CIRGE - Key Persons
Aaron Neiman is a PhD student in medical anthropology. His areas of interest include anthropology of the state, psychiatry, genomics, computing, and social and feminist studies of science. Aaron's undergraduate research focused on the sexual and racial politics of admixture genomics, and sought to understand the relationship between macro-level geopolitical and economic forces and the minutiae that comprise scientific studies. He further investigated these questions in relation to the human genome in his fellowship with the Center for Integration of Research on Genetics and Ethics. In particular, Aaron is interested in understanding how pre-theoretical assumptions about race, gender, and mental health are built into scientific studies of genomic psychiatry. He is also interested in investigating other emergent depression treatments. In particular, he seeks to analyze the rise of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the shadow of ECT, and to ask how depressed people are constituted as political subjects in this research.
Akilah Burford, MSW is Stanford Medicine Children's Health Palliative and Ethics Specialist, supporting pediatric palliative care and clinical ethics teams. She earned her bachelor's degree as a double major in Sociology & Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz and obtained her Masters in Social Work from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a focus on Children & Families Services and a Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC - School Social Worker Certification). Her passion for Palliative Care and Oncology emerged during her dual internship at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, Oakland from 2018 to 2019. Akilah went on to dedicate four years as a Pediatric Oncology Social Work Clinician at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford. During this time, she served as a member of the hospital's Ethics Committee and earned a Certificate in Pediatric Bioethics in May 2023 from Children's Mercy Center for Bioethics. Her role in SCBE includes skill development in clinical ethics consultation and supporting systematic moral distress interventions.
Vivian Chin - Vivian Chin graduated with a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Barnard College, Columbia University in May 2006. Her first significant research project in college was on physical chemistry using the Scanning Tunneling Microscope where she explored surface dynamics of mixtures of chiral molecules in solution semiabsorbed on graphite surfaces. She presented her paper at the American Chemical Society Conference in San Diego (2005). Later, she completed a neuroscience research thesis on the regulation of feeding behavior where she studied the orexigenic effects of the neuropeptide, ghrelin, on specific hypothalamic nuclei in the rat. In college, she also devoted her time serving as an EMT for Columbia's Emergency Medical Service. Vivian first became strongly interested in neuroethics from taking a college class devoted to the field. In her role as program coordinator for the Stanford Program in Neuroethics worked on two research projects. The first explored trends in studies on incidental findings found in the human brain. The second investigated reasons for why women should care about neuroethics.
Anna Jabloner received her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Chicago. Her research centers on the socio-cultural dimensions of techno-science from a feminist perspective, on race and gender in American science, and on the theories of nature that inform the expanding field of digital biology. Her dissertation work examined genomics as a culturally situated phenomenon of knowledge production and consumption. It tracked how genomics' different applications are currently used in biomedicine, and imagined as useful as revolutionary infrastructure for health and the future. In prior research, Jabloner studied feminist epistemology, publishing a book on Donna Haraway's approaches to race titled Implodierende Grenzen: ‘Race' und Ethnizitaet in Donna Haraways Technowissenschaft (Passagen, 2005). Her participation in the study of team science (PI: Lee) at SCBE extended her interest in the ethnographic analysis of local cultures of techno-science, and traced how social and collaborative processes shape the formation of knowledge.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Job Titles:
- Researcher at the National Center for ELSI Resources
Ariadne Nichol is a researcher at the National Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis (CERA). She earned her bachelors degree in Human Biology with a concentration in Biomedical Ethics from Stanford University, where she graduated with honors in Ethics in Society and was a Public Service Scholar. She has previously worked on global public health research ethics topics at Doctors Without Borders and at the World Health Organization (WHO). She also has published on One Health and emerging infectious disease issues in the American Journal of Bioethics. Her areas of interest include ethical issues of biomedical research in vulnerable populations; ethical challenges arising from emerging infectious diseases and use of experimental therapeutics; as well as ethical and social issues raised by application of big data and machine learning in health care and pharmacogenetics.
Job Titles:
- Department Communications Manager & Executive Assistant
Job Titles:
- Professor of Pediatrics, UCSF School of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Professor in the Department of Anesthesia
- Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Emeritum
Audrey Shafer, MD, is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesia at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Staff Anesthesiologist at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. Her interests include writing, poetry, medical humanities, the language of medicine, communication in the peri- and intraoperative periods, and ethics in the operating room.
Azumi Tsuge, Ph.D. (2003-2004), was a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics as well as the Institution for Research on Women Studies and Gender. She is a Medical Anthropologist and Professor at the Department of Sociology, Meijigakuin University, Tokyo. Her primary research interest is the analysis of socio-cultural factors on the decision-making process of patients assessed by interview and observation methods.
Barbara Koenig, PhD, was an Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at Stanford University before moving to the Mayo Clinic in 2005. She served as Executive Director of the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics for a decade.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Assistant Professor
Patenaude is the editor of several books, including The Russian Revolution and Stalin and Stalinism. His documentary film credits include associate producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS film Inside the USSR and of the FRONTLINE documentary A Journey to Russia, and story editor of Stalin's Ghost, an NBC News Special Report. He was educated at Boston College and the University of Vienna and received his PhD in History from Stanford in 1987. He taught for eight years (1992-2000) in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where his outstanding performance as a classroom instructor was recognized with the Schieffelin Award for Teaching Excellence for two consecutive years (1998, 1999). Patenaude has lectured throughout Europe for Stanford Travel/Study, Smithsonian Journeys, and Lindblad Expeditions.
Job Titles:
- Research Fellow at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics
Brandy M. Fox, PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics with support from a National Human Genome Research Institute's Ethical Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Program training grant. She received her Ph.D. in Health Care Ethics with a concentration in Empirical Research from The Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University under the supervision of Harold Braswell. She also holds a BA in Politics from The Catholic University of America and an MS in Health Care Ethics from Creighton University. Brandy served as an officer in the US Army and has worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions. Brandy is interested in the impact of genetic research on mental health diagnoses and treatment, including how mental illness is defined and conceptualized. Her work has appeared in a variety of academic journals, including HealthCare Ethics Committee Forum and Journal of Veterans Studies.
