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Arts Research Fellow
University of Virginia, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics
Charlottesville, Virginia
Jess Walters (they/them) is a Board Certified Patient Advocate (BCPA), mixed-media artist, and independent scholar from Charlottesville, Virginia. They are a multiply neurodivergent, queer, nonbinary person with Alport Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which caused late-onset deafness in adolescence and kidney failure at age 29. In 2018, after undergoing two months of peritoneal dialysis, Walters received a kidney transplant from a living donor at the University of Virginia, where they currently serve as an inaugural FusionLab Arts Research Fellow at the Center for Health Humanities and Ethics in the School of Medicine. Their work focuses on the intersections of art and health and they strategize to improve accessibility accommodations in creative and cultural arts spaces to cultivate inclusive opportunities for community engagement.
Jess has been advocating for health equity and access to care for more than 12 years, serving on panels, giving talks, and offering their perspectives on how to improve quality of life for patients and their families. They are also a member of the Rare Disease Advisory Panel for the Patient Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), regularly participate in kidney patient summits with the National Kidney Foundation, and serve as a member of their Diversity & Health Equity Advisory Committee. Walters joined the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities in 2023 and became certified as a BCPA in 2025. Their artwork has been featured at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, Second Street Gallery, and New City Arts initiative, and they are a founding member of Charlottesville ZineFest.
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What determines eligibility for liver transplantation in patients with alcohol use disorder?
Friday, October 24, 2025
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM Pacific Time