Past Events

• 2023 Conference

  UCLA Law hosted a national conference on The Future of Human Rights and Justice-Centered Ethics in Epidemic Response: From HIV to Covid and Beyond on November 2-3, 2023.

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  Thursday, November 2, 2023

  Welcoming Remarks

  • Dean Michael Waterstone, JD, UCLA Law
  • William Sage, MD, JD, Texas A&M University
  • Hannah Garry, JD, MIA, Executive Director of the Promise Institute for Human Rights, UCLA
  • Cecily Gallup, MD, MPH, Acting Interim Director of the Global Health Program, UCLA Geffen School of Medicine

  Panel 1: The History, Sociology, Anthropology, and Political Economy of Epidemic Response

  • Moderated by Lindsay F. Wiley, JD, MPH, UCLA
  • Aziza Ahmed, JD, MS, Boston University
  • Adia Benton, PhD, MPH, Northwestern University
  • Amy Fairchild, PhD, MPH, Syracuse University
  • Daniel S. Goldberg, JD, PhD, University of Colorado
  • Richard Carpiano, PhD, UC Riverside 

  Panel 2: Frameworks to Guide Epidemic Response: Ethics and Human Rights

  • Moderated by William Sage, MD, JD, Texas A&M University
  • Scott Burris, JD, Temple University
  • Sofia Gruskin, JD, MIA, University of Southern California
  • Govind Persad, JD, PhD, University of Denver
  • Matiangai Sirleaf, JD, MA, University of Maryland

  4:00-4:15 - Break

  4:15-5:30 - Panel 3: Community-Led Responses to Epidemics
  Room 1314, UCLA Law

  • Moderated by Brad Sears, JD, Founding Director of the Williams Institute, UCLA
  • Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, Yale University
  • Andy Imparato, JD, Executive Director of Disability Rights California and former member of the Biden-Harris COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force
  • Alberto Retana, President and CEO of Community Coalition

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  Friday, November 3

  Panel 4: Legal and Governance Mechanisms: From Local to Global

  • Moderated by Lauren Dunning, JD, MPH, Director of the Future of Aging at the Milken Institute, former Director of Government Affairs, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
  • Oxiris Barbot, MD, President and CEO of the United Hospital Fund of New York, former New York City Health Commissioner, former Baltimore Health Commissioner
  • Robert Gatter, JD, St. Louis University, Uniform Law Commission Reporter
  • Ben Mason Meier, JD, LLM, PhD, University of North Carolina
  • Alexandra Phelan, SJD, LLB, LLM, Johns Hopkins University
  • Gregory Schwab , JD, Drexel University, Uniform Law Commissioner, former General Counsel of Pennsylvania

  Panel 5: Equitable Access to Medicines and Medical Countermeasures

  • Moderated by Keegan Warren, JD, LLM, Texas A&M University
  • Ximena Benavides , SJD, LLM, Yale University
  • Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, LLD (Hon.), LLD (Hon.), Georgetown University
  • Sam Halabi, JD, MPhil, Georgetown University
  • Ruqaiijah Yearby, JD, MPH, Ohio State University
  • Nathan Tseboh Chomilo, MD, Medical Director, Minnesota Medicaid and MinnesotaCare

  Panel 6: Guidance, Mandates, Restrictions, and Supports for Community Mitigation

  • Moderated by Lindsay F. Wiley, JD, MPH, UCLA
  • Sirry M. Alang, PhD, MA, University of Pittsburgh
  • Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
  • Maya Hazarika Watts, JD, ChangeLab Solutions
  • Ross D. Silverman, JD, MPH, Temple University
  • Mitch Stripling, MPA, Director of the Pandemic Response Institute, former Assistant Commissioner for Agency Preparedness and Response at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

  Panel 7: Decriminalization, Decarceration, Deinstitutionalization, Harm Reduction, and Legal Protections

  • Moderated by William Sage, MD, JD, Texas A&M University
  • Sean Bland, JD, Santa Clara University
  • Nathan Cisneros, MS, UCLA
  • Sharon Dolovich, JD, PhD, UCLA
  • Jasmine E. Harris, JD, University of Pennsylvania
  • Zita Lazzarini , JD, MPH, University of Connecticut