IkeOluwapo Oyeneye Ajayi

Professor IkeOluwapo Oyeneye Ajayi, FAAS, is a distinguished professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ibadan (UI), Nigeria, and a Consultant Family Physician at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. She holds an MB;BS, MPH, and Ph.D. in Epidemiology from UI, a Master of Clinical Science from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and a Doctor of Medicine from the National Postgraduate Medical College, Nigeria. She is a Fellow of both the West African College of Physicians and the National Postgraduate Medical College.

Prof. Ajayi has contributed to several departments at UI and served as principal or co-investigator on numerous research projects. She currently leads as Director of the Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training (IAMRAT), and chairs the UI/UCH Joint Ethics Review Committee. She teaches and mentors students and junior faculty in bioethics, research methods, and epidemiology.

Recently, she has focused on promoting data science in health interventions and aims to advance bioethics support for researchers in technology, data science, AI, genomics, and molecular biology using the knowledge gained in attending MacLean Clinical Ethics Fellowship program. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Bioethics Society of Nigeria, OWSD, EPiSON, and WONCA.

Dana Anderson, MD

Professor Benjamin Segun Aribisala

Professor Aribisala Benjamin Segun is a Professor of Computer Science, a Fulbright Scholar.

He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the University of Birmingham, U.K. He became a Professor of computer science in 2013. He has over 30 years of work experience as an academic staff and he has served at several leadership positions in the University, such as the Head of the Department of Computer Science, the Dean of the Faculty of Science, the Director of ICT, a member of the Governing Council in Lagos State University and Vice Chancellor of Oduduwa University. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Computing in Lagos State University.

He has worked as an academic staff in the UK, USA and Nigeria. For example, Newcastle University (England, U.K.), the University of Edinburgh (Scotland, U.K.) and The University of Chicago (Illinois, USA) as a Fulbright Visiting Professor of Computer Science. In June 2024, he was appointed by the Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu as a member of the Lagos State Research and Innovation Council. His research interests cut across data science, medical image analysis, machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence.

His research focuses on improving medical diagnosis, quality of life, and life expectancy. He has won many international awards, e.g. Young Investigators award from the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics, Los Angeles USA in 2015. In 2017, he won the Best Paper Award at the SCI-GAIA European Organisation Conference, Pretoria, South Africa. He won the prestigious Fulbright scholarship in 2022 and that gave him the opportunity to visit the University of Chicago where he conducted research on breast cancer and machine learning.

He is a member of many professional bodies, for example, the Nigerian Computer Society, Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria, British Computer Society, IEEE, Organization of Human Brain Mapping and International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Babajide Balogun

Carrie Barth

Carrie Barth is a Physician Assistant at the University of Chicago. She graduated with her BS degree in microbiology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and her MHS at Duke University. She has been a Physician Assistant in oncology, HIV, and thoracic surgery. She currently leads the Lung Cancer Screening Program at the University of Chicago. Her research interests include patient autonomy around screening, diagnosis and treatment in current medical paradigm. 

Melissa Bendayan, MD, MSc

Melissa is a fourth year neurology resident at the University of Chicago. Prior to residency, she attended undergrad and graduate school in Montreal, Canada, and medical school in Tel Aviv. After residency, she will be pursuing a fellowship in Neuro-Oncology in New York.  

Nitya Beriwal, MD

Nitya is a pediatric neurology resident physician at the University of Chicago. She will be pursuing an epilepsy fellowship after her residency. Her interest lies in exploring the genotypic associations of epilepsy. She is passionate about exploring the ethical, legal, and social implications of the care of patients with neurodevelopmental disorders and genetic epilepsies.  

She aims to work on exploring the ethical considerations surrounding discussions about Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), which involve balancing the potential benefits of informing patients and families with the potential harms of causing anxiety or distress. She is also interested in examining the broader consequences of genetic testing and research, beyond the purely scientific aspects, with a specific focus on the ethical considerations surrounding whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing.

Jay Carlson, PhD

Jay Carlson is a full-time Clinical Ethics Fellow at The MacLean Center. His interests center around epistemological dimensions of clinical decision-making, how healthcare organizations manage providers’ moral distress, and the tension between healthcare as a business and virtuous medical practice.

Dr. Carlson holds a Ph.D.  in philosophy from Loyola University-Chicago, an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Houston, and a B.A. in philosophy from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Previously, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor of philosophy at Lake Forest College. He has also taught philosophy at Loyola University, McHenry County College, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. 

Neeraj Chhabra, MD, MSCR

Neeraj Chhabra, MD, MSCR is an emergency physician, medical toxicologist, and clinical researcher at the University of Illinois Chicago. His research focuses on the use of data science and machine learning to improve the medical care of patients with substance use disorders. He is interested in the ethical considerations of medical care for the poisoned patient and fairness in the use of machine learning tools for clinical decision support.

Ellen Cohn

Ursula Francis, JD, PhD, MSc

Ursula Francis is a full-time Clinical Ethics Fellow at The MacLean Center. Her research interests include narrative ethics and the medical humanities, neuroethics, contested illness and ambiguity in medicine, and clinical decision-making in the context of vulnerable populations.

Dr. Francis attended college and law school at The University of Chicago. She holds a Ph.D. in Classics from Columbia University and a Master’s in Bioethics from Harvard Medical School.

Sangrag Ganguli, MD

Sangrag is a general surgery resident at the University of Chicago. He is from Chicago and went to Cornell University for undergrad, studying microbiology. He then received a master’s degree in Immunology at Harvard University prior to medical school at George Washington University. Sangrag is interested in transplant and hepatobiliary surgery. His research interest includes liver and pancreatic surgery outcomes. He is also interested in ethics of organ allocation and living donation consent process.

