Kimbell Kornu, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant professor of health care ethics; Assistant professor of palliative medicine
Department of Health Care Ethics
Assistant Professor
Theological Studies
Education
- Clinical fellow in hospice and palliative medicine at Vanderbilt University
- Ph.D. in theology at the University of Nottingham
- Internal Medicine Residency Training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
- M.A.R. from Westminster Theological Seminary
- B.S. in molecular biology from Vanderbilt University
Practice Areas
- Internal Medicine, ABIM, 2012–2022
- Hospice and Palliative Medicine, ABIM, 2016–2026
- Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified, ASBH, 2020
Research Interests
History and philosophy of medicine; intersection of theology and medicine; medical ethics; social, philosophical and historical determinants of medicine; philosophical and theological anthropology; physician-patient relationship as it relates to phenomenology, aesthetics and ethics.
Publications and Media Placements
Journal Articles
- Kornu K. (Under review). “Anatomy of Being, Metaphysics of Death: The Case of
- Avicenna’s Logical Dissection.” Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. Bach M, Thornton A, Kanna PS, Kornu K. (Revise and resubmit). “Skeletons in
- Our Closets: The Use and Abuse of Bodies by Antebellum Medical Practitioners in Saint Louis, Missouri.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine.
- Kornu K. (Forthcoming). “Policing the Sublime: The Metaphysical Harms of Irreligious Clinical Ethics.” Christian Bioethics. Accepted December 2020.
- Kornu K. (2020). “Medical Ersatz Liturgies of Death: Anatomical Dissection and Organ Donation as Biopolitical Practices.” The Heythrop Journal 00: 1–15.
- Kornu K. (2018). “Enchanted Nature, Dissected Nature: The Case of Galen’s Anatomical Theology.” Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 39(6): 453–471.
- Kornu K. (2017). “Asclepius against the Crucified: Medical Nihilism and Incarnational Life in Death.” Christian Bioethics 23(1): 38–59.
- Kornu K. (2014). “The Beauty of Healing: Covenant, Eschatology, and Jonathan Edwards’ Theological Aesthetics Toward a Theology of Medicine.” Christian Bioethics 20: 43–58.
Media Interviews
- On the Nihilism of Medicine, Mars Hill Audio with Ken Myers, May 2020.
- On the Ethics of Triage Protocols During COVID-19, St. Louis radio station KTRS 550 Morning Show with Art Holliday and Jennifer Blome, April 13, 2020.
- “The Ethics of Care During a Pandemic.” St. Louis on the Air hosted by Sarah Fenske, St. Louis Public Radio. March 30, 2020.
- “Physicians are homesick for their patients.” St. Louis Magazine. July 20, 2017.
Honors and Awards
- Nominee for Alpha Sigma Nu Nancy McNeir Ring teaching award, 2019
- International Academy for Bioethical Inquiry Fellow, 2019–present
- Mellon Faculty Development Award, Summer 2018
- Nominated Finalist for the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Faculty award, SLU School of Medicine, February 2018
Professional Organizations and Associations
- American Society for Bioethics and Humanities
- American Academy of Religion
- Society of Christian Ethics
Community Work and Service
- Board Member, New College Franklin, 2020–present
- Ruling Elder, Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church, 2019–present.