Chenery Lowe, Ph.D., CGC, is a genetic counselor and healthcare communication researcher. She received her ScM in Genetic Counseling from the Johns Hopkins University/ National Institutes of Health Genetic Counseling Training Program in 2018. Chenery received her Ph.D. in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2022, where she later served as an assistant scientist and academic director for the JHU/NIH genetic counseling program. Clinically, she has provided genetic counseling in immunology and adult oncology settings. She has taught graduate-level courses on interpersonal communication in health care, health literacy, and social and behavioral research in genetic counseling. Her research interests are in the areas of patient-provider communication, health equity, implicit bias, communication skills training interventions, and the ethics of interpersonal influence in medical care.
Bryant Lin, MD, is Director of Medical Humanities and Arts at Stanford University. He came to Stanford to serve as a Research Fellow in Cardiac Electrophysiology and Biodesign Fellow where he learned to identify unmet human-centered needs. Since completing his post-graduate training, he stayed at Stanford as clinical faculty in Primary Care and Population Health in the Department of Medicine where he has invented and researched new medical technologies addressing unmet human-centered needs and started the Consultative Medicine Clinic evaluating patients with medical mysteries. He serves as the Training Director for the Joe and Linda Chlapaty DECIDE Center which has created a novel shared decision-making tool for atrial fibrillation anti-coagulation and is an investigator in several active clinical trials. Three years ago, he co-founded and currently co-directs, with Dr. Latha Palaniappan, the Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE) which aims to improve the health of Asians everywhere. Most recently, he has worked closely with the Medicine and the Muse leadership to help start the Stuck@Home concert series, the Stanford SoundWalk, and the COVID Remembrance project. Dr. Lin has an active interest in storytelling and film-making. He co-directs an undergraduate seminar, MED 53Q "Storytelling in Medicine", with Dr. Lauren Edwards and is working with a group of students on a documentary on end-of-life care at a Japanese-American Senior Home in the Bay Area.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Instructor / LPCH Ethics Committee
Job Titles:
- CARL and ELIZABETH NAUMANN DEAN of the SCHOOL of MEDICINE / VICE PRESIDENT for MEDICAL AFFAIRS, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Carole Federico, PhD, MSc completed an MSc in Bioethics, followed by a PhD in Experimental Medicine at McGill University. Her dissertation, supervised by Jonathan Kimmelman, applied meta-analytic techniques to understand inefficiencies in the clinical translation of pain drugs. Carole's research focuses on rigor and reproducibility in biomedical science, with a special interest in the conditions of ethical animal research and how preclinical findings affect uncertainty at the transition between preclinical and clinical testing. At Stanford her work is supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute's Ethical Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Program.
Caroline Moore graduated summa cum laude from the University of Oregon with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and minors in Anthropology, Food Studies, and Psychology. Her degree focused on an interdisciplinary approach to social justice and ethics, not just from an academic perspective but their pragmatic application in the world. Prior to joining SCBE, Caroline worked in the non-profit sector fighting for equitable access to health care. Her most recent position at NARAL Pro-Choice America connected her to national and local public policy and political advocacy advancing reproductive freedom. Her areas of interest include applied ethics, intersectional analysis of social, political, and economic injustices, and DEI work.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
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- Postdoctoral Research Mentor
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- Professor ( Research ) of Pediatrics ( Center for Biomedical Ethics ) and of Medicine ( General Medical Disciplines )
Job Titles:
- Research
- SCBE Senior Research Scholar, Director of Stem Cells in Society Program
Christopher Thomas Scott, MLA, PhD, is a research staff emeritus at Stanford University and former Director of the Stanford University Program on Stem Cells in Society, faculty and senior research scholar at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, and member of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. He is currently a senior faculty at the Baylor College of Medicine and associate director of Health Policy at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator
- Program Manager
Job Titles:
- Clarence Irving Lewis Professor in Philosophy
Colleen Berryessa graduated from Harvard University in 2011 with a degree in Government with secondary study in Mind, Brain and Behavior. Colleen's main academic and research focus is on the legal, social, bioethical, and policy-oriented effects of advances in neuroscience, behavioral genetics, and other sciences and technology on criminology, criminal justice, law, punishment, the legal system, and public policy. Accordingly, her Harvard senior thesis explored how new scientific understandings of the origins of sexually deviant and pedophilic behavior could change and affect current American criminal justice policy and legislation, as well as the societal, cultural, ethical, and legal reactions to these changes and future policies.
Job Titles:
- Primary Care & Population Health / Clinical Assistant Professor
Job Titles:
- Department Communications Manager & Executive Assistant
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- Associate Professor at the University of Alberta
Daniel Laforest, Ph.D., is Associate Professor at the University of Alberta where he teaches Quebec and Canadian literatures, as well as French literature, cultural studies and critical theory. His research examines the notion of responsibility in Canadian and US literatures as regards to life narratives and the interaction between daily life and the expectations of the public regarding the health care system, particularly as situated in urban/suburban spaces. He has published several articles, in French and English, on the postwar transformations of the land (cities, suburbs, countryside) and the middle-classes in Canadian literature. His book L'archipel de Caïn: Pierre Perrault et l'écriture du territoire (Montreal, XYZ) was awarded the 2011 Jean-Éthier Blais prize for best essay on Quebec literature. He has been Fulbright fellow at the Centre for Cultural Studies of the University of California Santa Cruz and guest professor on the Research Chair in Canadian Studies of the Université de Limoges, in France. He serves as associate editor for the academic journal Canadian Literature, and was interim director of the Canadian Literature Centre at the University of Alberta in 2012-2013.
