Meet Us

Programs and Resources

The Treuman Katz Center serves as a national resource, helping physicians, researchers and policymakers advance their knowledge of bioethics and navigate complex moral dilemmas.

Center Highlights

Key Partnerships

Partnerships are an essential part of the Treuman Katz Center’s mission. Our researchers collaborate with colleagues across the nation and around the world in pursuit of answers to complex bioethics questions.

Our partners include the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the Department of Bioethics and Humanitiesand the Institute of Translational Health Sciences at the University of Washington.

Bioethics Consultations

Our bioethicists provide practical guidance to families, providers, researchers and policymakers about patient care, public health and research issues. Our consultation service is available to colleagues throughout Seattle Children’s and the University of Washington, and we offer informal advice to people at outside institutions. Learn more about our services.

Publications

Bogetz JF, Root MC, Purser L, Torkildson C. Comparing Health Care Provider-Perceived Barriers to Pediatric Palliative Care Fifteen Years Ago and Today. Journal of Palliative Medicine. 2019 Feb;22(2):145-151.

Garrison NA, Brothers KB, Goldenberg AJ, Lynch JA. Genomic Contextualism: Shifting the Rhetoric of Genetic Exceptionalism. The American Journal of Bioethics. 2019 Jan;19(1):51-63.

Batten JN, Kruse KE, Kraft SA, Fishbeyn B, Magnus DC. What Does the Word “Treatable” Mean? Implications for Communication and Decision-Making in Critical Illness. Critical Care Medicine. 2019 Mar;47(3):369-376.

Lee SS, Cho MK, Kraft SA, Varsava N, Gillespie K, Ormond KE, Wilfond BS, Magnus D. “I don't want to be Henrietta Lacks”: Diverse patient perspectives on donating biospecimens for precision medicine research. Genetics in Medicine. 2019 Jan;21(1):107-113.

October TW, Dizon ZB, Arnold RM, Rosenberg AR. Characteristics of Physician Empathetic Statements During Pediatric Intensive Care Conferences With Family Members: A Qualitative Study. JAMA Network Open. 2018 Jul 6;1(3):e180351.

Wightman A, Bradford MC, Smith J. Health-related quality of life changes following renal transplantation in children. Pediatric Transplantation. 2019 Mar;23(2):e13333.

Nelson SC, Yu JH, Wagner JK, Harrell TM, Royal CD, Bamshad MJ. A content analysis of the views of genetics professionals on race, ancestry, and genetics. AJOB Empirical Bioethics. 2018 Oct-Dec;9(4):222-234.

See more publications

Stay Informed

  • Sign up for occasional email updates about the center's research and events.

Our Experts in the Media

  • Mandatory MMR vaccine a possibility in Washington state – 2.7.19 – Seattle Weekly
    A new house bill could add pressure on Washington parents to vaccinate their children. HB 1638, a more urgently pressed piece of legislation because of the ongoing state measles outbreak, would remove the personal and religious exemptions currently allowed for the MMR vaccine. “The measles causes different sorts of problems, but this is an example of how powerful vaccinations can be at eliminating or getting close to getting rid of these horrible diseases of childhood,” said Dr. Douglas Diekema, a physician at Seattle Children’s.

  • Vaccine skeptics fight Washington bill to end personal exemptions – 1.30.19 –The Stranger
    In the midst of a measles outbreak, Washington legislators introduced a bill to end personal exemptions from vaccines. According to Dr. Douglas Diekema, a physician in the ED at Seattle Children’s, there is no credible evidence an allergic reaction to any vaccine causes autism. “Researchers from multiple countries have published studies containing tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of children, and there is nothing there,” said Diekema.

  • Cambia Health Foundation announces 12 new Sojourns® Scholars – Morningstar
    The Cambia Health Foundation has announced the selection of 12 new emerging palliative care leaders for its Sojourns® Scholar Leadership Program. Each Sojourns Scholar receives a two-year, $180,000 grant to conduct an innovative and impactful project tied to a leadership development plan that positions the scholar for growth as a national leader in the field of palliative care. Dr. Abby Rosenberg of Seattle Children’s and UW received the grant for her project “Promoting Resilience in Adolescents and Young Adults with Serious Illness.”

  • Officials in anti-vaccination ‘hotspot’ near Portland declare an emergency over measles outbreak – The Washington Post
    A quickly escalating measles outbreak around Portland, Ore., has led health officials in nearby Clark County, Wash., to declare a public health emergency. The outbreak makes concrete the fear of pediatric epidemiologists that a citadel of the movement against compulsory vaccination could be susceptible to the rapid spread of a potentially deadly disease. “It’s alarming,” said Dr. Douglas Opel, a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s. “Any time we have an outbreak of a disease that we have a safe and effective vaccine against, it should raise a red flag.”

  • ‘Spirits won’t rest’: DNA links ancient bones to living aboriginal Australians – The New York Times
    Museums around the world hold the remains of Aboriginal Australians, many of them stolen. Now geneticists may have found a way to return the bones to their homes. In a study published in Science Advances, a team of geneticists showed they could use fragments of DNA retrieved from bone or hair to determine where in Australia the remains originated. Dr. Nanibaa’ Garrison, a bioethicist at Seattle Children’s and the UW, who was not involved in the new study, said that the research could eventually serve as a model for collaborations between scientists and Native American tribes in the U.S., who have similar concerns about scientific exploitation. “This work is great as a proof of concept,” said Garrison.

  • Compatible with life? – Stanford Medicine
    Dr. Benjamin Wilfond, a bioethicist and pediatric pulmonologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, is a longtime advocate for broader interventions for children with trisomy 13 and 18. Recently, one of Wilfond’s trisomy 18 patients in Seattle had chronic respiratory failure and a heart defect. She received a tracheostomy and spent several months on a ventilator. Eventually, she could breathe on her own and was healthy enough to receive surgery. She’s now 3.

  • Seeking greater inclusivity in genomics research – 11.1.18 – Forbes
    There have been a number of recent efforts, many led by indigenous scientists around the world, to draw attention and offer solutions to issues with research among under-represented communities. Dr. Nanibaa’ Garrison, a bioethicist at Seattle Children's Research Institute and a member of the Navajo Nation, advocates for “increasing the training and capacity of Indigenous people so that they can bring a much-needed perspective to the interpretations of the results,” she said.

See more news