Updates & Activities - Fall-Winter 2019

Paige Cunningham, JD, PHD

• Presented a session in May on “Bioethics and Human Dignity” at the Christian Legal Society Law School Fellows seminar in Washington, DC.
• Interviewed in June about a doctor accused of intentionally overdosing 25 patients on “Brian and Kathleen” (Moody Radio Cleveland).
• Delivered two presentations in June at the 2019 EFCA One Conference in Naperville, IL.
• Hosted CBHD’s 26th Annual Summer Conference, Taking Care: Perspectives for the End of Life in June and taught the Intensive Bioethics Institute course.

Mario Tafferner, MA

• “For He is a Good King and a Just King Before the Holy Gods of Byblos,” Presentation of dissertation research during the first Young Scholars Workshop held on May 17, 2019 at Lanier Theological Library in Houston, TX
• “The Good Life in Biblical and Theological Perspective,“ Paper read at the annual conference of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity held on June 20-22 on the campus of Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL.

Heather Zeiger, MS, MA

• Interviewed by the Center for Parent Youth and Understanding’s podcast “Youth Culture Matters” on teen girls and technology. The interviewed aired as episode 82 on May 2, 2019.
• Published articles on genetically modified embryos in China, the sexual revolution, and vaccines in the Summer and Fall 2019 issues of Salvo.
• Became as a regular contributor to Mind Matter News (https://mindmatters.ai) in Fall 2019 and published an article on the ethics of technology.

Staff Transitions‍

Paige C. Cunningham, JD, PhD, CBHD Executive Director. In late August, CBHD announced that Dr. Cunningham would be taking a special leave of absence from CBHD and Trinity International University while she assumes the role of Interim President at Taylor University (Upland, IN). ‍

F. Matthew Eppinette, MBA, PhD, CBHD Interim Director. Dr. Eppinette returned to the Center’s staff to provide leadership to CBHD’s work during Dr. Cunningham’s special leave of absence. After previously serving the Center from 2002-2007, he joined Americans United for Life as their Director of Communications, and then later served as the New Media Manager and eventually Executive Director for the Center for Bioethics and Culture (CBC) in California from 2009-2018. During his time at the CBC, he co- wrote and co-produced six documentary films addressing bioethical issues, among a number of other activities, including completing his PhD in Theology with a concentration in Christian Ethics from the Center for Advanced Theological Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. ‍

Mario Tafferner, PhD (Cand.), Robert D. Orr Fellow and CBHD Research Analyst. Mr. Tafferner was appointed as Instructor of Old Testament Language and Literature at Tyndale Theological Seminary in the Netherlands. Having completed his doctoral coursework and comprehensive examinations, he will be leaving the Center in December 2019 to complete the final stages of research and writing

Introducing the John F. Kilner Student Mentorship Fund

At the conclusion of CBHD’s 2019 Annual Summer Conference, the Center recognized the retirement of John F. Kilner, PhD from his faculty role at Trinity International University and announced the creation of the John F. Kilner Student Mentorship Fund in recognition of his more than 25 years of work with students in Christian bioethics. The fund will provide opportunities for students to enrich their educational experience and more deeply engage in Christian bioethics through mentored internships, research assistantships, and awards for excellence in bioethics scholarship. To make a donation to the Kilner Student Mentorship Fund in honor of Dr. Kilner, please visit https://cbhd.org/give-online.