2025 Call for Proposals

CBHD invites healthcare and other professionals, scholars, researchers, educators, and students to submit abstracts of papers that address questions associated with our conference theme—Living in the Biotech Century: The First 25 Years—or that engage more broadly with other foundational and emerging bioethical issues raised at the intersections of medicine, science, technology, and our common humanity. For more information, see the Submission Guidelines below.

Living in the Biotech Century: The First 25 Years

The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity
32nd Annual Summer Conference
June 26–28, 2025
Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL, USA

Proposal Deadline: January 2, 2025

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

Looking to enter the student paper competition? Visit the Student Paper Competition Page.


SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Requirements

All serious proposals relevant to the study of Christian bioethics are welcome, particularly those in the following subject areas:

- General Bioethics
- Biotechnology
- Clinical Ethics
- Disability
- Emerging Issues in Bioethics
- Empirical Research
- Global Bioethics and/or Public Health
- Medical Humanities
- Nursing Ethics
- Philosophical and/or Theological Engagement
- Public Policy and/or Biolaw
- Research Ethics
- Technology Assessment
- Women's Health

All proposals are evaluated through a blind review process. Identifying information must not be included in the abstract.

Deadline
All abstracts must be submitted online prior to January 2, 2025. Acceptances will be announced by the end of January 2025.

Instructions for Submissions

  • All serious proposals relevant to the study of bioethics are welcome and need not be related to the conference theme.
  • All proposed papers must be submitted as abstracts of no more than 500 words in length and include a formal title.
  • Proposals must include a preliminary bibliography.
  • Include at least three (3) learning objectives. Construct each objective from the point of view of the attendee by completing the following sentence: "At the end of this session, attendees will be able to…"
  • Include a short bio not to exceed 100 words in length.
  • CBHD has a "two submission" rule. You can submit no more than two abstracts. This rule does not apply to co-authors of papers.
  • In order to present a paper, participants must register for the conference by March 1, 2025, and cover all travel and personal expenses.
  • Four online presentation slots will be available, with preference given to international scholars and those unable to travel to Deerfield. Those who desire to present online should submit their proposal normally and email info@cbhd.org with their request.

Instructions for Paper Presentations
Oral presentations of contributed papers will be 30 minutes plus 15 minutes for discussion.

Still have questions? Contact our Events Team

About the Conference

We are 25 years into the Biotech Century. Have the predictions, opportunities, and threats that many in the late 1990s wrote about come to pass? From eliminating disease to the development of new technologies and moving toward the Singularity, how have the predictions made in the 1990s fared? 

Which opportunities and threats have been realized? What unforeseen issues have arisen? How does the knowledge we have now inform how we view the predictions that were made then? And, perhaps most importantly, how can human beings flourish over the rest of the Biotech Century?  

The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity invites you to join us for our 32nd annual conference, Living in the Biotech Century: The First 25 Years, on the campus of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. We will assess the fruits of the Biotech Century and delve into the pressing issues before us from a Judeo-Christian, Hippocratic point of view.  

The conference will host plenary sessions addressing:

  • Virtue Ethics
  • Predictions vs. Reality Regarding the Biotech Century
  • The Growth of Assisted Suicide and the Continuing Push toward Euthanasia
  • A Theology of Suffering
  • The Political and Legal Landscape
  • And more.


In addition, workshops and paper sessions will explore a wide spectrum of issues from traditional and emerging bioethical topics.

The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity’s annual conference is the leading forum for engaging in Christian bioethics, providing opportunities for equipping and educating students, professionals, clergy, and lay people, as well as professional development credit, academic engagement, and networking for academic researchers, policymakers, educators, clinicians, thought leaders, and students across a variety of disciplines and professional contexts.

This conference will be available in person, online, or on-demand. There is no wrong way to attend!