A Catalyst for Deeper Collaboration

The UW School of Law launches the interdisciplinary Health Law and Policy Program with a $1 Million Investment from Kent and Sandra Carlson and the Washington Research Foundation.

The University of Washington School of Law is proud to announce the interdisciplinary Health Law and Policy (HL&P) program, dedicated to research, teaching and collaborations that leverage the power of law to address challenges of innovation and equity in health care, population health and life sciences across Washington and the world.

Donors Kent and Sandra Carlson, both graduates of UW, view their gift as a catalyst for an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to the role of law in advancing life sciences and health sciences through collaborative research and education.

The Carlsons’ gift was matched by the Washington Research Foundation (WRF), in honor of the long-time leadership and service of Kent Carlson (J.D. ’64), a senior partner at K&L Gates, to the WRF Board of Directors, for a combined total of $1 million.

“The interdisciplinary HL&P program at UW Law puts the power of law to solve problems into action by providing innovative, equity-oriented law and policy solutions to support the flourishing life science, health science and population health ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest and beyond,” said Elizabeth Pendo, Kellye Y. Testy Professor of Law, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Director of the HL&P program. “The program serves as a hub for understanding and improving laws and policies that influence innovation and impact the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities.”

Pendo is a nationally recognized expert in health law and policy, bioethics and the law, and disability law with years of experience working collaboratively with other legal experts and colleagues in the medical, ethics and public health fields. She herself specializes in the Affordable Care Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the regulation of health insurance, health inequities and legal obligations of providers, institutions, insurers and employers under anti-discrimination laws.

“The establishment of the interdisciplinary Health Law and Policy program at the University of Washington School of Law represents a bold step forward in addressing the most pressing issues in healthcare and public health,” said Hilary Godwin, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Professor and Dean of the School of Public Health.  By integrating legal expertise with the strengths of the University of Washington’s health and life sciences programs, the program will lead the way in developing innovative, inclusive and sustainable legal and policy solutions that improve health and well-being for all.”

“We are deeply committed to advancing excellence and equity — in education, in our workforce and in health care outcomes,” said Timothy Dellit, CEO of UW Medicine and Dean of the UW School of Medicine. “This is core to our mission to improve the health of all people, and to be successful we need strong interdisciplinary partners. We have that at UW, and the Health Law and Policy program is another great example of what we can do together.”

UW Law Dean Tamara Lawson emphasized that “interdisciplinary collaboration is essential — innovation requires building consequential connections that span disciplines. Our faculty is engaged in training the next generation of leaders to solve some of our most complex societal problems.”