Scholars in Residence

Abigail Rian Evans, MDiv, PhD, LHD is a senior Scholar in Residence at PCCB and adjunct professor, Dept. of Family Medicine at GUMC as well as emerita professor of Princeton Theological Seminary. During her tenure at Princeton from 1991-2009, Abigail served as Charlotte Newcombe Professor of Practical Theology, Chair of the Practical Theology Dept., and Director of the Intern and Clinical Pastoral Education programs.and taught 12 different courses on bioethics, pastoral care and health care issues. She was an adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Evans has over twenty-five years of experience in the development of innovative approaches to health and wellness. She has drawn widely from the disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, religion and spirituality and has been instrumental in developing effective new approaches for the delivery of health care in her extensive writing and lectures.

Abigail was the Founder and Director of Health Ministries for the National Capital Presbytery that comprises 118 churches in Metropolitan DC area. She was one of the early leaders of the Faith Community Nurses and Health Ministries Association. She served as the Director of New Programs and Senior Staff Associate, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Chaplain of Columbia University, Synod Executive, and pastored churches in five states and Brasil. Dr. Evans has spoken across the United States and as well as in England, Scotland, Wales, Switzerland, Germany, Brazil, Thailand and Puerto Rico in medical centers, churches, seminaries, conferences, universities and interfaith workshops. She has served as a consultant to many scientific and research institutes including NIH, American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Alzheimer’s Association, Office of Substance Abuse Prevention and George Washington and Georgetown University Animal Care Committees.

Dr. Evans wrote a comprehensive report developing a strategy for the collaboration of the National Council on Aging and Faith Communities that is currently being implemented, co-authored the Ethical Foundations concept report for the Clinton Administration’s Proposed Health Care Reform, and prepared a critical review of contemporary medical practices. Her books include Is God Still at the Bedside? Medical, Ethical, and Pastoral Issues in Death and Dying; The Healing Church and Healing Liturgies for the Seasons of Life, and bioethics book chapters and articles; She set precedent as the first female in almost every position she occupied including as a chaplain at Columbia University and Chair of the Practical Theology Department at Princeton Seminary. Among her many honors are Who’s Who in Theology and Science, Anti-Drug Award of Interfaith Conference of Greater Washington D.C., 21st. Century Award for Achievement; Who’s Who in American Education,2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st. Century.

John Keown, MA, DPhil, PhD, DCL is a Senior Research Scholar in the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, where he holds the Rose F Kennedy Chair in Christian Ethics.

Before taking up the Kennedy Chair he was University Senior Lecturer in the Law and Ethics of Medicine in the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge.

He has produced seven books and many articles, mainly on law and ethics at the beginning and end of life. His work has been cited by distinguished bodies worldwide, including the United States Supreme Court and the Law Lords. He has also served as a member of the ethics committee of the British Medical Association.

In 2014-15 he was the Mary Ann Remick Senior Visiting Fellow at the Center for Ethics and Culture at Notre Dame University.

In June 2015, the University of Oxford conferred on him the degree of DCL, or Doctor of Civil Law, in recognition of his contribution to law and bioethics.