Question Everything: A&S Alum Nipa Chauhan is Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Health Care

New College alum Nipa Chauhan is using her U of T degree to help clinicians navigate ethics in patient care and research at Sinai Health in Toronto. Image credit: All photos Kemeisha McDonald.

University of Toronto Arts & Science and New College alum Nipa Chauhan’s (NEW ’16) curiosity about the ethical complexities of health care led her to pursue a degree in bioethics at the University of Toronto. Now a member of the bioethics team at Sinai Health, she applies her critical thinking skills to navigate ethics in patient care and research.

“I’ve always enjoyed unpacking life’s biggest questions, but the University of Toronto opened my mind to a new level of critical thinking,” says Chauhan, who earned her honours bachelor of science degree in 2016 as a member of New College.

At Sinai Health, Chauhan leads education delivery, focusing on ethical dilemmas relevant to front-line staff, such as end-of-life care, managing conflicts between personal values and medical recommendations, determining the appropriate use of life-sustaining treatments, and addressing uncertainties when patients are unable to communicate their wishes.

She’s also a freelance reproductive ethicist consulting with fertility clinics on topics including embryo sex selection and embryo abandonment. And in a full circle moment, she supports student success, mentoring others by teaching the same classes at U of T that inspired her to become a bioethicist.

“The bioethics program at Arts & Science changed the course of my life, and I want to have the same impact on my students,” says Chauhan.

As a sessional instructional assistant in U of T’s Human Biology program and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Chauhan guides the next generation of health-care providers to apply philosophy and ethics to clinical settings because even factual data — from a prenatal ultrasound, for example — has underlying values and biases that need to be considered.

“One of the most important lessons I learned at U of T is that no data is value-neutral, and there’s always more questions to ask,” she says.

In that vein, she’s also imparting on her students the power of storytelling, using film scenes to make dense philosophical questions easier for students to digest.

“Growing up, I couldn’t stop thinking about certain movies for days or even weeks after watching them,” says Chauhan, pointing to Jurassic Park, Gattaca, The Truman Show and Bollywood’s Guzaarish as her favourite movies that explore the ethical implications of manipulating life and the limits of human autonomy.

“The public has a lot at stake in the issues we discuss, whether it’s medical assistance in dying, fertility treatments or patient consent,” says Chauhan, who earned her master’s degree in bioethics from U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

As a graduate student in 2019, she was recognized with the Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award for her work with Cafe Bioethics, a lecture series and podcast born out of a desire to make bioethics more accessible and engaging.

The talks began with well-attended events at Hart House, drawing crowds from diverse academic backgrounds. When the pandemic hit, Chauhan moved the talks online, attracting a global audience.

“I would love for anyone interested in bioethics to reach out and get involved,” she adds. “There’s so much potential to grow and provide even more opportunities for students and the general public to engage with these critical issues.”

As a recent guest speaker at a Backpack to Briefcase (b2B) career night hosted by Arts & Science, Chauhan advised students to embrace everything university has to offer inside and outside the classroom. In Chauhan’s case, she thrived with Swing Dance Club (UTSwin), ultimately being named its president.

“It was so fulfilling to connect with and contribute to the community,” she says.

Originally published on April 2, 2025 by David Goldberg of A&S News.