The President. A Bioethicist?

Cornell University has announced that it has hired a bioethicist as its new President. Well, sort of.

David Skorton, the current President of the University of Iowa, has been officially confirmed as the new President of Cornell. A physician and expert on congenital heart disease, he holds appointments at iowa in the Departments of Internal Medicine, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. But in addition he has a long history of interest in human subjects protections. As his bio at Iowa states:

"A national leader in research ethics, President Skorton is charter past-president of the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc., the first entity organized specifically to accredit human research protection programs."

Skorton is also a jazz musician, playing saxophone and flute. He even hosts a program on the University of Iowa's radio station calle "As Night Falls - Latin Jazz."

Just the kind of bioethicist we'd like to know.
- Paul Root Wolpe