Bernard Lo, MD Award in Bioethics 2026 Request for Nominations

Introduction

The Greenwall Foundation invites nominations for the 2026 Bernard Lo, MD Award in Bioethics (Lo Award), a $25,000 prize that is given annually to recognize significant contributions to bioethics. This Award honors Dr. Lo’s service to The Greenwall Foundation as its President & CEO (2012-2020) and founding Director of the Faculty Scholars Program.

The Lo Award recognizes one area of accomplishment in bioethics each year. The 2026 Lo Award will be presented for bridging division through bioethics. The division at issue may derive from differences in perspective, politics, power, community, identity, or discipline (to name only some examples). In an increasingly polarized society, bioethics can serve as a model for articulating and navigating differing values and finding shared resolutions to difficult problems.

This year’s Award will be given to a recipient or recipients who have leveraged bioethics to bridge division between groups or individuals. We understand “bridging division” broadly; it can include, for example, listening to develop a deeper understanding of opposing views, challenging one’s own assumptions or biases, creating fora for productive discussion and debate, working to move beyond disagreement toward common ground, or promoting a more connected community, among other strategies. A strong preference will be given to nominees who have collaborated – with each other or others – to lessen division and improve policy or practice.  

Nominees may be individuals, organizations that are US 501(c)(3) public charities, and/or collaborative teams. The Foundation encourages nominees from academic, non-profit, government, industry, and other sectors.

For illustrative purposes, examples of bridging division through bioethics may include, but are not limited to:

• Collaboration among those with differing views on the governance of emerging technologies to formulate productive policy or practice recommendations and/or to translate such recommendations into action;
• Professional organizations that have successfully incorporated a full spectrum of perspectives in drafting inclusive statements and policies;
• Facilitation of respectful dialogue and debate on reproductive health or end-of-life issues to identify core values across difference;
• Collaboration between patient advocacy groups and researchers or regulators to develop or provide access to needed therapies or interventions;
• Biomedical experts, public health experts, communicators, and/or government officials collaborating with health care workers and patient groups to help navigate conflicting health guidance;
• Individuals or organizations that have developed community-based health programs that overcome the experienced mistrust and discrimination in those communities regarding health institutions. 

The 2023 Lo Award was similarly presented for forging connections across division through bioethics. You can learn more about the recipient and her work here.

Nominations are due by Friday, March 20, 2026 at 11:59pm ET.

Award Criteria

The Lo Award Committee will consider:

• The centrality of bioethics to the work described
• The nominee’s role in the conception and implementation of the work
• The intractability of the divisions bridged, and novelty of the approach taken
• The strength of collaborative relationships, as demonstrated, for example, through inclusion of diverse perspectives, respectful discourse, consensus building, and mutual benefit
• Commitment to collaboration, as demonstrated, for example, through duration of collaborative efforts, involvement in different collaborative efforts, and investment of time and effort
• Whether the nominee’s work has lessened division and improved policy or practice
• Steps to share knowledge or lessons learned more widely to promote broader success

Nominations

Nominations may be submitted by those who can speak to the excellence of the nominee’s work bridging division through bioethics and the impact achieved. Renominations are welcome. Self-nominations will not be accepted. If the nominee is an organization, nominators may not be organizational leaders or current or former members of the organizational team undertaking the work.

Nominations should include the materials listed below. In the interest of fairness to all applicants, submitted materials should not exceed the stated page limits.

• Letter of nomination, no longer than three single-spaced pages, that specifically addresses the award criteria listed above and provides concrete illustrative examples. Among other things, the letter should address:
  
• How or why is this work bioethics?    
• What divisions did this work seek to bridge, and by what means?
• What role did the nominee play in conceptualizing and implementing this work?
• What evidence demonstrates the nominee’s success in bridging division and the impact of their work?
• What lessons were learned in bridging this division?
• What is the ongoing and lasting impact of the nominee’s work?
• What is the relationship like among collaborators in this work and how did the nominee foster it?
  
  This letter may include input or information from the nominee(s).
• Description/evidence of the division at issue (document(s) or document excerpt(s) up to a five-page total maximum). Explain and/or provide evidence of the relevant divide, for example, through academic articles or abstracts, op-eds, blog posts, press coverage, or a supplemental written description. This item is meant to illustrate the relevant division, not the nominee’s work (which should be submitted in response to the next bulleted item).
  
• Nominee’s work to bridge this division (document(s) or document excerpt(s) up to a 20-page total maximum). This might include, for example, publications, interview transcripts, website excerpts, policies or other organizational statements, or descriptions of programs developed.    
• One letter of support from a collaborator, no longer than three single-spaced pages, that specifically addresses the award criteria listed above and provides concrete illustrative examples. If all collaborators are nominees for the Award, this letter may be submitted by a colleague with substantial knowledge of the collaborative relationship. Among other things, this letter should answer:
  
• What was your collaborative relationship with the nominee like? 
• How does your relationship with the nominee compare to other collaborative relationships or interactions you have had with those who share the nominee’s perspective?
• What divisions did this work seek to bridge, and by what means?
• What role did the nominee play in conceptualizing and implementing this work?
• What evidence demonstrates the nominee’s success in bridging division and the impact of their work?
• What lessons were learned in bridging this division?
• What is the ongoing and lasting impact of the nominee’s work?
• Nominee’s current CV(s), no more than five single-spaced pages each. If the nominee is an organization, please submit a comparable document or document excerpt that describes the organization such as promotional materials, an annual report, or webpage.

You may preview the nomination form here.

The Lo Award Committee may reach out to letter-writers with follow-up questions. The Lo Award recipient will be announced later this year.

Submission of Nominations

Nomination packets should be submitted via the Foundation’s online system by Friday, March 20, 2026 at 11:59pm ET. 

Go to https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=greenwall. Once there, please bookmark the site, create an account, and complete your nomination. If online submission presents a hardship, please contact Kyle Ruempler at [email protected] in advance of the nomination deadline.