Meet Our Team
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Ashley K. Fernandes, MD, Ph.D.
Ashley K. Fernandes, MD, Ph.D., is the Director of Ethics Education at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the Associate Director of the Center for Bioethics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He received an MA in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University; an MD from The Ohio State University; and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Georgetown University, focusing on bioethics.
Dr. Fernandes is board certified in General Pediatrics. Focusing on bioethics and professionalism educational scholarship, he has been appointed the Director of Competency for Professionalism at the Ohio State College of Medicine in 2019. His scholarly interests include clinical ethics, the philosophy of medicine and medical professionalism, Medicine and the Holocaust studies, pediatric ethics, and philosophical anthropology as it relates to medical practice.
Awards and Career
He has presented his work at international and national forums and is the author of scores of peer-reviewed publications and three book chapters. After 13 years practicing hospital pediatrics, he remains a practicing academic primary care pediatrician.
Dr. Fernandes is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, an elected member of the AAP’s National Executive Committee on Bioethics, a member of the AOA Medical Honor Society, the Catholic Medical Association (which awarded him the national mentor of the year award in 2015) and a member of the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society, receiving the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine award twice—in 2020 and in 2010.
He has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards, most recently The Ohio State University College of Medicine’s Award in Mentorship, “Courage to Teach” and “Inspire” Awards, and in 2020, the Professor of the Year Award.
Selected Publications:
- Fernandes, AK, Wilson S., Nalin, A., Philip, A., Forbis, S. and Lauden, S. Pediatric Family Centered Rounds and Humanism: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Meta-Analysis. Hospital Pediatrics, accepted, forthcoming, 2021.
- Wozniak, P. and Fernandes, AK. A Conventional Revolution: The Ethical Implications of the Natural Progress of Neonatal Intensive Care to Artificial Wombs. Journal of Medical Ethics, 2020; 18 (doi: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106754.) Online ahead of print.
- Fernandes, AK, Ecklar, P, Rundell, K, Luster, G., and Cavalcanti, M. Integrating simulated patients in TBL: A strategy for success in medical education, Medical Science Educator. 2019; 29 (2): 383-387. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00727-z
- Fernandes, AK, Wilson, S., Kasick, R., Humphrey, L., Mahan, J., Spencer, S. Team-Based Learning in Bioethics Education: Creating a Successful Curriculum for Residents in an Era of “Curricular Squeeze,” Medical Science Educator, Special Issue Monograph on Team-Based Learning. 2020; 30: 649-658; https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00836-9.
- Fernandes, AK, and Ecret, D. The effect of hierarchy on moral silence in healthcare: What can the Holocaust teach us? Conatus: International Journal of Philosophy, Special Issue: Bioethics and the Holocaust. 2020; 4(2): 21-43. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/cjp.21763; PMID: 33208478
Sandra P. Spencer, MD
Sandra P. Spencer, MD completed her Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital after graduating from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. Currently an attending physician in the Division of Emergency Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, she has been part of the ethics education team since 2009. Her ethics interests include assent and consent concepts, child abuse, and research ethics.
Dr. Spencer is also the Director of Quality Improvement for Emergency Services, a program director for the NCH Pediatric Quality and Safety Leadership Fellowship, and the Co-medical Director for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Clinical Pathways Program.
She has a special interest in quality improvement publication education, emergency services process and quality improvement, and local and national guideline development. Her current projects include improving the care of patients with neurological deterioration, reducing overutilization in patients with bronchiolitis, and improving headache care in the emergency department.
Contact info: Sandra.spencer@NationwideChildrens.org
Selected Publications:
- Fernandes, AK, Wilson S., Nalin, A., Philip, A., Forbis, S. and Lauden, S. Pediatric Family Centered Rounds and Humanism: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Meta-Analysis. Hospital Pediatrics, accepted, forthcoming, 2021.