Job Titles:
- Anesthesiologist, Clinical Researcher
- Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesia, Perioperative and Pain
- Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine ( Pediatric )
Danton Char is a pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist, clinical researcher, and empirical bioethics researcher at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Stanford University. He focuses on improving the lives of infants, children, and adults with complex congenital cardiac disease and supporting the well-being of their caregivers and families. His research also focuses on identifying and addressing ethical concerns arising with implementation of next generation technologies to bedside clinical care for all patients, including genomic testing, artificial intelligence/machine learning, and mechanical circulatory support.
Danton Char, MD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesia, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and a Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiologist at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. His research focuses on ethical issues arising in the care of critically ill neonates, infants and children, particularly children with congenital cardiac disease.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics
- Assistant Professor at the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics
Daphne O. Martschenko, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics. She holds an MPhil from the University of Cambridge in Politics, Development, and Democratic Education and in 2019 received a Ph.D. in Education, also from the University of Cambridge. She has appeared in numerous podcasts including Freakonomics Radio and had her work published in publicly accessible media outlets like Scientific American and The Conversation. Dr. Martschenko's work advocates for and facilitates research efforts that promote socially responsible communication of and community engagement with genetic/genomic research.
Daphne Martschenko, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. Dr. Martschenko's work advocates for and facilitates research efforts that promote socially responsible communication of and community engagement with human genetic/genomic research. Dr. Martschenko has appeared in numerous podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, and work has been published in publicly accessible media outlets like Scientific American and The Conversation. Currently, Dr. Martschenko is writing a book with friend and colleague Sam Trejo, a quantitative social scientist interested in how social and biological factors jointly shape human development across the life-course. In it, they unpack various social, ethical, and policy issues related to the DNA revolution - focusing on emerging genomic research on human behavior and social outcomes.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
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- PRESIDENT & CEO / STANFORD HEALTH CARE
Job Titles:
- Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology
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- Editor - in - Chief
- SCBE Director, Thomas a. Raffin Professor in Medicine and Biomedical Ethics, Co - Chair of the Stanford Hospital and Clinics Ethics Committee
Deanne Dunbar Dolan, Ph.D. is a Research Scholar at the Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis (CERA). CERA enhances the production, sharing, and use of research on the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of genetics and genomics and fosters the community of multi-disciplinary scholars focused on high priority ELSI issues. Deanne completed master's degrees in history of medicine and anthropology and a doctorate in anthropology at Emory University. Her dissertation field research documented foreclosure resistance by African American homeowners in Atlanta following the Great Recession. The work was awarded the Marjorie Shostak Prize for Excellence and Humanity in Ethnographic Writing. Deanne has published in Cell Genomics, the Journal of Medical Humanities, BioSocieties, Annals of Science, and other places. Before joining CERA, she was a staff editor at an open access science journal and an administrator of university departments and programs focused on health and society.
Job Titles:
- Research Scholar at the Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis ( CERA )
Job Titles:
- Professor ( Teaching ) of Pediatrics ( General Pediatrics ), Emeritus
Job Titles:
- Professor of Emergency Medicine ( Adult Clinical / Academic )
Job Titles:
- Bioethics, Pediatric Ethics, Maternal Ethics, Disability Ethics, Innovative Treatments, Rare Diseases, Research Ethics, Transplantation
- Certified Pediatric Anesthesiologist
- Clinical Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine Clinical Associate Professor ( by Courtesy ), Pediatrics
Dr. Alyssa Burgart is a board certified pediatric anesthesiologist and bioethicist.
Dr. Burgart specializes in pediatric anesthesia and pediatric abdominal transplant anesthesia. She has a special interest in transplantation, PANS/PANDAS, spinal muscular atrophy, and trauma. Dr. Burgart is committed to finding the most successful way for each child to interact with the anesthesia team, to create an overall positive experience. She champions children with unique needs, such as those with sensory integration differences.
Dr. Burgart has a joint appointment in the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, serves as the Co-Chair of the LPCH Ethics Committee, and as a member of the SHC Ethics Committee. She provides ethics consultation services for people of all ages. Her ethics interests include pediatric ethics, organ transplantation, communication skills, disability rights, women's healthcare access, adolescent decision-making, ethics education, and excellence in ethics consultation.
Dr. Burgart is active on several social media, where she comments on Anesthesiology and Bioethics issues. @BurgartBioethix
Alyssa Burgart, MD, MA is a Pediatric Anesthesiologist and Bioethicist. She earned her bachelors degree in Bioethics from the University of Judaism and her Masters in Bioethics and Health Policy from Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics at Loyola University Chicago. She co-chairs the Ethics Committee at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Her areas of interest include pediatric bioethics, research on the practice of medicine, end-of-life conversations, and ethics in organ transplantation.
Dr. Haidan Chen is currently a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, working on the project "Governing Precision Medicine: The Comparative Politics of Genetic Testing in China and the United States". She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, China Agricultural University (CAU), Beijing. She gained her Ph.D in the Philosophy of Science and Technology at Zhejiang University. Before joining CAU, she was Research Fellow in the Science, Technology, and Society Research Cluster at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore (NUS), and a Fellow at Tembusu College, NUS. Haidan Chen is interested in the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetics and genomics. Her current research relates to the governance of biomedical research in China, in particular stem cell translational research, biobanks, and precision medicine.
Job Titles:
- Achievement Award, Stanford Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine ( 2018 )
: Emerging Issues for Health Research (PI: Sandra Soo-Jim Lee, Ph.D.). She also works with Chris Scott on projects related to stem cell ethics and education. Emily holds a B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology from Emory University and a M.A. in Bioethics from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to joining SCBE, she worked as a Research Coordinator at the National Core for Neuroethics, University of British Columbia and as a manager of the group's Clinical Neuroethics program.
