Lunch Hour Lectures - Ethics and the Future of Health

New technologies and innovation in health and medicine promise longer, healthier lives – but not necessarily for everyone equally.

This public lecture explores the ethical dimensions of the future of healthcare. Who benefits from medical progress, and who is left behind? How should policymakers balance innovation with equity?

How should societies decide what expensive medical innovation is worth publicly funding and what other social pursuits are worth giving up? Through a series of accessible examples and case studies, ranging from AI and pandemics to the UK’s approach to drug funding, this lecture reflects on what a future health system that is just and fair for all would look like.

About the speaker:

Dr Johann Go is a political philosopher and ethicist, having recently joined UCL as an Assistant Professor in Health Ethics. Dr Go’s research focuses on theories of social, global, and distributive justice and their application to debates in health and public policy. He is passionate about public engagement and interdisciplinary dialogue, being active in policy and public outreach work alongside his academic research.

Dr Go’s research and teaching has been recognised by multiple institutions, including by the University of Oxford, the University of Strathclyde, the Aristotelian Society, the Rhodes Trust, and the Royal Institute of Philosophy. Dr Go completed his DPhil in Political Philosophy at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

About the chair:

Professor Nora Colton is the Founding Director of the UCL Global Business School of Health and Professor of Leadership and Management for Healthcare.

She has a health and development economics background with extensive experience in change management and strategic leadership for healthcare. Previous to this role, she was the UCL Pro-Vice-Provost (Postgraduate Education) and Joint Director of Education at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Professor Colton has a strong track record of chairing academic and public-facing events, fostering inclusive discussion, and guiding engaging Q&A sessions. Her expertise and interdisciplinary career background makes her ideally placed to chair a lecture addressing ethics, inequality, and the future of health.

This is an online event the joining link will be provided closer to the event date.