Healthcare Ethics and Law Institute 2026
by Samford University's Healthcare Ethics and Law (HEAL) Institute
The Healthcare Ethics and Law Institute 2026 is an annual conference organized by Samford University's Healthcare Ethics and Law (HEAL) Institute. This event aims to support Alabama institutional ethics committees at all levels as they navigate today's most pressing health care and legal issues. The 2026 conference, titled "Trust in Science and Government: What About Vaccinations?", will examine vaccine hesitancy, public trust, and the ethical challenges surrounding vaccinations.
Key topics include the spread of misinformation, philosophical perspectives on community duties, definitions and management of vaccine skepticism, and the role of legal coercion and incentives in vaccination policies. Sessions will feature discussions on childhood immunizations and the role of pharmacists in enhancing vaccine confidence and access.
The conference will feature notable speakers such as Dr. Tom Huddle, Dr. Adam Cifu, and Dr. Douglas Diekema, who will deliver the keynote address and receive the Pellegrino Award. Attendees will have opportunities for networking and engaging in panel discussions to explore future directions in addressing vaccine hesitancy.
This conference is ideal for health care professionals, legal experts, ethicists, and policymakers interested in the intersection of health care, ethics, and law, particularly concerning vaccination policies and public trust.
Speakers(10)
Adam Cifu
Professor of Medicine at University of Chicago
Dr. Cifu is a professor of medicine and general internist at the University of Chicago. He received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1993 and completed his residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston before joining the University of Chicago faculty in 1997. He practices in both inpatient and outpatient settings and works as an educator and researcher. He is the author of more than 140 peer-reviewed publications, the co-author of the textbook Symptom to Diagnosis: An Evidence-Based Guide and the author of the lay audience book Ending Medical Reversal. Since 2022, he has written for Sensible Medicine, a shared Substack website. His honors include the Department of Medicine Award for Clinical Teaching, the Department of Medicine Award for Preclinical Teaching, the Distinguished Educator/Mentor Award from the Biological Sciences Division and the University’s Academic Communicators Network Excellence Award. He is a master in the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators at the University of Chicago. He was selected as a favorite faculty member by the graduating class of the Pritzker School of Medicine 17 times.
David Smolin
Harwell G. Davis Professor of Constitutional Law at Samford University Cumberland School of Law
David Smolin is the Harwell G. Davis Professor of Constitutional Law and director of the Center for Children, Law and Ethics at Samford University Cumberland School of Law. He has served as an independent expert for the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) on intercountry adoption issues. He has served as an external expert for the International Reference Centre for the rights of children deprived of their family, of the International Social Service (ISS/IRC), on issues related to children’s rights, adoption, and surrogacy. He is a member of the core expert group that developed the Verona Principles on international standards for surrogacy. He serves as a special advisor for the Swiss NGO Child Identity Protection (CHIP). He also serves on the Ethics Committee at Children’s Hospital of Alabama. He teaches in the areas of family and juvenile law, constitutional law, bioethics and law, children’s rights, human rights, law and religion, and criminal law and procedure, and writes on areas related to children and the law, the sale, trafficking, and exploitation of children, children’s rights, human rights, constitutional law, bioethics and law, and religion and law. Much of his work focuses on the protection of vulnerable children.
Douglas Diekema
Professor of Pediatrics at University of Washington School of Medicine
Dr. Douglas S. Diekema is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine with adjunct appointments in the Department of Bioethics and Humanities in the School of Medicine and in the School of Public Health. He founded the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children’s Research Institute in 2004 and currently serves as its director of education. The center received the Cornerstone Award from the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities in 2024. He is a past chair of the Committee on Bioethics of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a past chair of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Human Subjects Protections (SACHRP) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a former board member of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. He is currently a member of the FDA’s Pediatric Advisory Committee. Dr. Diekema is the author of numerous scholarly publications in medical ethics and pediatric emergency medicine and an editor of Clinical Ethics in Pediatrics: A Case-based Textbook. He is an elected fellow of the Hastings Center and was honored by the American Academy of Pediatrics as the 2014 recipient of the William G. Bartholome Award for Ethical Excellence.
Emily McCarty
Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Samford University
Emily McCarty, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of philosophy at Samford University. Her interests lie at the intersection of metaphysics, ethics and the philosophy of religion. McCarty serves on the executive committee for the Society of Christian Philosophers. Her research focuses on the problem of evil and questions about the nature of God. She is also interested in applying the philosophy of medieval thinker Thomas Aquinas to modern concerns.
Jennifer Campbell
Co-founder at MedsPLUS Consulting Pharmacy & Wellness Center
Jennifer Campbell, PharmD, is a community health pharmacist and co-founder of MedsPLUS Consulting Pharmacy & Wellness Center in Birmingham, Alabama. A graduate of Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy, she leads a practice dedicated to advancing preventive care, strengthening vaccine confidence and improving chronic disease outcomes through innovative pharmacist-led services and community partnerships. Their mission is to engage, educate and empower patients so they can make confident, informed decisions about their health. Through their work at MedsPLUS, they integrate clinical expertise, ethical responsibility and deep community partnership to reduce disparities and strengthen trust in vaccines and preventive care.
Leonard J. 'Jack' Nelson III
Emeritus Professor at Cumberland School of Law, Samford University
Professor Nelson has an extensive background in health law, having served as a law clerk for the Washington State Supreme Court and taught at Cumberland School of Law for 30 years.
Pauline Long
Co-founder at MedsPLUS Consulting Pharmacy & Wellness Center
Pauline Long, PharmD, is a community health pharmacist and co-founder of MedsPLUS Consulting Pharmacy & Wellness Center in Birmingham, Alabama. A graduate of Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy, she leads a practice dedicated to advancing preventive care, strengthening vaccine confidence and improving chronic disease outcomes through innovative pharmacist-led services and community partnerships. Their mission is to engage, educate and empower patients so they can make confident, informed decisions about their health. Through their work at MedsPLUS, they integrate clinical expertise, ethical responsibility and deep community partnership to reduce disparities and strengthen trust in vaccines and preventive care.
Scott H. James
Associate Professor of Pediatrics at University of Alabama at Birmingham
Scott H. James, MD, is an associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He serves as the UAB Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program director and is the principal investigator of an NIH-funded research laboratory focused on antiviral screening and drug development. He is also active in multicenter clinical research trials related to congenital and perinatal infections. Nationally, Dr. James serves on the Council of Pediatric Subspecialties, is a member of the steering committee of the Subspecialty Pediatrics Investigators Network and chairs the Workforce Development Committee of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. He has been elected to membership in the Society for Pediatric Research, Alpha Omega Alpha and the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society. He and his wife, Jaime, have four children and live in Birmingham, Alabama.
Thomas S. Huddle
Professor of Medicine Emeritus at University of Alabama at Birmingham
Thomas S. Huddle is a professor of medicine emeritus in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Population Science at the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Huddle earned his medical degree and a doctorate in the history of medicine from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, then completed internal medicine training at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and postdoctoral historical work as a Robert Wood Johnson fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. He taught medical students and residents during his career as a clinician educator at UAB and directed the medical school’s first-year Patient, Doctor and Society course. In his writing, he seeks to connect the world of professional work with issues related to medical professionalism, clinical ethics, medical education and the relationship between medicine and society.
Tom Huddle
Professor of Medicine at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
Dr. Tom Huddle is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, specializing in medical education and ethics.
Event Details
- Date
- February 6, 2026
- Location
- 🇺🇸 Birmingham, United States
- Seibert Hall
- Pricing
- Unknown
- Audience
- Health care professionals, legal experts, ethicists, policymakers