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Global Seminars
View of hanging Japanese styled lanterns in Kyoto

Shades of Grey Between Life and Death: Neuro-Ethics Across the Pacific

Program Quick Facts

  • Location: Primarily divided between Tokyo and Kyoto, with day trips to other locations around Japan including Nara, Koyasan, and Hiroshima.
  • Faculty Leaders: Dr. Karen Hirsch & Dr. Holly Tabor
  • Arrival Date: June 16, 2026
  • Departure Date: July 3, 2026
  • Program Cost:
    • Stanford Tuition (3 units): $4,515
    • BOSP Program Fee: $500
    • Students with demonstrated financial need may be eligible for financial assistance (see financial assistance for more information)
  • Academic Prerequisites
    • No academic prerequisites nor language requirement.
    • There is an associated 3 unit spring quarter course (HUMBIO 171E) that is required for all participants. Students who have already taken the course in previous years are eligible to participate in the seminar. Participation in the seminar will require active engagement, reflection activities, and a culminating final project.
  • Activity Level: Light/Moderate. Activities may include city walking tours, easy/short hikes, museum and other site visits as well as an occasional physical activity such as snorkeling, hiking, or kayaking.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Health Information for Travelers to Japan
  • US State Department Country Information: Japan International Travel Information
  • Visa Information: Coming Soon

General Description

This BOSP seminar will provide an in-depth exploration of neuro-ethical issues surrounding life and death in Japan and America. Participants will learn about the medical, ethical, cultural and legal dimensions of brain death and organ donation in two unique cultural contexts. The immersive international experience will include opportunities with interdisciplinary and international experts both in the US and Japan. The in-country itinerary will focus largely on Japanese cultural experiences, but will also include visits with physicians, anthropologists, ethicists, and organ transplant experts.

Learning Goals

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to: 

  1. Understand bioethical principles, their application to current controversies in medicine and neuroscience, and how cultural factors influence these principles.
  2. Understand current ethical and legal constructs and challenges to diagnosing brain death and maintaining an organ transplant system in the US and Japan.
  3. Understand historical and cultural contexts that influence Japanese attitudes and policies about death, dying, medical technology, and organ transplantation.

Location

Primarily divided between Tokyo and Kyoto, with day trips to other locations around Japan including Nara, Koyasan, and Hiroshima.

Living and Travel Conditions

Japan will be hot and rainy. Accommodations will include hotels with air conditioning in most places, though a one-night stay in a traditional Ryokan in the mountains may be included. Activities will include a lot of walking. We are committed to accessibility so please reach out to the faculty leaders if you have any questions.

Faculty

Dr. Karen Hirsch

Dr. Karen Hirsch is a Professor of Neurology and neurocritical care physician whose practicefocuses on the care of patients with severe neurologic injury in the intensive care unit. She runs an NIH funded research program studying brain injury after cardiac arrest, coma recovery, and ethical issues in emerging neurotechnology including brain computer interface technology. Dr. Hirsch is dedicated to undergraduate education through teaching a HumBio course alongside Dr. Tabor and through her role as a Resident Fellow in Kimball Hall.

Dr. Holly Tabor

Dr. Tabor is a Professor of Medicine, Director of the Stanford Center for BiomedicalEthics, and the Co-Chair of the Bioethics Committee at Stanford Hospital. Dr. Tabor's research studies ethical issues in genetics and genomics, disability, and neurotechnology including brain computer interface technology. Dr. Tabor is excited about the unique format that the BOSP seminar experience offers to engage undergraduates in discussion of ethical, medical and cultural issues at the intersection of science and society.

Prerequisites and Expectations 

No academic prerequisites. No language requirement. There is an associated 3 unit spring quarter course (HUMBIO 171E) that is required for all participants. Students who have already taken the course in previous years are eligible to participate in the summer overseas program. Participation in the summer overseas seminar will require active engagement, reflection activities, and a culminating final project

Grading Basis

Letter Grade