Overview
Farr Curlin, MD, is Josiah Trent Professor of Medical Humanities in the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, & History of Medicine and Co-Director of the Theology, Medicine and Culture Initiative (TMC) at Duke University. Dr. Curlin has worked to bring attention to the intersection of medicine, ethics, and theology. In 2012 he helped to found both the University of Chicago’s Program on Medicine and Religion and the annual Conference on Medicine and Religion. Since 2015, through Duke Divinity School’s TMC Initiative, he and colleagues have brought graduate theological training to those with vocations to health care. Starting in 2023, Dr. Curlin also is working with colleagues across North America to develop the Hippocratic Society, an association of students and practitioners dedicated to fulfilling the profession to heal. He is co-author, with Chris Tollefsen, of The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession (Notre Dame University Press, 2021), as well as more than 150 articles and book chapters addressing the moral and spiritual dimensions of medical practice.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Publications
Developing the Good Physician: The Influence of Role Models in the Development of Virtues and Flourishing in Medical Students.
Journal Article South Med J · March 2025 OBJECTIVES: A virtues-based model of character development for training future physicians may lead to increased flourishing in medical students through the influence of exemplary role models. This study aimed to analyze the association between caring virtu ... Full text Link to item CiteAbortion is healthcare: In what sense?
Journal Article Nurs Outlook · 2025 In the wake of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization, many nursing organizations asserted that "abortion is healthcare" and access to it must be protected. Such a phrase makes clear claims about the meanings of "health" and "care." How one defines ... Full text Link to item CiteA brief response to McLemore et al. regarding "Abortion is Healthcare: In What Sense?".
Journal Article Nurs Outlook · 2025 Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Seminars on Faith and Science
Institutional SupportPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Foundation for Excellence in Education · 2019 - 2022Arete Initiative at the Kenan Institute for Ethics
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Foundation for Excellence in Education · 2019 - 2021Training Research-Literate Chaplains as Ambassadors for Spirituality and Health: Phase I
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Rush University Medical Center · 2015 - 2019View All Grants