Job Titles:
- ELSI Research Program Manager
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean, School of Medicine, Roger and Joelle
Associate Dean, School of Medicine, Roger and Joelle Burnell Professor of Genomics and Precision Health, Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine), of Genetics, of Biomedical Data Science and, by courtesy, of Pathology
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance and Administration
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Stanford Medicine & the Muse Program
Job Titles:
- Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology
Haerin Lee joined SCBE in September 2008 as an Administrative Associate and Research Assistant. Haerin graduated from Stanford University in 2008 with B.A. in Human Biology, Area of Concentration: Infectious Disease and Human Care. At Stanford, Haerin was a member of the Stanford synchronized swimming team, served as a hospital coordinator for a student volunteer organization, and studied sex differences in autoimmune disease. She also volunteered at an orphanage in Olasiti Village, Tanzania. At SCBE, Haerin worked on CTSA projects in research ethics and assisting with daily center functions. Haerin left SCBE in Fall 2010 to pursue her M.D. at Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- Program Manager, Stanford Medicine & the Muse Program
Heather Dron, PhD, MPH is a historian of medicine and public health who studies pregnancy, prenatal care, and research on infant disability. She completed her PhD in history of health science at UCSF in 2016. At the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, she is a fellow supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute's Ethical Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Program. Her research interests include the history and ethics of research and prenatal care intended to prevent infant disability, ethical conduct of clinical trials, and perceptions of risk or uncertainty associated with environmental science and genomic technologies.
Job Titles:
- Clarence Irving Lewis Professor in Philosophy
Job Titles:
- Chairman of SCBE 's Steering
Henry T. "Hank" Greely is the Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law and Professor, by courtesy, of Genetics at Stanford University. He specializes in ethical, legal, and social issues arising from advances in the biosciences, particularly from genetics, neuroscience, and human stem cell research. He chairs the California Advisory Committee on Human Stem Cell Research and the steering committee of the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics, and directs the Stanford Center for Law and the Biosciences and the Stanford Program in Neuroscience and Society. He serves as a member of the NAS Committee on Science, Technology, and Law; the NIGMS Advisory Council, the Institute of Medicine's Neuroscience Forum, and the NIH Multi-Center Working Group on the BRAIN Initiative. Professor Greely graduated from Stanford in 1974 and from Yale Law School in 1977. He served as a law clerk for Judge John Minor Wisdom on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for Justice Potter Stewart of the United States Supreme Court. He began teaching at Stanford in 1985.
Academic Appointments
Professor, Stanford Law School
Professor (By courtesy), Genetics
Member, Bio-X
Faculty Affiliate, Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI)
Member, Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI)
Member, Stanford Cancer Institute
Member, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Administrative Appointments
Director, Stanford Program in Neuroscience and Society (2014 - Present)
Member, Executive Committee, Stanford Center for Computational, Evolutionary, and Human Genomics (2013 - Present)
Member, IRB 3 (2009 - 2013)
Member, Advisory Committee, Stanford Program in Genetic Counseling (2008 - Present)
Member, Advisory Committee, Program in Science, Technology, and Society (2007 - Present)
Member, Stanford Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee (2006 - 2013)
Member, Bio-X Faculty Leadership Council (2005 - Present)
Member, Advisory Committee, Program in Regenerative Medicine (2005 - 2010)
Director, Center for Law and the Biosciences (2004 - Present)
Chair, Stanford Faculty Senate (2002 - 2003)
Chair, Steering Committee, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (1997 - Present)
Henry Greely, JD, Chair of SCBE's Steering Committee, is Professor of Law and Professor, by courtesy, of Genetics at Stanford University. Specializing in health law and policy, Greely has written on cloning, the implications of genetics for the health care system, health care insurance and financing and the stem cell debate.
Job Titles:
- Director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics
- Professor of Medicine ( Primary Care & Population Health ) and, by Courtesy, of Pediatrics ( Stanford Center of Biomedical Ethics )
Holly Tabor, PhD, is the Director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She is Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, and by Courtesy of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Population Health. She is also Co-Chair of the Ethics Committees at Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. She is a globally recognized expert on the ethical issues surrounding health care and research for patients with disabilities, especially intellectual and developmental disability, and on the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) in genetics. Her research has shed light on the benefits and risks of participating in genomic research, particularly of rare and undiagnosed diseases. She is Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Bioethical Empirical Research.
Academic Appointments
Professor - University Medical Line, Medicine - Primary Care and Population Health
Professor - University Medical Line (By courtesy), Pediatrics - Center for Biomedical Ethics
Administrative Appointments
Director, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (2024 - Present)
Co-Chair, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Ethics Committee (2018 - Present)
Co-Chair, Stanford Hospital Clinical Ethics Committee (2018 - Present)
Member, Stanford Hospital Clinical Ethics Committee (2016 - 2018)
Member, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Ethics Committee (2016 - 2018)
Hywote Taye graduated in 2012 from Stanford University with an MA in Philosophy. She concentrated in Ethical Theory as well as Philosophy of Language. In 2011, she also received her BA from Stanford, where she majored in Human Biology with a concentration in Bioethics and a minor in French. During the summer of 2010, she interned at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics under the direction of Dr. Sandra Lee and assisted her in investigating the relation between social media and direct to consumer genetic testing. She returned to the Center in July of 2012 and served as Executive Editor for the American Journal of Bioethics as well as coordinator for the Center's Benchside Ethics Consultation Service.
Inna Sayfer was the Research Project Manager for Human Microbiome Project. Inna holds a Stanford B.A. in Quantitative Economics and a Ph.D. in Political Science. Inna's doctoral thesis looked at the political economy of Russia's dependence on trade in oil and gas. Prior to joining the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, Inna worked as an Associate Researcher with the Stanford Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (part of FSI). Her most recent publication is a co-authored chapter on Russia's gas giant Gazprom to be published by Cambridge University Press in November 2011 in an edited volume titled Oil and Gas: State Owned Enterprises And The World's Energy Supply. Inna worked on understanding ethical issues associated with Microbiome research.
