Faculty

 ‘The Art of Medicine at the End of Life’

May 8, 2009

Andy Baxter, BA, MBA founded the Cunniff-Dixon Foundation in 2005 in memory of his late wife, Carley Cunniff, and in recognition of the care Dr. Peter S. Dixon provided her. Through its educational programs, annual Cunniff-Dixon prizes, and Website, the Foundation exists to educate and inspire physicians in the art of medicine for patients at or near the ends of their lives.

Arthur Caplan, PhD serves as the Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Caplan is the author or editor of twenty-five books and over 500 papers in refereed journals of medicine, science, philosophy, bioethics and health policy. His research interests range widely and currently include transplantation research ethics, genetics, reproductive technologies, health policy, and general bioethics. His most recent book is Smart Mice Not So Smart People (2006). He writes a regular column on bioethics for MSNBC.com.

Thomas R. Cole, PhD iis the McGovern Chair in Medical Humanities and Director of the McGovern Center for Health, Humanities, and the Human Spirit at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. His book The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America (1992) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His award-winning films include: Anatomy and Humanity(2001) and Stroke: Conversations and Explanations (2007). Cole’s most recent co-edited books are Faculty Health in Academic Medicine: Physicians, Scientists and the Pressures of Success(2008) and Guide to Humanistic Studies in Aging (2009).

Peter S. Dixon, MD practices hematology/oncology in Essex, Connecticut. His approach to patient care, including his care of Carley Cunniff, inspired formation of the Cunniff-Dixon Foundation.

Geoffrey P. Dunn, MD, FACS serves as Medical Director, Palliative Care Consultation Service, Hamot Medical Center, Erie, Pennsylvania. For the American College of Surgeons, he co-chaired The Surgeons Palliative Care Workgroup (2001-2002) and was series editor of 20-plus articles published asPalliative Care By The Surgeon: A Compendium that was published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons during 2001-2003.

Diane E. Meier, MD, FACP is Director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), a national organization devoted to increasing the number and quality of palliative care programs in the United States. She is also Director of the Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute; Professor of Geriatrics and Internal Medicine; and Catherine Gaisman Professor of Medical Ethics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where she has served on the faculty since 1983. Meier is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Institute on Aging Academic Career Leadership Award, the Open Society Institute Faculty Scholar’s Award of the Project on Death in America, and the Founders Award of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

Thomas H. Murray, PhD is President of The Hastings Center and serves on many editorial boards of journals in bioethics. He served as President of the Society for Health and Human Values and of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities and has testified before many Congressional committees.. His books include The Worth of a Child(1996), Healthcare Ethics and Human Values: An Introductory Text with Readings and Case Studies (2002), and The Cultures of Caregiving: Conflict and Common Ground among Families, Health Professionals and Policy Makers, edited with Carol Levine (2007).

Winthrop Rutherfurd, Jr., LLB is Partner, White & Case, LLP of New York City. For more than 35 years, Mr. Rutherfurd has practiced in the trusts and estates department of White & Case, advising individuals and families in all aspects of estate planning, including advance directives and durable powers of attorney for health care. He is active in a number of charitable organizations, serving on the Boards of The Fresh Air Fund and The Metropolitan Opera Guild, as well as on committees of the Bar Associations of New York City and New York State.