Seminar Schedule 2026-2027
October 15, 2026, 7:15pm EST (at Faculty House)
Death as a Sensory Signal: What the Dead Communicate to the Living
Emily J. Siff, PhD
Presidential Fellow, Princeton, Physics & Neuroscience
Description: What does death communicate to the living? Across the animal kingdom, organisms respond to their dead in remarkably diverse ways, suggesting that death may be more than a biological endpoint: it can also function as information. This talk examines death as a sensory signal, asking how living animals detect and respond to the dead of their own kind. Using the common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), Siff’s neuroscience research examines how the living respond to the dead, as well as distinct biochemical and molecular patterns in the brains and bodies of both dead flies and the living flies exposed to them. This work asks us to reconsider the boundary between life and death: how might organisms continue to act as information, shaping the behavior of the living even in death?
November 19, 2026, 7:15pm EST (Location TBD)
From Passage to Practice: Implementing Medical Aid in Dying in New York
Mandi Zucker, LSW, CT
Executive Director, End of Life Choices NY
Description: The passage of medical aid in dying legislation in New York was a historic victory—but making the law work in practice has brought a new set of challenges and opportunities. This presentation will explore the realties of implementation, including barriers, misinformation, and confusion in the media as well as bring to light how implementation has revealed significant reasons for optimism. The experiences offer important initial lessons about turning a new legal right into meaningful access.
December 17, 2026, 7:15pm EST (at Faculty House)
Validating Dreams & Visions of the Dying
Christopher Kerr, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Officer and Chief Executive Officer
, Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo, Inc.
; Author, Death Is But a Dream
Description: Experiences at the end of life—including dreams and visions—often speak to some of our deepest human needs: to love and be loved, to feel connected, to be remembered, and to find forgiveness and meaning. Although these experiences have historically received little attention in medicine, research suggests that they are common and can be profoundly meaningful and comforting to patients and their families.
Dr. Kerr’s research team at Hospice Buffalo has published multiple studies examining end-of-life dreams and visions and has documented more than 1,500 end-of-life experiences, many captured on video.
Drawing on this research, Dr. Kerr will explore what patients experience at the end of life, what these dreams and visions may reveal about the lives they have lived, and how they can provide comfort, meaning, and connection during the dying process. The presentation includes powerful video accounts from patients and families describing these experiences in their own words.
February 11, 2027, 6:30pm - 8:30pm (Zoom)
TBA
March 11, 2027, 7:15pm EST (at Faculty House)
Zhipeng Lu, PhD, MArch
Julie & Craig Beale Endowed Professor in Health Facilities Design, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Texas A&M University
April 8, 2027, 7:15pm EST (at Faculty House)
The Rev. Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Congregational & Community Care Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota