Jonathan Moreno

David and Lyn Silfen University Professor of Medical Ethics and the History and Sociology of Science

“We are going to more directly change our bodies and our brains and our minds than any other generation of human beings,” says David and Lyn Silfen University Professor Jonathan Moreno. “So the question for society is: how far do we go with that? How much do we change ourselves? What are the values we bring to bear? How do you regulate it? Those are some of the questions people in bioethics will have to answer in the 21st century.”

As one of the first professors brought here through President Amy Gutmann’s Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) Professors initiative, Moreno represents a new breed of academic, one whose interests and expertise span traditionally disparate disciplines. The PIK initiative is the most potent symbol of Penn’s unparalleled commitment to fostering meaningful, groundbreaking, interdisciplinary work. And more important, it’s drawing fantastic scholars like Moreno to Penn.

“I think one of the reasons that I came to Penn,” explains Moreno, “is that with the PIK program, I could do what I wanted to do and explore whatever my nose leads me toward as a scholar without feeling encumbered by institutional barriers.” With dual appointments in the School of Medicine and the School of Arts and Science, Moreno and his students benefit from the resources and academic approaches of both schools as they tackle the ethical questions posed by 21st century medical advances. Thanks to the PIK initiative—and professors like Jonathan Moreno—Penn is poised like no other university to answer those questions.

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