2025 Summit

Rapidly advancing neurotechnologies are improving prevention, diagnosis, and management of neurological and psychiatric conditions; revealing new insights about cognition; and may be used outside the clinic by employers, schools, and governments.

Against this backdrop, the Neurotech Justice Summit will examine the meaning of “neurotech justice”, and how a focus on justice can positively shape the trajectory of neurotechnology development and application. Addressing the ethical, legal, social, and policy implications of emerging neurotechnologies is a complex task requiring input from a variety of disciplines and stakeholders. This Summit will bring to bear a range of such perspectives. The Summit will feature presentations, conversations, and audience participation to explore how neurotech justice can be achieved in medicine, law, and other key social contexts.

Friday, June 20, 2025
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET

Agenda

The Neurotech Justice Summit 2025 is the flagship convening of the Neurotech Justice Accelerator (NJAM) at Mass General Brigham, a Dana Center for Neuroscience & Society. The grant is being led by neurosurgeon Theresa Williamson, neuroethicist Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz, and law and neuroscience professor Francis Shen. 

Now established as an annual event, the Neurotech Justice Summit brings together clinicians, legal scholars, ethicists, researchers, and community leaders to examine the ethical, legal, and societal dimensions of neurotech innovation. 

This year’s summit theme is: “Emerging Neurotechnologies and Evolving Patient Realities”

A distinguishing feature of the Neurotech Justice Summit—and of NJAM’s broader mission—is the mentorship and development of the next generation of neuroscience and society scholars, practitioners, and changemakers. Through intentional training, collaboration, and leadership opportunities, the Summit creates space for emerging voices to shape the future of neurotechnology with accountability, and community at the center. 

9:00-9:20: Welcome & Introduction

  • An Introduction to the Neurotech Justice Accelerator – Purpose, Vision, and Impact :
    Theresa Williamson, MD, Co-Chair, Surgical Ethics Working Group, HMS Center for Bioethics; Faculty Neurosurgeon, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School; Co-Director, NJAM 
  • E. Antonio “Nino” Chiocca, MD, PhD, Neurosurgeon-in-Chief & Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, Mass General Brigham; Harvey W. Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School 

9:20-10:20: Emerging Neurotechnologies and Evolving Patient Realities

A lively discussion with researchers at the forefront of neuroscience and neurotechnology innovation, with a focus on how advances in the field intersect with ethics, accessibility, and the evolving realities faced by patients. 

  • Moderator: Theresa Williamson, MD,  Co-Chair, Surgical Ethics Working Group, HMS Center for Bioethics; Faculty Neurosurgeon, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School 
  • Panelist: Joseph J. Fins, MD, MACP, FRCP,  E. William Davis Professor of Medical Ethics, Weill Cornell Medicine; Visiting Professor of Law, Yale Law School
  • Panelist: Ziv Williams, MD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School
  • Panelist: Shriya Srinivasan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

10:20-10:30: Break 

10:30-11:20: Neurolaw & the Emerging Adult Program 

Exploring how the neuroscience of emerging adulthood is being applied in the legal system to improve public safety and promote just outcomes. 

  • Panelist: Susannah Baruch, JD, Executive Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, Harvard Law School
  • Panelist: Mswati Hanks, Intensive Case Manager for the Emerging Adult Program of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
  • Panelist: Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD, Executive Director for the Center for Law, Brain, & Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital

11:20-11:40: Keynote Speaker 

Closing reflections from our Keynote Speaker 

  • Tracy Skelly, Founder, The Little Cocoa Bean Co.; Entrepreneur, Health Equity & Food Access Leader

11:40-12:00: Closing Remarks 

  • Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD, Professor, Univ. of Minnesota Law School; Member, Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics; Chief Innovation Officer, MGH Center for Law, Brain & Behavior; Co-Director, NJAM  
  • Theresa Williamson, MD, Co-Chair, Surgical Ethics Working Group, HMS Center for Bioethics; Faculty Neurosurgeon, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School; Co-Director, NJAM 

This webinar will be recorded. Mass General Brigham welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions, please contact us at njam@mgh.harvard.edu in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please note that we will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.