Caleb Kitcho, MD

Caleb Kitcho is originally from Buffalo, New York. He completed his undergraduate studies at Canisius College and earned his medical degree from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. He went on to complete a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric critical care medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, where he now serves as a Clinical Instructor.

His academic interests center on ethical dilemmas at the end of life, particularly in the care of children with profound cognitive disabilities, as well as exploring the complex dynamics between physicians and hospital attorneys in high-stakes decision-making.

Alex Lois, MD, MS

Alex Lois is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago. He joined the UCM Faculty after completing his General Surgery Residency and Advanced GI Minimally Invasive/Foregut Surgery Fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. Dr. Lois uses a combination of advanced laparoscopic, robotic-assisted and open techniques to address gastrointestinal disorders and abdominal wall reconstruction. He strives engage patients in thoughtful shared decision-making to ensure treatment decisions align with his patients’ goals and values.

Through the MacLean Fellowship, Dr. Lois hopes to further explore his interests in informed consent and shared decision-making. This work will strive to not only strengthen his clinical practice but also to improve these processes for patients and physicians alike.

Mba Odim, BSc, MSc, PhD

Prof. M. O. Odim is a Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science & Mathematics and currently the director of Information and Communication Technology at Mountain Top University, Nigeria and a DATICAN- Redeemer’s University affiliate. He has worked with both Redeemer’s and Babcock Universities in Nigeria. Prof Odim has over twenty-three year’s Teaching and Research experience in the University setting. His research focuses on a broad range of topics within Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Information Security, and Software Engineering, He is actively involved in researches toward applying AI in healthcare, particularly in disease diagnosis.

Prof. Odim has published extensively in top-tier journals and conferences, contributing to advancements in intelligent systems, secure computing, and scalable software design. He leads a multidisciplinary research group that explores innovative solutions for real-world problems, particularly in the domains of healthcare, and big data analytics. He is an active team member of the DATICAN – NHIS Grant (2023 – 2026). He is actively involved in mentoring graduate students and collaborating with industry partners to bridge academic research with practical applications.

Prof. Odim holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Ilorin, MSc. in Computer Science from University of Lagos and BSc. in Statistics from University of Nigeria. He is also an awardee of the IBM Mastery and the Explorer Artificial Intelligence Analyst. He is a member of the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) and Computer Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN).

Collin Olen-Thomas, MA, MATS

Collin earned his BA in sociology and Spanish from Hope College, his MATS in religion and society from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his MA in bioethics from the Ohio State University. He completed his chaplaincy residency at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center before working as a trauma chaplain at OSU. Collin is working on his doctorate in bioethics at Loyola, with the ultimate goal of becoming a clinical ethicist. His research interests broadly focus on the intersection of religion and medicine, namely with death and dying, decision-making, and conscientious practice.

Elizabeth Onishchenko, MD

Lizzy attended medical school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she completed a 6-year B.A./M.D. program. She then returned back home to Chicago to complete her pediatric residency at Advocate Children’s Hospital-Park Ridge. She is currently entering her third year of NICU fellowship at the University of Chicago.

Her research interests include new technology development and innovation within the NICU with a budding interest in artificial intelligence in the clinical care setting and its ethical implications.

Akshay Patke, MD

Akshay earned his BS in chemistry and psychology from the University of Minnesota, his MD from Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University, and is now a current psychiatry resident at the University of Chicago. He has had an interest in ethics and philosophy since undergrad with previously running a philosophy student group and later working in research ethics and oversight at the University of Minnesota Department of Psychiatry. His clinical interests are in psychotherapy, addiction, and community mental health.

Aderonke Sakpere, PhD

Aderonke Sakpere is a computer scientist and senior lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her work is driven by a keen interest in how technology can help solve everyday challenges in healthcare, education, and broader society. She often focuses on human-centered approaches and is particularly passionate about building inclusive solutions for resource constrained communities.

Through the MacLean Clinical Ethics Fellowship, Aderonke hopes to better understand how data science can contribute to fairer and more inclusive health systems. She is particularly interested in the ethical implications of AI in clinical decision-making and how interdisciplinary perspectives can shape health technologies.

Andrew Schmitz, MDiv

Andrew is an active duty Army major in the Chaplain Corps and currently a PhD student in Ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He received his BA in Philosophy and Religion from Olivet Nazarene University. He is the incoming bioethicist for the United States Army Medical Center of Excellence in San Antonio, Texas, where he will hold appointments as a bioethics instructor for both the Army-Baylor Graduate Program in Health and Business Administration and the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Interservice Physician Assistant Program. Through the MacLean fellowship, Andrew hopes to conduct ethics research through the lens of natural law and its intersection with military medicine.

Angela M. Trejo, DBe, MSN, BSN, RN

Angela holds a Doctorate in Bioethics from Loyola University Chicago. She is a registered nurse with professional experience in nursing education, risk management, patient safety, and organ transplantation. Her scholarly interests focus on the ethics of medical aid in dying, transplant ethics, the role of the nurse in ethical discourse, and end-of-life care ethics for incarcerated populations. 

Chao Wang, MD

Chao earned her MD from Tongji Medical College and completed her residency in HPB surgery at Tongji Hospital. She is currently a postdoctoral scholar at The University of Chicago, where her research focuses on transplantation immunology. Her diverse experiences have inspired her to reflect on healthcare education, cultural differences, and the personal development of medical professionals. Beyond the OR and lab, Chao is passionate about peer mentoring and promoting lifelong learning. Her long-term goal is to return to China as an HPB surgeon, integrating clinical excellence with scientific research. She is particularly interested in the ethical dimensions of surgery, healthcare policy, and advancing patient-centered clinical research to improve outcomes and shape the future of surgical practice.