Dr Ariel Dempsey

Research Fellow

ariel dempsey professional photo
Research Fellow

Dr. Ariel Dempsey is a physician and scholar working at the interface of medicine and theology. She earned her MD from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and DPhil in Science & Religion from the University of Oxford, supervised by Alister McGrath and Matthew Kirkpatrick. She has a deep interest in how we navigate uncertainty in medicine, especially at the end of life, and explores what medicine can learn from religious traditions in living with uncertainty. Her doctoral research developed the concept of Palliating Uncertainty—an approach grounded in the values of palliative care and shaped by the philosophy of pragmatism. Dr. Dempsey is also a member of the team that received the Oxford Vice-Chancellor’s Award in Teaching and the Medical Science Division Teaching Excellence Award for the development and teaching of a Medical Humanities Curriculum at the Oxford Medical School. After postdoctoral work, she will pursue residency in psychiatry with a fellowship in palliative care.  

 

Research Interests

  • Uncertainty

  • Palliative Care

  • End-of-Life Care

  • Spiritual Care

  • Pragmatism

  • William James

  • Søren Kierkegaard

  • Decision Making Under Uncertainty

  • Medical Humanities

  • Religion/Spirituality & Health

  • Dance/Movement

Affiliations

  • Fellow of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science & Religion

  • Postdoctoral Fellow in Health & Christian Ethics, University of Oxford Faculty of Theology

  • Lead of Medical Humanities: Spirituality, Religion & Health

  • Junior Research Fellow, Wycliffe Hall

  • Free-Lance Cyr Wheel Artist

Selected Works List

Dempsey A (forthcoming) “Uncertainty in Palliative Care” In Matthew Dore, Max Watson (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care. Oxford University Press.

Victoria Bradley, Dempsey, A (forthcoming). “Coping with Death: Challenges, Strategies, & Opportunities” In Irene Cormac, David Gray, Jane Marshall, Ros Ramsay (eds.), Life as a doctor: Strategies for when (and before) the 'going' gets tough. Cambridge University Press.

Dempsey, A. (2025). A Tribute to Robert Twycross: Pioneer of Palliative Care and His Hopes for the Future. Journal of Palliative Medicine. 28(4), 433-436 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39778907/

Dempsey A. (2025). Palliating Uncertainty: Tools from the Pragmatism of William James, MD. Oxford Advanced Course in Pain and Symptom Management, Oxford Centre for Education and Research in Palliative Care, Newcastle/Oxford, England. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewL0HCXYbAo&t=4s

Dempsey A., Heafey C., Spiritual Care (2025). Oxford Medical School, Oxford, UK. https://youtu.be/wZ3QB8OqISk

Dempsey, A. (2025). How the Light Comes. Oxford Festival of Dance, Oxford, UK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih4b3ngrucU&list=RDIh4b3ngrucU&start_rad...

Dempsey, A. (2025). Palliating Uncertainty: Tools from the Pragmatism of William James, MD [DPhil thesis]. University of Oxford, https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f73212a6-1351-42c8-b3bf-93c6b3b1427f

Dempsey A. (2025). Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Written Evidence Submitted by Dr Ariel Dempsey. UK Parliament. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmpublic/TerminallyIllAdult...

Harris, J., Moyse, A., Hadley, G., Lane, R., Frampton, S., Dempsey, A., Hordern, J., Saunders, K., and De Luca, G. (2024). Death, Dying, Culture and Compassion: The Museum as Reflective Space for Doctors-in-Training. Tutor, 24(2: Special Issue The Art of observation), 56–61. https://doi.org/10.13135/1971-8551/11317

Dempsey, A., & Mulder, J. (2023). Living with Uncertainty in End-of-Life Care. Plenary presented at the UK Palliative Care Congress 2023 Plenary Address, Edinburgh, Scotland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHiG2v0lzVk&t=19s&loop=0

Dempsey, A., & Mulder, J. (2023). Quality versus quantity of life: beyond the dichotomy. Palliative Medicine Reports, 3(1), 17-23. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9892925/

Dempsey, A. (2023). “Theological Aesthetics and Clinical Care.” In Poltrum, M., Musalek, M., Galvin, K., & Saito, Y. The Oxford Handbook of Mental Health and Contemporary Western Aesthetics. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192866929.001.0001

Dempsey, A. (2022). “How Can Bread and Wine Change Into Flesh and Blood?” St. Andrew Science-Engaged Theology: Theological Puzzles (Issue 11). https://www.theo-puzzles.ac.uk/2022/07/07/dempsey/.

Dempsey, A. (2020). Live Like You're Dying?: Acting in Uncertainty. TEDxTalk. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ariel_dempsey_live_like_you_re_dying_acting_in...