JOLT to Host Symposium on Bioethics and Technology
January 27, 2025The North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology (“JOLT”) will host its annual Symposium on Saturday, February 1st, 2025. Titled Ethics in the Age of Innovation: Navigating Bioethics and Technology, the symposium will include discussions led by preeminent legal scholars on topics ranging from regenerative medicine and organ donation to genetic testing and reproductive rights.
Event Details
Date: Saturday, February 1st, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM–2:00 PM
Location: Room 4004, University of North Carolina School of Law

Overview
The JOLT symposium will feature thought-provoking lectures from legal scholars on six bioethics topics: regenerative medicine, genetic testing, reproduction, innovation, abortion, and organ donation. The event aims to foster productive discussions on the ethical considerations societies will encounter as these technologies continue to evolve rapidly.
Schedule
9:00 AM–9:30 AM: Arrival and Breakfast
9:30 AM: Introductions from Symposium Editor Alberto Bufalino and Editor-in-Chief Daniel Self
9:40 AM: Introductions from Professor Joan Krause
- Joan Krause, Dan K. Moore Distinguished Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
10:00 AM–10:30 AM: Regenerative Medicine & Brain Organoids
- Christine Coughlin, Professor of Law, Director of Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research, Wake Forest University School of Law
10:30 AM–11:00 AM: Pediatric Predisposition Genetic Testing and the Right to Future Privacy
- Allison Whelan, Assistant Professor of Law, Georgia State University College of Law
11:00 AM–11:30 AM: Assisted Reproductive Justice
- Seema Mohapatra, M.D. Anderson Foundation Endowed Professor in Health Law and Professor of Law, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
11:30 AM–12:00 PM: Lunch
12:00 PM–12:30 PM: The Bioethics of Patents & Licensing
- Tabrez Ebrahim, Associate Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School
12:30 PM–1:00 PM: “How to Be Pro-Life”
- Christopher Robertson, N. Neal Pike Scholar and Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Boston University School of Law, Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management, Boston University School of Public Health
1:00 PM–1:30 PM: Organ Procurement & The Dead Donor Rule
- Lois Shepherd, Peter A. Wallenborn, Jr. and Dolly F. Wallenborn Professor of Biomedical Ethics, Professor of Public Health Sciences, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
1:30 PM–2:00 PM: Closing Remarks