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Leah Pierson

@leahpierson.bsky.social
765 followers 116 following 77 posts

Internal medicine resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital | Interested in ethics, priority setting, and global health | co-host of @biounethical.bsky.social: biounethical.com

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Reposted by Leah Pierson
Emma Pierson @emmapierson.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
New piece in The Atlantic! We always hear that AI will cure cancer, and I would immediately benefit if it did. Still, I argue that racing ahead on generalist AI models creates unclear benefits for cancer that are outweighed by broader societal harms. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
This year I finished my MD/PhD and started residency, but the thing I am proudest of is having brought this little human into this beautiful world. Her name is Lyra Louisa and she is the light of our lives.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
New episode of Bio(un)ethical is out now, with @jbcarmody.bsky.social! Bryan Carmody: Are doctor shortages real? We discuss: - Why people think there aren't enough doctors - Why many access problems reflect misallocation (vs shortages) - What models projecting shortages miss - AI (the 🐘 in the 🏥)
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
The WHO guidance on the ethics of health research priority setting is out today! It was a privilege to be a part of the expert writing group (led by Joe Millum) over the past two years. I think the guidance is practical and important, especially now. Short thread + link below!
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Friends of Cornwall
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Proud to have graduated from Harvard’s MD/PhD program, and to join the physicians and researchers committed to building a brighter future.
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Holly Fernandez Lynch @hollylynchez.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
"It is high time that the default question shift from 'is this payment too much?' to 'is this enough?' in clinical trials." A new call to bring sense to IRB approaches to paying research participants. @1daysooner.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Pursuing Fair and Just Compensation for Research Participants: An Open Letter to the Research Ethics Community
Published in The American Journal of Bioethics (Ahead of Print, 2025)
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Emma Pierson @emmapierson.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
The US government recently flagged my scientific grant in its "woke DEI database". Many people have asked me what I will do. My answer today in Nature. We will not be cowed. We will keep using AI to build a fairer, healthier world. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
My ‘woke DEI’ grant has been flagged for scrutiny. Where do I go from here?
My work in making artificial intelligence fair has been noticed by US officials intent on ending ‘class warfare propaganda’.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
"Pausing" scientific research is like "pausing" a car in the middle of the highway—it's liable to have catastrophic, long-term effects that restarting it won't fix.
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Bio(un)ethical Podcast @biounethical.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Every episode of Season 2 is now available wherever you get your podcasts! We're taking a short break before making further episodes, so now is a great time to submit feedback or requests (e.g., guests or topics) at biounethical.com. Also, we heard you: transcripts are coming!
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Bio(un)ethical Podcast @biounethical.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Hi Bluesky! We're Bio(un)ethical, the podcast questioning existing norms in medicine, science, and public health via long-form interviews with philosophers, policymakers, physicians, and other experts. Seasons 1 + 2 are available on all platforms and our website: www.biounethical.com
biounethical.com
Bio(un)ethical | Bioethics Podcast
Bio(un)ethical is a podcast miniseries where Leah Pierson and Sophie Gibert interview experts on bioethical issues, and question existing norms in medicine, science, and public health.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Have been dreaming about this day for 7 years!!! #Match2025
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
The final episode of Biounethical season 2 is out now! Rachel Fraser: How your social world shapes what you know We discuss whether experiences of oppression give people special insight, whether this insight can be shared, and what policy implications this might have. Links ⬇️
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
The final episode of Biounethical season 2 is out now! Rachel Fraser: How your social world shapes what you know We discuss whether experiences of oppression give people special insight, whether this insight can be shared, and what policy implications this might have. Links ⬇️
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Nick Byrd, Ph.D. @byrdnick.com · 16/03/2025
The two most recent episodes of #BioUnethical with David Thorstad, Emily Largent, and @govindpersad.bsky.social were very (very!) good. Hosts @leahpierson.bsky.social and Sophie Gibert may be doing reflective discussion better than anyone — outstanding stage setting, questioning, improvising, etc.
biounethical.com
Bio(un)ethical | Bioethics Podcast
Bio(un)ethical is a podcast miniseries where Leah Pierson and Sophie Gibert interview experts on bioethical issues, and question existing norms in medicine, science, and public health.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
New blog post! The $500,000 Gap Year In honor of #Match2025, I wrote about whether the fourth year of medical school needs to exist. www.leahpierson.com/blog/the-500... If you have feedback, I'm eager to hear it, and good luck to everyone matching next week!
leahpierson.com
The $500,000 Gap Year
It’s an open secret in medicine that fourth year medical students do very little medicine or school. So why do we have a fourth year of medical school (M4)? And do we need one? ​ Why M4 exists...
