Friday, September 19, 2025
9am–3pm Central Time
Loyola University Chicago School of Law’s Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy is pleased to announce our annual Wiet Life Science Law Scholars Workshop. The event will be held at Loyola University Chicago Corboy Law Center on Friday, September 19, 2025.
The workshop is designed to provide an intellectual venue for life science law professors, scholars, and practitioners to convene and discuss current research and scholarship. The term “life science law” encompasses projects from diverse legal fields where life sciences research and development play a pivotal role, which could include biotechnology; food and drug; health and medicine, including issues involving access to affordable treatments; intellectual property; environmental; health equity; reproductive justice; administrative; privacy; and antitrust law. Our goal is to foster recognition of life science law as a cohesive, dynamic area of legal study and strengthen connections among national life science law scholars. Accordingly, topics without a life science connection will not be considered even if they cover a legal topic that sometimes has a life science connection (for example, not every antitrust or intellectual property issue intersects with life science law). If you have questions about life science law topic scope, the agendas for prior workshops are available at the workshop website.
Call for Papers
We are currently soliciting 750-1,000-word abstracts reflecting works at least in mid-stage process of draft completion (after most of relevant research has been conducted) for the purpose of meaningful workshopping with expert commentators and other selected scholars. We will allot presentation time for each scholar, followed by intensive discussion with expert commentators and scholar attendees; we estimate about 45 minutes total discussion time for each scholar’s work. Given the substantial feedback provided, we will preference abstracts for draft law review articles but may consider book chapters. Articles accepted for publication will be considered if there is ample time for scholars to incorporate workshop discussions into revisions; if your article has been accepted for publication, please indicate the anticipated publication date. Up to five scholars will be selected to present and provide feedback to other scholars at the workshop. Junior scholars, defined as any scholar pre-tenure including those in fellowship positions, are particularly encouraged to apply and will be prioritized in the selection process. Full drafts will be made available at least two weeks prior to the event to all scholar participants for advance review to facilitate effective feedback.
Submission and Review Timeline
The deadline for submission is Monday, July 7. Submit via email to health-law@luc.edu (and cc: jparadise@luc.edu) with subject line Wiet Life Science Law 2025. Your submission should include:
- An email with the following information contained in the body: author name, article title, professional title, institution, contact information, and the names of three U.S. scholars that you believe would provide insightful feedback and comments on your article; and
- A separate Word or PDF document as an attachment containing the title & 750-1,000-word abstract omitting author name and any identifying information to permit blind review.
Selected scholars will be notified by email by Monday, July 21. If selected, authors must commit to provide a full draft. For those selected to participate, the deadline for the full draft (15,000-20,000 words for a law review article or 10,000 words for a book chapter) is Monday, September 1.
Costs and Accommodations
The workshop is generously funded by Loyola University Chicago law alumnus Mitchell Wiet (JD ’65) and his wife Fran Wiet. Admission to the workshop, coach flights or train travel, hotel, conference day meals, and Thursday night workshop dinner, are provided for all participants.
Questions
Contact Professors Jordan Paradise jparadise@luc.edu or Cynthia Ho cho@luc.edu with questions about abstract and draft submissions. For logistical questions, please contact Grace Pyatt at health-law@luc.edu.
About the Beazley Institute
Established in 1984, Loyola’s Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy has evolved into a nationally recognized center dedicated to the education of health and life science law leaders and policymakers, and to the study and furtherance of the field. The Institute publishes two journals and offers more than thirty health law, life science law, and compliance courses. The Beazley Institute is a leader in online legal education, with more than 300 students annually taking courses through its Center for Online Studies. With the offering of the Wiet Life Science Law Scholars Workshop, the expansion of Loyola’s life science curriculum, and dedicated externship opportunities for students, the Beazley Institute looks forward to collaborating with our scholar colleagues to support the discipline of life science law.
