Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

Leah Pierson

@leahpierson.bsky.social

760 followers 120 following 76 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

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Feb 25

I was interviewed about Bio(un)ethical for the @hsph.harvard.edu website!

hsph.harvard.edu/news/student...

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.

hsph.harvard.edu

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jul 19

Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5ojA...

@biounethical.bsky.social website: biounethical.com/episodes/epi...

And huge thanks to @jbcarmody.bsky.social. Check out his amazing blog/vids here:‪ thesheriffofsodium.com

#21 Bryan Carmody: Are doctor shortages real?

Podcast Episode · Bio(un)ethical · 07/14/2025 · 1h 42m

podcasts.apple.com

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jul 19

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 🏥)

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jun 23

Here are links to the guidance:

WHO page:
who.int/publications...

PDF:
iris.who.int/bitstream/ha...

A huge thanks to everyone involved in writing this and giving feedback! I hope this guidance will improve priority setting and lead to even more socially valuable research.

WHO guidance on the ethics of health research priority setting

This guidance aims to synthesize current good practice for incorporating ethics into health research priority setting. It is relevant to anyone making decisions about what research to support or condu...

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jun 23

4) How should the ethical principles be implemented?

At each stage of priority setting—preparation, prioritization, and follow-up—the four principles can be applied. See page 30 (in PDF) for practical guidance on implementing them.

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jun 23

3) What key ethical principles should guide the priority-setting process?

These four:

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jun 23

2) Who is the guidance for?

Anyone who sets research priorities, including funders, policymakers, research institutions, researchers, advocacy groups, and so on.

All should undertake some form of priority setting, but in proportion to the resources available and the stakes of the decisions.

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jun 23

In short:

"Decisions about what research to conduct, promote or support should be made explicitly, in a systematic way, and guided by ethical principles."

The guidance aims to help research actors set priorities in an explicit, systematic, and ethical way.

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jun 23

1) Why is ethical guidance on research priority setting necessary?

Decisions about what research we prioritize influence the distribution of health and illness. At present, there are large and unjustifiable disparities in research funding. The guidance aims to help address this.

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jun 23

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!

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Jun 6

Friends of Cornwall

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · May 30

Proud to have graduated from Harvard’s MD/PhD program, and to join the physicians and researchers committed to building a brighter future.

Reposted by Leah Pierson

Holly Fernandez Lynch @hollylynchez.bsky.social · May 23

"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....

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)

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Leah Pierson

Emma Pierson @emmapierson.bsky.social · Apr 25

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...

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’.

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Apr 10

This is amazing!! Congrats!

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Apr 1

3) Academic researchers have good outside options, and many can/will leave if they can't do their research.

4) Our next generation of scientists is watching opportunities vanish, mentors grow disillusioned, and funding streams dry up; many may permanently pivot.

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Apr 1

1) A pause is harmful even if it's temporary: any day a lab is closed is an additional day without research, an additional day without a cure.

2) Restarting research isn't trivial because, e.g., participants lose trust, experts leave, lab animals have lifecycles, etc.

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Apr 1

"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.

Reposted by Leah Pierson

Bio(un)ethical Podcast @biounethical.bsky.social · Mar 28

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!

Reposted by Leah Pierson

Bio(un)ethical Podcast @biounethical.bsky.social · Mar 26

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

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.

www.biounethical.com

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Mar 21

Thank you!!!

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Mar 21

Thank you!!!! Very excited. :)

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Mar 21

Thank you!!!!

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Mar 21

Have been dreaming about this day for 7 years!!!

#Match2025

Reposted by Leah Pierson

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Mar 18

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 ⬇️

Leah Pierson @leahpierson.bsky.social · Mar 18

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6ll9...

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

Our website: biounethical.com/episodes/epi...

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

#20 Rachel Fraser: How your social world shapes what you know

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ll9ggFG4kWpbt6Rp2V0p3?si=f7bfff66cc074e38…