Priest, Scientist, Ethicist, Teacher:
Finding God in All Things

Life for Kevin FitzGerald, SJ, PhD, is about finding God in all things. An ordained Jesuit priest, and a double PhD in bioethics and genetics, Father FitzGerald’s expertise has translated itself into a sense of wonder for the world and a drive to make it better.

One of the most important tenants of the Jesuit tradition is service to humankind. “Where is the greatest need and where can the greatest good be done?” Father FitzGerald asks. “The bottom line is caring for others.”

And Father FitzGerald is no exception to this Jesuit tradition. His office is in Georgetown University Medical Center’s Research Building. In his laboratory on the fourth floor, he studies a gene called MLL-2, which is closely related to MLL—a gene that when mutated can result in infant leukemias. Leukemias with alterations in the MLL gene can also occur as the result of treatment for breast cancer when therapies damage bone marrow tissue.

“In molecular biology, we pick a place to go in and start working.  I picked MLL-2, in part, because there weren’t too many people there and its similarity to MLL promised to provide better insight into the many ways cancers can begin.” In fact, Father FitzGerald was the first person to identify MLL-2 and recognize its potential importance for medicine.

While addressing the need for a better understanding of cancer in the laboratory for advances that are perhaps far in the future, Father FitzGerald also works to address immediate and personal problems today. He is part of the ethics consultation service for Georgetown University Hospital, which provides free consultations for patients, family members, and hospital staff.

“One of the consequences of the rapid development of medical technologies is that their use can raise challenging ethical decisions for patients, their family members, and health care professionals,” he explained. “For example, treatments that target a tumor may do a good job addressing the cancer, but can cause complications in other parts of the body.”

Father FitzGerald speaks to patients, family, and staff from an independent position, allowing him act as a negotiator to facilitate appropriate health care for patients and their families. To him, a solution involves not only the treatment of a cancer, but it must also address all concerns which may include quality of life, the amount of time spent in the hospital, financial constraints, and family members’ conflicting wishes.

He may also be called to the bedside of a patient to provide counsel and comfort as a priest.  “I have been asked to respond to situations from multiple perspectives: as a priest, as a Catholic, as a scientist, as an ethicist, and as a teacher,” he said. From his experience at the lab bench, the bedside, and in the classroom, Father FitzGerald brings a concrete, big-picture view of medicine. He calls the integration of his experiences both the challenge and the reward of his profession.

“People are constantly asking me, ‘Don’t you feel the tension between religion and science?’ My answer is, ‘There is no tension.’ These are two different and very powerful ways of understanding reality. All of it is about our existence, and it’s about finding God in all things.”