- Wozniak, P. and Fernandes, AK. A Conventional Revolution: The Ethical Implications of the Natural Progress of Neonatal Intensive Care to Artificial Wombs. Journal of Medical Ethics, 2020; 18 (doi: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106754.) Online ahead of print.
- Fernandes, AK, Ecklar, P, Rundell, K, Luster, G., and Cavalcanti, M. Integrating simulated patients in TBL: A strategy for success in medical education, Medical Science Educator. 2019; 29 (2): 383-387. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00727-z
- Fernandes, AK, Wilson, S., Kasick, R., Humphrey, L., Mahan, J., Spencer, S. Team-Based Learning in Bioethics Education: Creating a Successful Curriculum for Residents in an Era of “Curricular Squeeze,” Medical Science Educator, Special Issue Monograph on Team-Based Learning. 2020; 30: 649-658; https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00836-9.
- Fernandes, AK, and Ecret, D. The effect of hierarchy on moral silence in healthcare: What can the Holocaust teach us? Conatus: International Journal of Philosophy, Special Issue: Bioethics and the Holocaust. 2020; 4(2): 21-43. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/cjp.21763; PMID: 33208478
Sheria D. Wilson, MD, MA
Sheria D. Wilson, MD, MA, is an attending neonatologist in the Division of Neonatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. A graduate of Northern Kentucky University, Dr. Wilson received her medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and training in Pediatrics, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, and Bioethics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University.
Dr. Wilson obtained a certificate in Pediatric Bioethics from Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, and completed the Fellowship Program in Clinical Bioethics through the Center of Bioethics at the Ohio State University. Dr. Wilson earned her graduate degree in Bioethics from The Ohio State University.
Career
She is a faculty member in the Center for Bioethics at The Ohio State University and instructor of the Pediatric Bioethics graduate course. She is a member of Ethics Committee at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Wilson’s research and scholarly activities focus on medical ethics and medical education in pediatrics and neonatology.
Dr. Wilson’s current research includes implementing a Team-Based Learning Bioethics curriculum to teach and assess patient-centered, humanistic ethics. Her clinical interests include parental counseling and communication.
Contact information: sheria.wilson@nationwidechildrens.org
Selected Publications:
Fernandes, AK, Wilson, S., Kasick, R., Humphrey, L., Mahan, J., Spencer, S. Team-Based Learning in Bioethics Education: Creating a Successful Curriculum for Residents in an Era of “Curricular Squeeze,” Medical Science Educator, Special Issue Monograph on Team-Based Learning. 2020; 30: 649-658; https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00836-9.
Andrew Philip, MD
Andrew Philip, MD is a psychiatry resident at The Ohio State University, and a recent graduate of The Ohio State University College of Medicine. While a medical student, he served as a research assistant to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital team that pioneered the “Bioethics Education with Team-based Learning Exercises” curriculum, continuing his involvement after graduation in content creation for the curriculum and teaching. He is currently completing a master’s degree in bioethics at The Ohio State University and has a special interest in the intersection of ethics, race/culture, and mental health.
Contact info: andrew.philip@osumc.edu
Stephanie M. Lauden, MD CTropMed FAAP
Stephanie M. Lauden, MD CTropMed FAAP joined Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2017, initially in the division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and then transitioned to Pediatric Hospital Medicine in 2018. Dr. Lauden completed dual-undergraduate degrees at the University of Rochester, before attending medical school at the Boonshoft School of Medicine (Wright State University in Dayton, OH).
She went on to complete pediatric residency at the University of Minnesota. There, she served as a Pediatric Global Health Chief Resident, where she developed skills in curriculum development and conducting international research. She has taught and conducted research in Thailand and Cameroon and earned a Certificate in Tropical Medicine through the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dr. Lauden serves as the resident-faculty liaison for scholarship and co-directs both the ethics and global health residency advanced competencies. She is engaged in both local and national research collaboratives, with a focus on global health ethics, direct admission safety/efficacy, physician burnout, implicit bias, and advocating for vulnerable populations.
Contact information: Steph.Lauden@