Welcome

Jawad A. Shah, M.D.
CCN Co-Director and Advisory Board Member
shah@cognethic.org

Dr. Shah studied at McGill University in Montreal and the University of Manitoba prior to completing medical school at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada where he was also raised. He began PhD work in Psychoneuroimmunology prior to embarking on speciality training in Neurosurgery. He completed subspeciality fellowship training in skull base neurosurgery at the University of Arkansas. His areas of speciality include brainstem surgery, vascular neurosurgery, brain tumours, complex spine and neuromodulation. He is involved in extensive research projects including clinical, patent work, biological/mechanical and electrical product development, industry sponsored studies, theoretical philosophy among other areas. He is a faculty member at the Michigan State University Medical School. He also is Co Director of the Center for Cognition and Neuroethics jointly administered by the University of Michigan and IINN. Dr. Shah settled down in Flint, MI with his wife, a native of Flint, and children in the fall of 2003. He currently practices at McLaren, Hurley and Genesys Hospitals.

Jami L. Anderson, Ph.D.
CCN Co-Director and Advisory Board Member
anderson@cognethic.org

Jami L. Anderson was an undergraduate in the Honors Program at Arizona State University. From August 1986 to June 1987, she studied at the University of Tübingen, West Germany. She received her B.A. in Philosophy with Honors in 1989. Her thesis, "Philosophical Anarchism Reconsidered," was supervised by Jeffrie G. Murphy and Richard Dagger. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California School of Philosophy in 1995. Her dissertation is titled "Annulling Crimes: A Hegelian Theory of Retribution;" her advisors were Sharon Lloyd and John Dreher. Her publication and teaching interests are in philosophy of law and social theory, in particular gender theory, race theory, and disability studies. Her latest publication is The Philosophy of Autism, which she co-edited with Dr. Simon Cushing and for which she contributed a chapter. She has recently finished her work on a book chapter critically analyzing the use of disabled images in the Showtime series Breaking Bad. The anthology is expected to be in print next Summer. During Winter semester 2013, Dr. Anderson is on sabbatical. During that time, she will work on two articles. One will critically assess arguments surrounding neurodiversity debates, specifically concerning the question of whether or not autism ought to be cured or if, as some argue, such "cures" are, at best, misguided or, worse, immoral. The other will critically assess the claim that children's rights to open futures obligates parents to take part in actions that are eugencidal, such as embryonic selection choices. She has been the co-director of the Center for Cognition and Neuroethics since August, 2011.

Simon Cushing, Ph.D.
Advisory Board Member
cushing@cognethic.org

After receiving a B.A. and M.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University, Dr. Cushing earned a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, where his dissertation was "Citizenship, Political Obligation, and the "Right-Based" Social Contract Tradition." He specializes in Social Philosophy (including Race and Gender studies), Political Philosophy (especially Nationalism and Social Contract theories), and Moral Philosophy and Applied Ethics. Dr. Cushing recently co-edited an anthology on The Philosophy of Autism with Dr. Anderson, and he is currently writing an article to be titled "Plantinga's Freedom is Indefensible." Dr. Cushing's latest publications include "Evil, Freedom and the Heaven Dilemma" in Challenging Evil: Time, Society and Changing Concepts of the Meaning of Evil, and "Don't Fear the Reaper: An Epicurean Answer to Puzzles About Death and Injustice" in Layers of Dying and Death.

Bénédicte Veillet, Ph.D.
Advisory Board Member
veillet@cognethic.org

Bénédicte wrote her dissertation-"Concepts, Consciousness and Content"-at the University of Maryland, College Park and received her PhD in 2008. Her research interests are in the philosophy of mind and in the philosophical foundations of psychology and the cognitive sciences. She is currently working on papers concerning phenomenally conscious experiences ("what it's like" to see red, feel pain, etc.), our ways of thinking about these experiences, and the nature of their representational content.

Stevens Wandmacher, Ph.D.
Advisory Board Member
wandmacher@cognethic.org

Dr. Wandmacher received a Ph.D. in philosophy at Michigan State University in 2003, where his dissertation was "The Social Contract Tradition: Patriarchy, Artifice, and Reason." His primary interests include reason and its role in political and ethical theories. He teaches a range of courses from the introductory level through upper division. In addition, he is both the Chair of the UM-Flint Philosophy Department and the Faculty Coordinator of the Student Veteran Resource Center.
 

Zea Miller
Project Manager
miller@cognethic.org

Zea Miller is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Theory and Cultural Studies at Purdue University. His research explores the interplay of desire, structure, and justice in literature so as to uncover systemic models and rationally interrogate their coherence. Mr. Miller manages the administrative and technological affairs for CCN, including website design and edits. As the Production Editor for the Journal of Cognition and Neuroethics, Mr. Miller oversees the post-acceptance publication process, from designing the journal production files to copy editing forthcoming articles against the in-house style guide. Moreover, in collaboration with Dr. Anderson, Mr. Miller coordinates conference logistics and implements overall CCN marketing strategies.