Cynthia S. McCarthy | Pitt Bioethics

Professional Statement

Cynthia S. McCarthy is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health, where she directs the Bioethics Certificate conferred by the School of Public Health. Dr. McCarthy also serves as the Ethics Facilitator for the Clinical Translational Science Institute. In this role, she is available to provide consultation services to researchers on bioethics related questions, serves on Data and Safety Monitoring Boards, and participates in the Responsible Conduct for Research program. Dr. McCarthy has been teaching bioethics courses at the University of Pittsburgh since 2009 and taught nursing students at LaRoche University prior to that. In her role as Director, Bioethics Education for Undergraduates at the Institute, Dr. McCarthy will develop and implement bioethics educational initiatives for undergraduate students, foster mentoring relationships between undergraduates and Pitt faculty, and mentor undergraduates interested in bioethics research.

She has served as a consultant for the Consortium Ethics Program since 1999 and on its Advisory Council since 2025. In her role as a consultant for the CEP, Dr. McCarthy was a member of UPMC Home Care/Hospice Ethics Committee for 10 years, conducting regular educational sessions, participating in policy development, and ethics consultation. Dr. McCarthy served as an ethics consultant for the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board from 2022 to 2025.

Dr. McCarthy is the founder and faculty mentor of the experiential-learning seminar series Ethics in Action, created in 2022. Students are exposed to bioethics issues through lectures provided by content experts then afforded the opportunity to apply what they have learned in hands on exercises.

Dr. McCarthy is the faculty sponsor and coach of the University of Pittsburgh National Bioethics Bowl Team and is co-chair of the National Bioethics Bowl Executive Committee where she hosted the 18th Annual National Bioethics Bowl at the University of Pittsburgh in April 2026. She has served on the national executive committee since 2021.

Her teaching interests focus on patient-centered subjects, including advance directives, informed consent, confidentiality and decision-making capacity. Her current research examines the ethical use of medical chaperones during intimate examinations, with particular attention to the perceptions, experiences, and needs of both patients and healthcare providers. Additional areas of research and practice include AI and Medicine in Every Day Practice and bioethics in undergraduate curriculums.

Dr. McCarthy completed her BA in Biology and a minor in Health Humanities at the University of Delaware, her MA in Philosophy, Specializing in Health Care Ethics at Loyola University of Chicago, and her Doctorate in Health Care Ethics at Duquesne University. She acquired certification as a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician in 2019.

Appointments

Associate Professor Department of Human Genetics School of Public Health
Director of the Bioethics Certificate School of Public Health
Core Faculty and Director of Bioethics Education for Undergraduates Institute for Bioethics
Electus Faculty Fellow David C. Frederick Honors College
Ethics Facilitator Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Education and Training

DHCE (Doctorate in Health Care Ethics), Duquesne University, 2003
MA, Loyola University of Chicago, 1995
University of Delaware, 1992
Nationally Certified Emergency Medical Technician, 2019 - Present

Professional Interests in Bioethics

Representative Publications

Dugas, G., Zygmunt, A., Sanders, M. et al. Ethics in action: undergraduate student satisfaction in experiential learning seminars focused on developing ethics skills. International Journal of Ethics Education 10, 117–132 (2025).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40889-025-00211-w

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Tejasvi Sanjay Kamble, Hongtao Wang, Nicole Myers, Nickolas Littlefield, Leah Reid, Cynthia S. McCarthy, Young Ji Lee, Hongfang Liu, Liron Pantanowitz, Soheyla Amirian, Hooman H. Rashidi, Ahmad P. Tafti, Predicting cancer survival at different stages: Insights from fair and explainable machine learning approaches, International Journal of Medical Informatics, Volume 197, 2025, 105822,ISSN 1386-5056, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2025.105822.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386505625000395)

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Butkus, M and McCarthy, C. “Principle and Praxis: Harmonizing Theoretical and Clinical Ethics.” The American Journal of Bioethics, Vol. 2, No. 4, Fall 2002, http://bioethics.net

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Spielman, B. and McCarthy, C. “Beyond Pittsburgh: Protocols for Controlled Non-Heart- Beating Cadaver Organ Recovery”. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, Vol. 5, No. 4, 1995, pp. 323 – 333

Awards and Honors

Student’s Choice Award, CGS Student Government, April 2026
Student’s Choice Award, CGS Student Government, April 2025
Most Valuable Professor, Division of Athletics, Softball, May 2025
Most Valuable Professor, Division of Athletics, Softball, May 2024
Student’s Choice Award, CGS Student Government , April 2025
Most Valuable Professor, Division of Athletics, Gymnastics, Spring 2023
Women of Distinction, Duquesne University Women’s Auxiliary Board, November 2011
Student’s Choice Award, CGS Student Government , April 2011