citations not included in word count).

• Essays must be submitted as an attached word document or pdf from your college/university email account.

• Email submissions must include the student's full name and telephone number as well as the name of your college/university, the degree program you are enrolled in, and your academic year in school.



Submission Deadline:

Essay must be emailed to patrick.herron at einsteinmed.edu<mailto:patrick.herron at einsteinmed.edu> no later than 5:00pm (ET) on Friday, January 16th, 2026. Please include “STF Essay Competition” in the subject line of your email.



For more information: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://einsteinmed.edu/education/bioethics/news/trachtenberg-essay-competition__;!!GobTDDpD7A!IZ0tRzTOGI-PIHQxdqKCQp78qTpYYtu57bI5Czx4lJLgJ5loiFTajoO2CAfwgZnFlFvXl-ZlImOe4WgbsY9Wq-qpkwCYgg$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/einsteinmed.edu/education/bioethics/news/trachtenberg-essay-competition__;!!GobTDDpD7A!KiNK-5JwZ84fwumnZxhVuv0h3Q2wh9O8gcJ-Liv8S2tphjetYDj6ZU0JbYQ8CFgl7ZQZxSBqtSpm8KbC9Q$>



If you could please share this with others, it would be greatly appreciated!




Patrick D. Herron, DBe, HEC-C (he/him/his)
Assistant Director, Bioethics Graduate Education
Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics
Office: 718-920-7320

Associate Professor, Department of Family & Social Medicine
Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

My work day/week may be different than your own. Please do not feel obligated to respond outside of your normal working hours.
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