Isabelle Wijangco focused on global health policy and women's empowerment. After graduating from Stanford in 2012 with a B.A. in Human Biology, she was a Stanford Ford Fellow in Philanthropy at the United Nations Foundation in New York. There, she worked with the Every Women Every Child movement to launch a project demonstrating the multidimensional returns on investment in family planning. She also helped facilitate global health and global South engagement in Post-2015, an unprecedented UN process to decide the next generation's international development priorities following the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals. Before that, she researched political determinants of health foreign aid at the Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute and worked on global health operations at the Office of the Surgeon General.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of the Law
Jason Batten, MD, MA (bioethics) completed his MD at the Stanford School of Medicine. He is currently an affiliate with the Center for Biomedical Ethics while he completes dual training in internal medicine and anesthesia residency programs. Prior to medical school, he worked as a teacher in low-income public schools and worked with the clinical ethics service of a Los Angeles community hospital; these experiences fostered a long-standing interest in improving communication and decision-making practices, especially with vulnerable populations. He is fortunate to have received mentorship and training in ethical, legal, and social implications research as a predoctoral fellow at the Center for Biomedical Ethics. He has applied this training to research published in the medical and bioethics literature, as well as to ongoing research and quality improvement projects.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Job Titles:
- Professor ( Clinical ) of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Emeritus / Research
Job Titles:
- Dunlevie Family Professor of Pulmonary Vascular Disease and Professor, by Courtesy, of Bioengineering
Jennifer Ladd - Jennifer Ladd was the Program Manager of CIRGE from 2008 to 2010, coordinating the research, teaching and administrative activities of the Center. Jennifer graduated with distinction from Stanford University in 2008, receiving a BS in Molecular and Cell Biology. Her honors thesis, for which she was awarded the Firestone, was entitled The Role of ETS Transcription Factors Erg and Fli-1 in the Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells. In addition to pursuing her strong interests in lab science and medicine, Jennifer delved into bioethics through courses at Stanford and a tutorial during a study abroad term in Oxford. She was also co-Editor-in-Chief of Stanford Scientific Magazine, previously holding the positions of Head Ethics & Policy Editor and Features Editor. At CIRGE, Jennifer worked on several research projects, including an investigation of life scientists' views on their responsibilities to society and the potential impacts of their research and a study on the U.S. print media's portrayal of the ethical issues stemming from personal genomics. Jennifer left SCBE in Fall 2010 to pursue her M.D. at Stanford University, School of Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Finance and Administration Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Job Titles:
- Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research
Job Titles:
- Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Dartmouth Me
Joanna H. Fanos, Ph.D. is Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Dartmouth Medical School. She has worked as a research psychologist focusing on the impact of pediatric illness on the family, especially the well sibling. She has documented the long-term psychosocial effects of growing up with and possibly surviving an affected sibling in such disorders as cystic fibrosis, ataxia-telangiectasia, X-linked severe combined immune deficiency, pediatric HIV, Familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Her research led to her founding and directing a Sibling Center in the Department of Pediatrics at California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, a preventive clinical program to help children and adolescents with an ill sibling.
Job Titles:
- Professor ( Clinical ) of Anesthesia, Emeritus / Research
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery
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- Professor of Medicine ( Stanford Prevention Research ), of Epidemiology and Population Health and by Courtesy, of Statistics and of Biomedical Data Science / Research
Job Titles:
- Graduate School of Education / Professor
Job Titles:
- Professor of Pediatrics ( Genetics ) and, by Courtesy, of Genetics
Job Titles:
- Primary Care & Population Health / Clinical Assistant Professor
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Medicine ( Cardiovascular Medicine )
José Maldonado, MD, FAPM, joined the Stanford faculty in 1993 and became Medical Director of the Psychosomatic Medicine Service in 1995. He received his medical degree at Ponce School of Medicine and his psychiatric training at Temple University, in Philadelphia. He completed additional training in Forensic Psychiatry at Temple University, and a fellowship in Consultation-Liaison/Neuropsychiatry at New England Medical Center/Tufts University, in Boston. Dr. Maldonado is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine; with courtesy appointments in the Departments of Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, the Center of Biomedical Ethics and the Stanford School of Law. He serves as Chief of the Medical and Forensic Psychiatry Section, Director of the Psychosomatic Medicine Clinic, and Medical Director of the Psychosomatic Medicine Consult Service. Dr. Maldonado serves as psychiatric consultant to all solid organ transplant teams (i.e., heart, lung, liver, kidney, and small bowel); including our new program in Composite Tissue Allotransplantation. He has special expertise in the areas of psychosomatic medicine and somatoform disorders, neuropsychiatry, dissociation, medical hypnosis, and organ transplantation.
Judy Illes, PhD, is Emeritus Director of the Program in Neuroethics at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. Dr. Illes' research program at SCBE was devoted to biomedical ethics in the neurosciences and medical imaging, and to charting the new field of "neuroethics."
Job Titles:
- Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Emerita / Research
Job Titles:
- Professor of Pediatrics ( Pediatric Critical Care ) and of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Job Titles:
- Neurology / Assistant Professor
Job Titles:
- Primary Care & Population Health, PAVAHCS / Professor
Karola Kreitmair, PhD was a Clinical Ethics Fellow at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She received her PhD in philosophy from Stanford University in 2013 and was a postdoctoral fellow in Stanford's Thinking Matters program from 2013-2016. Her research interests include neuroethics, especially new technologies and deep brain stimulation, as well as ethical issues associated with wearable technology and citizen science.
