Emeritus Faculty

John Banja

John D. Banja is a retired professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and medical ethicist at the Ethics Center. He directed the Section on Ethics in Research and Participant Advocacy of the Atlanta Clinical Translation Science Institute at Emory. Dr. Banja received a doctorate degree in philosophy from Fordham University in New York and has taught and lectured on topics in medical ethics throughout the United States and Europe.

He has authored or coauthored more than 200 publications and has delivered more than 800 invited presentations at regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Banja has conducted research or educational projects with numerous federal and private organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, the American College of Surgeons, the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, the Georgia Hospital Association, and the Templeton Foundation.

He is a former board member of the Commission for Case Manager Certification and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. His current research interests include the ethics of patient safety, forensic ethics, and neuroethics. He was an editor of AJOB Neuroscience and the author of two books. His first, Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism, was published by Jones and Bartlett Publishers in 2005 and his most recent, Patient Safety Ethics: How Vigilance, Mindfulness, Compliance, and Humility Can Make Healthcare Safer, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2019.

Kathy Kinlaw

Kathy Kinlaw is a retired Associate Director of the Emory Center for Ethics and Director of the Center for Ethics Program in Health, Science, and Ethics. A founding member of the Center in 1990, she played a pivotal role in shaping its mission and advancing the integration of ethics into healthcare, education, and public engagement.

Throughout her career, Kinlaw held numerous leadership positions across Emory, including Lead Ethicist at Emory Healthcare, Chair of the Emory University Hospital Ethics Committee, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine, and Director of the Healthcare Ethics Consortium (HEC). In 1994, following a three-year planning initiative supported by Emory University and the Georgia Humanities Council, she founded the HEC, a network of healthcare organizations dedicated to bringing ethical analysis to patient care and organizational decision-making. More than three decades later, the Consortium continues to provide educational programs and consultative services for healthcare professionals, healthcare institutions, and the broader community.

Kinlaw’s scholarship and leadership have centered on the integration of ethics into clinical practice and medical education. She led efforts to embed clinical ethics throughout the School of Medicine’s curriculum and residency programs and was widely recognized for her commitment to ethics consultation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and professional education.

A dedicated teacher and mentor, Kinlaw has influenced generations of students, clinicians, and colleagues through her thoughtful guidance, intellectual generosity, and steadfast commitment to compassionate and ethically grounded healthcare. Her contributions were also instrumental in the growth and success of Emory’s Master of Arts in Bioethics program, enriching the educational experience of countless students and strengthening the Center for Ethics enduring legacy.