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Our new episode of Biounethical Podcast is out today! Emily Largent and Govind Persad: Is Bioethics Okay? (Writing questions for this was frankly a blast.) Available wherever you get your podcasts. Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4Veq... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
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Katharine Wright @wrightkatharine.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
‘I would like to see bioethics as a field be more oriented around fixing things rather than problematizing potential solutions.’
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
I was interviewed about Bio(un)ethical for the @hsph.harvard.edu website! hsph.harvard.edu/news/student...
hsph.harvard.edu
Student podcast brings bioethical issues to the public | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Leah Pierson, MD-PhD ’25, co-founded the Bio(un)ethical podcast to explore important issues in science, medicine, and public health.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
We interviewed David Thorstad on Bio(un)ethical about epistemic issues related to longtermism and existential risk. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0dXR... Our website: www.biounethical.com/episodes/epi...
biounethical.com
EPISODES | Bio(un)ethical
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
We interviewed former CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Bio(un)ethical about US public health infrastructure, lessons learned from COVID, and how prepared we are for the next pandemic. Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0oDt... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1... biounethical.com
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
It’d be cool if there was a Center for Progress-Oriented Bioethics, an institution that treated scientific and medical progress as an ethical imperative, and aimed to study ethico-regulatory barriers and reform excessive ones.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
New Bio(un)ethical episode is out! Quayshawn Spencer: What is race? We discuss the philosophy of race, why he’s a radical racial pluralist, and the implications of his views for scientific research and medicine. Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1EBb... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1...
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Emma Pierson @emmapierson.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
New piece in Nature: @leahpierson.bsky.social and I argue that philanthropic funders should shield science from cuts the Trump administration may make to climate science, infectious disease, etc. Free access link: rdcu.be/d6aul Longer version on my website: shorturl.at/muwts
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
We recently wrote an article responding to commentaries on our Views in Bioethics Survey (VIBeS). Next month, four of us will have a conversation on Bio(un)ethical about the state of bioethics, and how to address its challenges. (You can submit questions!) x.com/leah_pierson...
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Matt Coleman @matt--coleman.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
New column out today in @bostonglobe.com's "Ideas" section! Prof. Joshua Greene and I make the case for applying a balanced approach to charitable giving, backed by recent research: www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/18/o...
bostonglobe.com
This giving season, give with your heart and your head - The Boston Globe
There’s no right way to give to charities, but there’s a better way.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Our new episode of Bio(un)ethical is out today! Jeff McMahan: On the ethics of choosing our children's genes Some things we discuss: - whether/when/how we should control the genetic outcomes of our children - treatment vs enhancement - reproductive technologies and injustice Links below ⬇️
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
My cat, Lulu, participated in a cookie contest (submission: Lulu Lemons)
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Episode 14 of Bio(un)ethical is out now! James Diao: When should race be used in medical algorithms? Some things we discuss: - Criteria for the inclusion/exclusion of race in clinical algorithms - The implications of removing race from two algorithms - Common themes + failure modes (Links below)
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Alexander Berger @albrgr.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
I just got the kids down for naptime so I wanted to take a second to point out two key problems (and a few areas of agreement) I see with this morning’s @emmagoldberg.bsky.social @nytimes.com article about effective altruism: 🧵 bsky.app/profile/nyt...
bsky.app
The New York Times (@nytimes.com)
Effective altruism, the recent trend in philanthropy, has been to look for the most bang for your buck. Maybe you don’t have to, Emma Goldberg argues. https://nyti.ms/41GHinN
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
I feel like “hyper-rational” often just means “you thought about this logically but made a decision that I personally don’t like.”