Kate Weatherford Darling, PhD is a sociologist working across the boundaries of medical sociology, feminist science and technology studies, health policy and bioethics. Her research program uses qualitative sociological methods to understand how social, technological and biomedical transformations impact people living with chronic illnesses and disabilities in the U.S. She earned her doctorate in Sociology at the University of California, San Francisco in 2016 and served as the Assistant Director of Research and Academic Programs for the Science & Justice Research Center at UC Santa Cruz between 2016 - 2017. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Social Science & Medicine, Science Technology & Human Values, and Engaging Science & Technology Studies. Her dissertation research traced the transformation of HIV into a manageable yet expensive chronic illness. At the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, her postdoctoral fellowship is supported by a National Human Genome Research Institute's Ethical Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Program training grant. Her postdoctoral research examines U.S. health inequalities in the era of Precision Medicine and investigates the social meanings of healthcare pricing data.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- Clinical Professor
- Professor ( Teaching ) of Genetics, Program Director MS in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling
Job Titles:
- Kenneth Fong Professor of Bioengineering, of Genetics, of Medicine ( General Medical Discipline ) and, by Courtesy, of Computer Science
- Professor and Professor
Kevin Mintz, PhD, received his Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science here at Stanford University in 2019 under the supervision of Debra Satz. He also holds an AB in Government from Harvard College, an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Doctorate of Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. Prior to returning to Stanford, Kevin was a Postdoctoral Fellow in The Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health. His research focuses on disability bioethics, research ethics, business ethics, and the degree to which genetics should be used to construct social or political identities. His work has appeared in a variety of academic journals and newspapers, including Pediatrics, The Hastings Center Report, and the Los Angeles Times.
Job Titles:
- Health Equity Media Fellow
Job Titles:
- Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology
Job Titles:
- Chief, Psychiatry, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, and Katharine Dexter McCormick and Stanley McCormick Memorial Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science
Laura Roberts, MD, MA, began her tenure as chair of Stanford's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in 2010. Best known for her work on ethical issues and public policy in the field of psychiatry, she is also recognized for her success as a mentor and teacher.
Laurel Braitman, PhD is a Writer-in-Residence and Adjunct Professor, Department of Anesthesiology. Laurel Braitman is a New York Times bestselling author, historian and anthropologist of science. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Wired and other publications. Her last book, Animal Madness (Simon & Schuster 2015) was a NYT bestseller and has been translated into seven languages. She is currently a Writer-in-Residence at the Medicine & the Muse Program at the Stanford University School of Medicine where she's busy helping physicians tell better stories--for themselves and their patients. She holds a PhD in Science, Technology and Society from MIT, is a Senior TED Fellow and a Contributing Writer for Pop Up Magazine, a live magazine the New York Times has called a "Sensation." Her work and collaborations with musicians and artists have been featured on the BBC, NPR, Good Morning America and Al Jazeera. She's taught popular interdisciplinary courses at Stanford School of Medicine, Harvard, MIT, Smith College and elsewhere and is passionate about working with musicians, physicians, scientists, animals and artists.
As the Writer-in-Residence at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Laurel leads afternoon, daylong and multi-day workshops for medical students, residents, fellows and attending physicians. She also teaches courses, has established a live onstage storytelling series for medical students called Talk Rx, and works with students, researchers and physicians one-on-one and in small groups to develop their written and oral communication skills. Find out more about her work helping physicians communicate more easily here.
Job Titles:
- Bing Professor of Human Biology, Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and Professor, by Courtesy, of Economics / Research
- Health Research & Policy
Dr. Baker's research is in the area of health economics, and focuses on the effects of financial incentives, organizational structures, and government policies on the health care delivery system, health care costs, and health outcomes.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Job Titles:
- Social Science Research Professional
Job Titles:
- Director of Medical Humanities and Arts
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population
Lisa Goldman Rosas, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health and the Department of Medicine, Division of Primary Care and Population Health at Stanford School of Medicine. An epidemiologist by training, Dr. Goldman Rosas' research focuses on addressing disparities in chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, and cancer among racial/ethnic minority families. This research features rigorous quantitative and qualitative methodologies, participatory qualitative approaches, and shared leadership with patient and community partners. She is passionate about integrating patients, caregivers, community organizations, and other key stakeholders in the research process in order to affect the greatest improvements in health and well-being. As a reflection of this passion, Dr. Goldman Rosas serves as the Faculty Director for the School of Medicine Office of Community Engagement, Co-Director of Community-Engaged Research for the Office of Cancer Health Equity, and Director of the Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement Core for the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. In these roles, she supports other faculty and patient and community partners to develop sustainable and meaningful partnerships to support transformative research. In addition to research, she teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has a special focus on increasing diversity in biomedical research.
Job Titles:
- SCBE As a Fulltime Research Assistant
Lisa Hisaw joined SCBE as a fulltime Research Assistant in 2008 after she graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and minor in Economics. During her junior and senior years, she worked as a Student Assistant with Dr. LaVera Crawley comparing the quantity and quality of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising (DTCA) of pharmaceuticals in ethnic and general interest magazines and analyzing focus groups of African American and Caucasian physicians to assess how DTCA has affected their practices. In her role as a Research Assistant, she helped with a pilot study on social media websites as a venue for health message distribution and factor in medical decision making. She helped develop and code a database of hundreds of MySpace blogs that discussed the HPV Vaccine, Gardasil. In Fall 2009, Lisa left SCBE to pursue her M.D. at University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine.
