Published: 09/14/2021
Rev. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., Ph.D., S.Th.D.
Gannon University is presenting its inaugural Orlando Biomedical Ethics and Catholic Social Teaching Lecture Series that helps drive a more humane world by empowering people with the knowledge and skills they need to respond to the rapidly changing contours of the biomedical sciences.
The first event in this bi-annual series, “COVID-19 Vaccines: Individual Freedom and the Common Good,” will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 15. The guest speaker will be Rev. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., Ph.D., S.Th.D., professor of biology and theology at Providence College. He is also a research fellow at the Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics at the University of Santo Tomas in the Phillipines.
Dominican Priest Austriaco earned his doctoral degree in biology from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology and his S.Th.D. degree from the University of Fribourg. In theology, his essays have appeared in “The Thomist,” “National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly,” and “Nova et Vetera,” focusing on bioethics and the relationship between science and religion. He is the author of “Biomedicine & Beatitude: An Introduction to Catholic Bioethics.” He has recently written and spoken in a variety of public forums on bioethical issues related to COVID-19.
The lecture series is supported by the Orlando Biomedical Ethics and Catholic Social Teaching Endowment created by Richard G. Orlando, M.D., F.A.C.S., ’76, and his wife, Cynthia.
Gannon is recognized as a leader in training global citizens and is inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition, especially its teaching on the dignity of the human person. The mission of the Biomedical Ethics and Catholic Social Teaching Endowment is to build on the legacy of the Orlando Endowment to establish the university as an interdisciplinary focal point for biomedical ethics and social responsibility, offering sound discernment and professional development.
The lecture series is free and open to the public. Learn more and register at: www.gannon.edu/orlando