Dr Ryan (Sampson) Nash, MD, MA is the Hagop S. Mekhjian, MD, Endowed Chair in Medical Ethics and Professionalism and the Director of The Ohio State University Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities.  In addition to being an active educator, administrator, and serving as a healthcare ethics and clinical bioethics advisor and consultant, Dr Nash continues to be active in Palliative Medicine caring for patients primarily with advanced cancer.  Dr Nash’s scholarship focuses on practical, procedural, and policy issues related to Medicine, Clinical Bioethics and Palliative Medicine. He also explores ethics foundations at the nexus of medicine, ethics, theology, religion, and culture. Dr Nash is an Orthodox Christian and parishioner at St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church (OCA) in Columbus, Ohio. He is the grateful husband of Sarah and proud father of four daughters. He occasionally helps them run their small farm north of Columbus. 

Educational Background

B.S. (Psychology), Texas State University
M.A. (Bioethics), Trinity International University
M.D., The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Teaching Interests

Christian Ethics
Bioethics
Medical Ethics
Medicine
Palliative Medicine

Current Projects and Research Interests

Commentary and Anthology of the Christian work of H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., MD, PhD. (his mentor).

Beyond this, Dr Nash participates in research teams and has solo projects on care of patients with cancer, various aspects of clinical medical ethics, and Orthodox appraisals of medicine and bioethical dilemmas.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Nash, RR, “Ethics, Virtue, and Martyrdom:  A Christian Ending – Blameless,” Altarul Reîntregirii, Serie nouă, Anul XIX, Nr. 2, Alba Iluia, Romania, mai-august, 2014.

Huddle, TS, Kertesz, SG, Nash, RR, “Health Care Institutions Should Not Exclude Smokers From Employment,” Academic Medicine, 89(6):843-7, June 2014.

Nash, RR, “H.T. Engelhardt, Jr., Misrepresented and Misunderstood: Beyond a Philosophy of Difference and toward a Theology of Unity”, Christian Bioethics (Oxford University Press), 20 (2):272-282, August 2014.

Nash, RR, “Toward a Shared Decision: Against the Fiction of the Autonomous Individual”, Family Informed Consent, Philosophy and Medicine, Springer, 121: 219-230, March 2015.

Nash, RR, „Îngrijirea sufletului. Implicații pentru luarea deciziilor medicale”, pp. 84-92 Doctors and the Church, Vol. XIII, editor Buta, GM, translator Bodiu, L; Renașterea Publishing, Cluj-Napoca, RO, 2015.                                          

Nash, RR, “What is Christian About Christian Bioethics Revisited,” Christian Bioethics (Oxford University Press), 21: 3   December 2015.

Nash, RR, “America and the Soft Establishment of Christianity,” European Journal of Science and Theology, 12(3):61-70) 17, January 1, 2016.

Nash, RR, Thiele, C, “Informing Consent for Organ Donation” HEC Forum (HealthCare Ethics Committee Forum: An Interprofessional Journal on Healthcare Institutions' Ethical and Legal Issues – SPRINGER). 2016, May 30.

Richardson, D, Devine, S, Nash, RR, “A challenge to discriminating psychosocial eligibility criteria: exploring the ethical justification for excluding patients with psychosocial risk factors from hematopoietic cell transplantation”, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Springer Nature, June 6, 2018.

De Rosa, M, Azzato, F, Toblli, JE, De Rosa G, Fuentes, F, Nagaraja, HN, Nash, RR, Rovin, BH, “A prospective observational cohort study highlights kidney biopsy findings of lupus nephritis patients in remission who flare following withdrawal of maintenance therapy,” Kidney Int, July 20, 2018. 

Inglehardt, R., Nash RR, “Attitudes towards Euthanasia: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Role of Economic, Cultural, and Health-related Factors,” Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, January 22, 2021.

Grimm, M, Radcliff, L, Giles, M, Nash, RR, Holley, E, Panda, S, Brophy, L, Williams, N, Cherlan, M, Stover, D, Gatti-Mays, M, Wesolowski, R, Sardesai, S, Sudheendra, P, Reinbolt, R, Ramasamy, B, Pariser, A, “Living with Advanced Breast Cancer: A Descriptive Analysis of Survivorship Strategies” J. Clin. Med., 11(14), 992; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11143992, July 10, 2022.

Books & Chapters:

Nash, RR, “Palliative Care:  Ethics and the Law,” Principles and Practice of Palliative Care and Supportive Oncology.  Ed. Berger, A., Shuster, J., Von Roenn, J., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 2012.

Nash, RR, Nelson, L. J. Editor and lead author Unipac Six, Ethical and Legal Dimensions of Palliative Care.  American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2012.

Nash, RR, Rink, B, “Ethics in the Practice of Gynecology,” Gynecologic Care, eds Olsen, M &Keder, L, Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Nash, RR, Wells, MJ, “Ethical Principles in the Practice of Medicine,” in Ethical Issues in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, eds Mazur and Berg, Springer, 2020.

Nash, RR, Shirilla, N. “Palliative Care:  Ethics and the Law,” Principles and Practice of Palliative Care and Supportive Oncology.  Ed. Berger, A, O’Neil, J., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 2021.

Selected Presentations

“Competing Concepts of Health regarding sex, eroticism, and gender,” St Tikhon's Seminary Conference, Wilkes-Barre, PA, November 7-9, 2019.

“If this is Right, Why Does it Feel Wrong? Opioid Management in the Era of Epidemic Opioid Abuse, through the Lens of Provider-Experienced Moral Injury,” Kale, S, Nash RR, et al, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Virtual Conference, February 18, 2021.

“The Role of Religion in Healthcare,” panel, Nash, RR and Iltis, A, West Michigan Health Care Ethics Conference, Waiting for a Miracle: Religion’s Role in Patient Decision Making, DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy, Virtual, February 22, 2021.

“COVID-19 Vaccines, HEK Cells, and Abortion: Beyond a Secular Ethics Consideration," Nash, RR, Bioethics Grand Rounds, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, April 8, 2021

“Gateways to Knowledge: How to Listen to Experts with Faithful Humility,”  St. Macrina 9th Annual Conference, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, Milwaukee, WI, August 12-13, 2022.      

“Multidisciplinary model of survivorship care for patients with advanced breast cancer,” 2022 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, Panda, S., Giles, M., Holley, E, Nash, RR, Radcliff, L, Reinbolt, R, Ramaswamy, B, Pariser, A.; Conference to take place; September 30-October 1, 2022.