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
My sense is that two main things drive disparities in specialty choice: 1) salary and 2) perceived quality of work life within a specialty. These are hard to disentangle—lucrative specialties can provide doctors with more support (e.g., scribes). But I don't think salary is the whole story here.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Much of education focuses on teaching people how to fill in gaps (eg, horse:gallop as goose:X) One thing I appreciate about medical education is that the focus is often instead on finding/characterizing gaps (X could be fly, swim, or walk; here are arguments for each + how we can figure this out).
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Jeremy Snyder @jsnyder.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
The bioethics/applied health ethics/public health ethics starter pack is full (150 people!). Rather than removing less active folks or gatekeeping I'll start another one - so keep letting me know if you're interested in being listed or see anyone who should be added. go.bsky.app/ERXDCeB
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
She loves podcast editing because the laptop overheats
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
If you find it feels more stressful than rewarding to donate to charity, I recommend setting up a recurring donation this Giving Tuesday. You can do this for most charities, and for me it's taken most of the stress out of donating while also allowing me to donate more—a win-win.
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Matt Coleman @matt--coleman.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
It's Giving Tuesday - the most important day of the year for charitable giving. If you a) have a charity that means a lot to you and b) are open to learning about top-rated charities, I hope you'll take a few minutes to check us out @givingmultiplier.bsky.social. 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲: givingmultiplier.org
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Nikhil Venkatesh @nikvenkatesh.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
All I want for Christmas is for philosophers to donate lifesaving mosquito nets to save children's lives dailynous.com/2024/12/02/p...
dailynous.com
Philosophers Against Malaria: A Fundraising Competition - Daily Nous
Philosophers, it’s time to do some good… Once again, Malte Hendrickx, a philosophy graduate student at the University of Michigan, has set up a charity “competition” for philosophy departments to rais...
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
My niche-est academic critique: University center websites often have a page called "People" that lists hundreds of people whose affiliations range from "I founded this place 48 years ago" to "I sent an email asking to be listed on this page." This makes it hard to assess how active a center is.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Similarities between the declines of Twitter + Facebook: People you follow post less; these posts are replaced with low-quality content from accounts you don't follow; vicious cycle ensues. Differences: FB didn't change much, but people left for greener pastures (Instagram); Twitter got worse.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
planning a trip with doctors be like
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
One thing that makes it hard to change the culture of medicine is that by the time you understand a norm or practice, you no longer have a strong emotional reaction to it.
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Happy Thanksgiving!! If you're wondering whether to defer to your relatives on moral matters today, check out the new episode of Bio(un)ethical. www.biounethical.com/episodes/epi...
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
New Bio(un)ethical episode is out now! Sarah McGrath: Are there moral experts? We discuss how moral expertise is similar to/different from empirical expertise, why moral deference is controversial, and whether bioethicists are moral experts. open.spotify.com/episode/6R43...
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
I think I may stick around here, so just to introduce myself: I am a final year MD/PhD student at Harvard. I made a diagram summarizing what I mostly work on/post about. (It does not include cats, but they will be featured too.)
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
At our annual MD/PhD retreat, graduating students give "Pearls of Wisdom" talks. Here's a summary of my talk, on lessons I've learned during graduate and medical school. 1/5
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
A thing that worries me about Master of Bioethics (MBE) programs: 1) it’s (at best) unclear what it would mean to have bioethics expertise 2) MBE programs don’t generally seem to take a stance on this 3) and yet they confer degrees that imply mastery of bioethics
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
One week left to submit an abstract to our special issue of Bioethics, "Critical perspectives on democratic deliberation in health and science policy." onlinelibrary.wiley.com/pb-assets/as... Feel free to reach out with questions!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
A weird glimpse into how hard it is to publicly advocate for animal welfare
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Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Medical culture in the US often optimizes for safety (rather than, e.g., wellbeing). Two theories about why this could be: 1) People worry about getting sued 2) It's more straightforward to optimize for safety So I'm wondering: how specific is this to the US (which would perhaps suggest 1 > 2)?
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