Ben Carson Named to White House Bioethics Panel

 Johns Hopkins Medicine
Office of Communications and Public Affairs
Media Contact: Staci Vernick Goldberg
410-516-4958
[email protected]
March 1, 2004

BEN CARSON NAMED TO WHITE HOUSE BIOETHICS PANEL

Benjamin S. Carson, M.D., Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, has been named to the President’s Council on Bioethics. The panel of 17 doctors, ethicists, lawyers, scientists and theologians is charged with addressing a range of bioethical issues and advising the President of related complex and often competing moral issues. At the creation of the panel in January 2002, the White House noted that Council members would be selected for both their specialized knowledge and their thoughtfulness to serious ethical inquiry.

“I thank President Bush for the honor of an invitation to serve on this important council,” Carson said. “As discovery and technology move science and medicine rapidly forward, I look forward to participating in meaningful dialogues on the ethics of applying this new knowledge to care for humankind.”
 
Carson gained world-wide recognition for his pioneering work in the separation of twins joined at the head. His humanitarian efforts have taken him all over the globe to participate in such surgeries. Carson is also noted for his use of hemispherectomy (removal of half of the brain) to control intractable seizures, as well as for his work in craniofacial reconstructive surgery, human dwarfism, and pediatric brain tumors.

Carson is a recipient of numerous honors and awards including more than 30 honorary doctorate degrees. He was named by the Library of Congress as one of 89 Living Legends on the occasion of its 200th anniversary and in 2001, was chosen by CNN and Time Magazine as one of America’s top 20 physicians and scientists. He is highly sought after as a motivational speaker, and is co-founder of the Carson Scholars Fund, which recognizes young people of all backgrounds for exceptional academic and humanitarian accomplishments. He is also the president and co-founder of the Benevolent Endowment Network (BEN) Fund, which will ultimately provide grants to assist families of pediatric neurosurgery patients with medical expenses not covered by health insurance. His three books are Gifted Hands, THINK BIG, and most recently, The Big Picture.

Carson joins two Johns Hopkins colleagues on the panel: psychiatrist Paul McHugh, M.D., and professor Francis Fukuyama, Ph.D., of the School of Advanced International Studies.

Please note that Dr. Carson is unavailable for media interviews on this topic. For more information on the Bioethics Council, please call the White House Office of Media Affairs at 202-456-5464.