GU wins National Bioethics Bowl for second time in three years

For the second time in three years, Georgetown’s team has won the National Bioethics Bowl. The team’s head coach was GU philosophy PhD Jake Earl, and in the final round GU faced Portland, which was also taught by a GU philosophy PhD, Paddy McShane.)***

On April 5, 2025, following months of grueling training, a team of six brilliant Georgetown University undergraduates competed in the National Bioethics Bowl  at Westminster University in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

In competition, Team Georgetown scored higher than the other 18 participating schools after going undefeated in three rounds of case presentations, responses, and judges’ questioning against Loyola University Chicago, St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia), and the University of California, Santa Cruz. They ultimately prevailed in the championship round against the University of Portland, the only other undefeated team in the competition (and ably coached by Georgetown Philosophy graduate alum Patricia McShane).

This year’s winning team consisted of (from left to right in the attached group photo): Manya Reddy (CAS ’26, Bioethics Minor), Michelle Zhang (CAS ’26, Philosophy Major), Jackie Li (CAS ’25), Lauren Freed (Team Captain, SOH ’26, Bioethics Minor), Louise Guentert (CAS ’25, Philosophy Major/Bioethics Concentration), and Kate Burton (CAS ’26, Philosophy Major/Bioethics Concentration).

The team was coached by Jake Earl, PhD, Leigh Meyer (CAS ’23, Bioethics Minor), Mark Kuo (CAS ’24, Bioethics Minor), Anna Hampton (CAS ’24), and Amitesh Kotwal (CAS ’22, Bioethics Minor). The Philosophy Department and the Kennedy Institute of Ethics provided essential administrative and financial support for the team.

Please join us in congratulating Georgetown’s 2025 Bioethics Bowl champions!