Dr. Brian Tuohy is a sociologist specializing in immigration and health. He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago in 2018. Following his doctoral studies, Dr. Tuohy pursued postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, he serves as the Co-Director of Education and Assistant Professor of Bioethics at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, where he is also an Affiliate Faculty member in the Department of Sociology.

Dr. Tuohy’s research focuses on the intersection of healthcare and immigration reform, with particular attention to the experiences of undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Immigrant Health and the Work of Bioethics

Dr. Tuohy generously shares his own personal and professional journey into the field, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of bioethics. He discusses his own family’s immigration story and research with Mexican immigrants to the United States to bring out contrasts and nuances in the experiences of different groups based on language, age at immigration and a multiplicity of immigration status categories. We touch on some issues in ethical conduct of research with immigrant communities and conclude with a deep reflection on the power that bioethicists have as insiders in the healthcare industry and the importance, joys and responsibility of teaching the next generation of physicians.

Some of Dr. Tuohy’s work can be found here:

Brian Tuohy, Health Without Papers: Immigrants, Citizenship, and Health in the 21st Century, Social Forces, Volume 98, Issue 3, March 2020, Pages 1052–1073, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soz048

Rocco, P., & Tuohy, B. (2021). A New Dawn of Bioethics: Advocacy and Social Justice. The American Journal of Bioethics, 22(1), 23–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2021.2001105

Tuohy B, Jatres J. Researching Those in the Shadows: Undocumented Immigrants, Vulnerability, and the Significance of Research. Am J Bioeth. 2023 Jun;23(6):106-109. doi: 10.1080/15265161.2023.2204053. PMID: 37220350.