Job Titles:
- CARL and ELIZABETH NAUMANN DEAN of the SCHOOL of MEDICINE / VICE PRESIDENT for MEDICAL AFFAIRS, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Professor of Pediatrics and, by Courtesy, of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Job Titles:
- Children 's Hospital Ethics Consult Service
- Support
Job Titles:
- Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Job Titles:
- Neurology / Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Job Titles:
- Professor of Surgery ( Abdominal Transplantation )
Job Titles:
- Founding Director of the Program in Bioethics and Film at Stanford
Maren Monsen, Founding Director of the Program in Bioethics and Film at Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics and Filmmaker in Residence Emerita, is a physician and clinical ethicist who uses film to share patient stories and shine light on challenging issues in public health and medicine. Her films have been released theatrically and broadcast nationally and internationally, screened at Sundance, Cannes, the Skoll World Forum in Oxford, and several TEDx events run by Melinda Gates. Link to press coverage on Maren Monsen, her films and the Program on Bioethics and Film.
She has worked clinically seeing patients as an emergency physician, palliative care physician and clinical ethicist, and taught clinical and research ethics. She founded and directed the Program in Bioethics and Film at the Stanford University School of Medicine for 21 years and was the co-director of the Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities Scholarly Concentration.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Assistant Professor
Job Titles:
- Professor of Public and Private Management, Emeritus
Job Titles:
- Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Martine Lappé was a research assistant at CIRGE and a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of California, San Francisco. Her dissertation focuses on the social dimensions of research on environmental factors and gene-environment interactions in autism. Martine earned her BA in Sociology and a minor in Health Care/Social Issues, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2004 from University of California, San Diego. Her undergraduate thesis titled: "Investigating Risk: Structural Influences, Gender Power Dynamics and Social Capital in Relation to Women's HIV Prevention" received highest distinction. Before coming to CIRGE, Martine worked at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies as a member of several domestic and international HIV research teams. She is interested in medical sociology, feminist and risk theories, and ethical issues related to complex disease research. Martine was with CIRGE for over two years and worked on projects related to autism and ethics.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, UCSF School of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to Dean Lloyd Minor, MD, Office of the Dean, Chief of Staff
Maya Wolpert was the Program Manager of CIRGE, Center for the Integration of Research on Genetics and Ethics. She graduated from Stanford as a Human Biology major with a concentration in Bioethics, and has worked at SCBE for four years. She has spent her summers conducting AIDS research in South Africa, interning at the NIH Bioethics Center, and at Cleveland Clinic studying conflicts of interest in biomedical research. Her work was published in the AAMC's June 2010 Report.
Job Titles:
- Research Coordinator
- Research Coordinator at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics
Megan Cvitanovic is a Research Coordinator at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (SCBE). She received her BS in Human Biology from Stanford University, where she also competed on the women's rowing team. Prior to working as a research coordinator, she worked at SCBE as interim executive editor of the American Journal of Bioethics. In her current role, she helps coordinate IDD-TRANSFORM, a project centered on health and health care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). She also works closely with the clinical ethics team, assisting with policy and leading clinical ethics-related QI/research projects. Her research interests are centered around health care for people with IDD and children. In her free time you can find her riding her bike or running on trails near Boulder, Colorado.
Meghan Halley, PhD, MPH, in a Research Scholar in the Center for Biomedical Ethics. She is a medical anthropologist with a background in public health and a passion for research that engages the voices of patients and families in improving population health and healthcare delivery. Meghan is a proud Midwesterner, who completed her B.A. in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her PhD and MPH from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her broad research interests include the psychosocial dimensions of health and illness, the well-being of children and families, and medical decision-making, particularly in the context of complex illness. At SCBE, Meghan's research examines the ethical and economic implications of genome sequencing for diagnosis of children with rare diseases and their families. Her work examines the ethical implications of varying approaches to economic evaluation and their relation to reimbursement and equitable access to new genomic technologies. She is also interested in the development of new tools for measurement of the costs and benefits of new genomic technologies that reflect patient values.
Job Titles:
- Law, Health Research & Policy
- Professor of Law and of Health Policy
Job Titles:
- Principal Investigator
- Associate Director of Research at the Center
- Professor ( Research ) of Pediatrics ( Center for Biomedical Ethics ) and of Medicine ( Primary Care and Population Health ) Research
- SCBE Associate Director, Professor ( Research ) of Pediatrics
Dr. Cho's major areas of interest include: ethical and social issues in genetic research, including those arising from gene therapy and editing, synthetic biology, microbiome research, the use of artificial intelligence to analyze genomic and medical data, the effects of gene patenting on clinical genetic testing and research, and the impacts of academic-industry ties on biomedical research.
Mildred Cho, PhD, Associate Director of Research at the Center is also Professor of Pediatrics. Her major areas of interest are the ethical and social issues raised by new technologies such as genetic testing, gene therapy, and artificial intelligence. She also studies how biomedical researchers can be encouraged to integrate ethical issues into their work.
Molly Havard joined SCBE in April 2010 as an administrative assistant. She graduated from Stanford University in 2010, majoring in Human Biology with a focus in Biochemical Threats. At Stanford, she was a founding member of the Stanford Student Society for Stem Cell Research and designed a student initiated course entitled "Introduction to Stem Cells: An Interdisciplinary Approach." She was a violinist in the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and has run in two marathons. In her role as a Research Assistant, she helped with CTSA projects and a NSF curriculum development grant for stem cell education.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Associate Professor
Nate W. Olson, PhD, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB). During his time as a visiting scholar at SCBE, he worked on research around inequities in health care research in rural areas. His past research included work on ancillary care in research ethics and family-centered care in clinical ethics. Before joining CSUB, he was a Thinking Matters teaching fellow at Stanford.
Job Titles:
- Social Science Research Professional
Nicole Martinez-Martin, PhD, JD, received her JD from Harvard law School. In 2015, she received her doctorate in Comparative Human Development from the University of Chicago, which brought together training in medical anthropology and biological psychology. Her broader research interests concern the impact of new technologies on the treatment of vulnerable populations. Her dissertation research focused on the use neuroscience in criminal cases, addressing how neuroscience influences depictions of the brain and criminality. Nicole's work at SCBE continues her interest in how genetic technologies will impact health practices.
