Tristram Engelhardt Jr. is Professor for Philosophy at the Rice University in Houston, Texas, and Professor emeritus at the Baylor College of Medicine. In addition, he is an adjunct professor of bioethics and philosophy at St. Herman Seminary and has held the Rosemary Kennedy chair of Philosophy of Medicine at the Kennedy Institute Center for Bioethics at Georgetown University. In 2005 he received an honorary doctorate from the Grigore T. Popa University for Medicine and Pharmacy in Iasi, Romania, and in 2011 he was awarded with another honorary degree by the University “1. December 1918” Alba Iualia in Romania.

Tristram Engelhardt Jr.’s research interests range from the philosophy of medicine to bioethics as well as Continental Philosophy. Especially in the field of bioethics and theoretical ethics, he is the author or editor of numerous papers and books, including influential books such as The Foundations of Bioethics (1986), The Foundations of Christian Bioethics (2000) and a recently published edition on Global Bioethics (2006). Furthermore, he is senior editor of Christian Bioethics, The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, the Philosophy and Medicine book series – comprising over a hundred titles – and of the book series Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture. Currently he investigates explanatory models in medicine, the development of modern concepts of health and disease, and issues of rights and responsibilities in health care.