D. Micah Hester

Chair/Professor

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

faculty

Department Chairs, College of Medicine

13 h-index 145 pubs 761 cited

Research Areas

Ethics in Clinical Research Child and Adolescent Health Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues Health Literacy and Information Accessibility Cancer Treatment and Pharmacology Emergency and Acute Care Studies Healthcare Policy and Management

Links

ORCID UAMS TRI Profile

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OverviewAI-generated summary

D. Micah Hester, Chair of the Department of Medical Humanities & Bioethics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, has a research focus on ethical considerations within clinical research and healthcare. His work examines issues such as transparency in consent processes, particularly addressing the "therapeutic misconception" where potential participants may overemphasize potential benefits over the risks of research participation. He has also investigated assent in pediatric research protocols, contributing to the ethical conduct of studies involving minors.

Hester's scholarship extends to end-of-life issues and pediatric ethics. He has published on topics including pediatric decision-making, the ethical implications of "medical benefit" in early-phase pediatric oncology trials, and considerations for consent during medical crises. His extensive experience includes over two decades of service on Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), and he provides research ethics consultations. His scholarly metrics include an h-index of 13, with 145 total publications and 761 total citations.

Research Overview

I am the Chair of the Department of Medical Humanities & Bioethics and a clinical and research ethicist here at UAMS since 2004. I have a PhD in philosophy from Vanderbilt University. My scholarly work has been in the areas of patient-provider relationships, end-of-life issues, pediatric ethics, and ethics education. I am deeply concerned by issues of transparency in consent processes for research, including challenges posed by what has been called "therapeutic misconception"--when would-be participant are focused on therapeutic outcomes, and blind to the fact that they are agreeing to be research subjects. I have done work in assent in pediatric research protocols, as well. I also have over two decades of IRB service experience, and provide research ethics consultations, as requested. I am available to discuss ethical issues that are raised by specific research, and thereby to help think through and monitor ethical challenges in research, from protocol development to consent issues to IRB considerations.

Metrics

h-index: 13
Publications: 145
Citations: 761

Selected Publications

Of Course Reasons Matter. The Question is How (2025) DOI
A Potential Clinical Ethicist Weighs in with Insights and Concerns Form the Findings of Fox and Wasserman (2025) DOI
Oversight for First-in-Human Surgical Procedures (2025) DOI
Partial waiver of consent to overcome translational science barriers in neonatal clinical research (2025) DOI
Non-Beneficial or Harmful: Furthering the Futility Discussion (2025) DOI
Achieving Live Birth is Not an Endpoint but a Steppingstone (2024) DOI
Equitable Access of Delandistrogene Moxeparvovec for Patients With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A Call for Discussion (2024) DOI
Healthcare Privacy in an Electronic Data Age (2024) DOI
Careful Considerations for Midcrisis Consent to and Refusal of Blood Products (2024) DOI
Ethics at the Edges: Normative Considerations When Spheres of Morality Overlap (2023) DOI
Consent and Assent in Pediatric Research (2023) DOI
Pediatric Decision Making: Consensus Recommendations (2023) DOI
Membership and Structure of Institutional Bioethics Committees (2023) DOI
Respecting Autonomy and Balancing Benefits by Disclosing the Secondary Finding of Klinefelter’s (2022) DOI
Index (2022) DOI

Grants & Funding

Partnership for Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices in Rural Primary Care NIH Co-Investigator
Arkansas Center for Clinical and Translational Research NIH Co-Investigator
1/6 HBCD Prenatal Experiences and Longitudinal Development (PRELUDE) Consortium NIH Co-Investigator
Arkansas Center for Clinical & Translational Research NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Co-Investigator