Shamima Parvin Lasker, an anatomy professor and a pioneer of bioethics in Bangladesh, died on July 9, 2026, following a heart attack. This is a profound loss for all who knew her, and for the medical and bioethics communities she served so passionately.
Born on February 3, 1965, Shamima taught for nearly four decades and will be remembered fondly and with gratitude by the countless students and colleagues whose lives she touched.
She truly cared not only about her own students but extended her support to young scholars everywhere, even on other continents. Whenever she saw an opportunity to nurture the next generation of researchers, she took it. In 2019, for example, a student who had just completed his Master’s degree in Tanzania submitted an abstract for the Twentieth Asian Bioethics Conference in Dhaka – one of the many conferences Shamima organized during her career – and got accepted. When Shamima heard that he could not afford a flight to Bangladesh, she immediately offered to contribute from her own pocket, and a flight ticket was bought. Without her support, the student, now a teacher himself, would not have been able to attend, and a valuable academic connection between South Asia and East Africa might never have been formed.
In addition to being a beloved teacher, Shamima was also a prolific author and served in a wide range of national and international leadership and advisory roles across bioethics and scholarly publishing, too numerous to list in full. Among her most notable positions were President of the Asian Bioethics Association (ABA), Treasurer and Director of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and Member of the National Ethics Committee of Bangladesh.
I got to know Shamima through the Bangladesh Bioethics Society (BBS), which she co-founded in 2009. She was the General Secretary and the editor of the Society’s journal, the Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics. I had the privilege of working with her on several occasions – including as a guest editor for a few issues of the journal, and as a speaker at a number of BBS events – and I was always inspired by her extraordinary energy and dedication. She advanced the field of bioethics in Bangladesh in ways that few others have, and her contributions will continue to resonate for generations to come.
I am deeply saddened by the untimely passing of my friend, and I will miss her: her warmth and kindness, her enthusiasm, our dinners together in Dhaka. I take solace in knowing that her remarkable legacy will live on.
I welcome you to share your memories of Shamima in the comments below. Thank you for helping keep her memory alive.
Rainer Ebert 
A mighty baobab has fallen. It is difficult to believe. A great source of strength and comfort in times of need is no longer with us. Who could have imagined that this refuge would suddenly be gone? It has happened so unexpectedly that many of us are still struggling to believe it. Yet, everything that has a beginning also has an end.
A pioneer of bioethics in Bangladesh, a remarkable mentor, and a truly generous soul. I will always be grateful for her kindness in helping me attend a bioethics conference, an opportunity that shaped my academic journey.
Her charming, warm, and ever-smiling face reflected the beauty of her heart. She will always remain in our memories until, God willing, we meet again in the next world.
May she rest in eternal peace.