Nov 7, 2026, 1:00 PM - The Road To Wisdom: A Conversation with Dr. Francis Collins - Events Calendar

The Road To Wisdom: A Conversation with Dr. Francis Collins

Saturday, November 7, 2026
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Alumni, Community, Faculty, Staff, Students

Join the Kaufman Interfaith Institute, the West Michigan Interfaith Academic Consortium, and BioLogos for a conversation about how faith shapes our response to some of today's biggest questions!

The Grand Dialogue in Science and Religion will feature Dr. Francis Collins, a physician-scientist who led the Human Genome Project and served as Director of the National Institutes of Health under three presidential administrations. Drawing on his new book, The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith and Trust , Dr. Collins will explore the roles of truth, science, faith, and trust in today's world.

His keynote will be followed by a multi-faith conversation exploring social determinants of health and the challenge of restoring trust in institutions and scientific expertise.

Conference Schedule

12:00 - 1:00 Registration

1:00 - 2:30 Dr. Collin's Keynote Lecture on The Road to Wisdom followed by Q/A.

2:30 - 2:45 Break

2:45 - 3:50 Live Recording of Multifaith Podcast with Dr. Collins

Dr. Simin N. Beg is a physician and health care leader who has spent her career caring for people and families at moments of profound vulnerability. She serves as Division Chief of Hospice and Palliative Care in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where her work focuses on health literacy, complex decisionmaking, ethical leadership, and honoring what matters most to individuals across cultures and belief systems. Dr. Begs work sits at the intersection of medicine, ethics, and community, with a particular emphasis on equity, compassion, and addressing disparities. Through clinical care and leadership, she invites conversations that bridge difference and create space for dignity, meaning, and shared humanity. She is deeply committed to interfaith dialogue as a pathway to understanding, healing, and collective responsibility.

Dr. Meredith Hickson is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Michigan State University and a pediatric hospitalist at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. She is a health systems researcher focused on health systems strengthening in rural and low-resource settings. Dr. Hickson is the faculty mentor for Helen DeVos Children's Care of the Underserved Child Curriculum which supports residents pursuing careers in rural, global, and underserved pediatrics. Over the past 15 years, she has lived and worked in Senegal, Uganda, and Botswana where she developed an appreciation for how different societies integrate faith and healing. She is an instructor for the Tiny Feet Big Steps program in sub-Saharan Africa, a unique partnership between Christian missionary and government hospitals to train African neonatal healthcare providers. Interfaith approaches to healing and medical ethics are both professional and personal for Dr. Hickson, who comes from an interfaith family and is married to a Jewish chaplain.

3:50 - 4:00 Musical Closing

The event will be followed by a reception and book signing.

Registration is free but required.

Location Information

L. William Seidman Center - Charles W. Loosemore Forum

Contact Information

[email protected]

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This event was added to the calendar by Elamin Gasim Ibrahim Gasim (gasimibe@gvsu.edu) on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 and was last updated on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 at 2:41 p.m.