Job Titles:
- Biomedical Informatics / Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- Professor of Law and, by Courtesy, of Philosophy, Duke University
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Job Titles:
- Health Equity Media Fellow
Job Titles:
- Professor ( Teaching ) of Structural Biology, Emerita
Job Titles:
- Professor of Radiology ( Pediatric Radiology ) at the Stanford University Medical Center, Emeritus / Research
Job Titles:
- Biomedical Data Science / Professor Emeritus
Job Titles:
- Professor in Neonatology, Emeritus
Quinn Waeiss, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Stanford Training Program in ELSI Research (T32) at the Center for Biomedical Ethics. They received their Ph.D. in Political Science and comparative politics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They also hold a BA in Political Science and German from Grand Valley State University.
Rachel Lee is a Social Science Research Professional at the Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis (CERA). She graduated from Emory University with a degree in Anthropology & Human Biology and minors in Spanish and Linguistics. Her undergraduate research examined the potential link between endogenous retrovirus expression and the development of autoimmune conditions. Prior to joining CERA, she worked at Dell Medical School. Her projects explored the lived experiences of patients with different chronic conditions to inform the design of health care services. She also developed health equity curriculum modules for executive education programs. Currently, her areas of interests include the ethical and social implications of prenatal screening, reproductive technologies, and direct-to-consumer genetic testing.
Job Titles:
- Emeritus, Biomedical Ethics
Job Titles:
- Finance & Administration Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Clinical Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery
Job Titles:
- Professor in Child Health and Professor, by Courtesy, of Health Research and Policy
Risa Cromer, PhD is a medical anthropologist and feminist science & technology scholar. She completed her PhD in Cultural Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in June 2016 and currently serves as a fellow within Stanford's Thinking Matters program. Her research focuses on reproductive and racial politics within bioethical controversies in the United States. While at Stanford, she plans to work on a book based on her doctoral research that examines the afterlives of frozen human embryos left over from IVF and banked for future use, from embryo adoption to stem cell research. She brings experience as qualitative specialist on clinical research teams at the Portland Veteran Affairs Health System (2013-2016), with whom she remains a collaborator on projects addressing the health care needs of veterans.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance and Administration
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Management Science & Engineering of STS / Emeritus Faculty
Job Titles:
- Kenneth Fong Professor of Bioengineering, of Genetics, of Medicine ( General Medical Discipline ) and, by Courtesy, of Computer Science
Job Titles:
- Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Ryan Felder, PhD is a bioethicist and philosopher. Prior to his appointment at Stanford Health Care, he completed a fellowship at Montefiore Einstein Medical Center in Bronx, NY. Ryan earned his Ph.D in Philosophy from The Graduate Center, City University of New York in September 2021. He has taught and assisted graduate-level bioethics courses at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and New York University, and taught philosophy to undergraduates at Lehman College, City University of New York. Ryan's writing on applied ethics has appeared in journals such as Hastings Center Report and Journal of Applied Philosophy. Ryan's research interests include epistemic injustice in clinical ethics and communication, the ethics of artificial intelligence in health care, and the implications of contemporary pragmatism for normative ethics and metaethics. Ryan received his Bachelor's from Rutgers University and his Master's from Binghamton University, both in philosophy. In his spare time, he enjoys taking long walks around the neighborhood, cooking, and art house films in small movie theaters.
Job Titles:
- SCBE Senior Research Scholar
Sarah Wieten, PhD is a Clinical Ethics Fellow at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She received her PhD in philosophy from Durham University in 2018 and was a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from 2017-2018. Her research lies at the intersection of ethics and epistemology, including work on clinical trial methodology, end-of-life decision-making, and direct-to-consumer genetic testing.
Job Titles:
- Primary Care & Population Health / Clinical Assistant Professor
: Social Networking and Personal Genomics: Emerging Issues for Health Research (PI: Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, Ph.D). Simone graduated from Stanford with a BA in International Relations. While at Stanford, she worked in the Department of Psychiatry processing functional and structural brain imaging for pediatric and teen bipolar projects. Simone also worked alongside Dr. Herbert L. Abrams continuing a comprehensive study on the United States Nuclear Personnel Reliability Program, identifying risks for nuclear accidents by assessing stability among those who work most closely with nuclear arms. Additionally, she was a tutor coordinator of the Ravenswood Reads early literacy program at Haas Center for Public Service.
Job Titles:
- Research Assistant, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics
Stephanie M. Harman, MD, FACP graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She then completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Stanford and a Palliative Care fellowship at the Palo Alto VA/Stanford program before joining the faculty at Stanford. She is the founding medical director of Palliative Care Services for Stanford Health Care and Associate Program Director for Stanford's Internal Medicine Residency Program. Her research and educational interests include communication training in healthcare and bioethics in end-of-life care.
Stephen Quake, PhD
Lee Otterson Professor in the School of Engineering and Professor, by courtesy, of Applied Physics and Physics
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Professor of Medicine ( Primary Care and Population Health ) and, by Courtesy, of Health Policy / Research
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean of Clinical and Translational
Steven Goodman, MD, MHS, PhD, is Associate Dean of Clinical and Translational Research and Professor of Medicine and of Health Research & Policy, directing Stanford's CTSA/Spectrum training programs in medical research methods and serving as chief of the Division of Epidemiology in HRP. He is co-founder and co-director of the Meta-research innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS), a group dedicated to examining and improving the reproducibility and efficiency of biomedical research.
Susan Leigh Star, Ph.D., B.A., was a Senior Scholar and and Visiting Professor of Computer Engineering at Santa Clara University. She was formerly Professor of Communication at UCSD and Professor of Information Science at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Her research at Stanford, with Niranjan Karnik, is a historical-contemporary study of electro-shock therapy, following the trajectory of the technology as well as patient's experience and navigation through the medical treatments and their integration into daily life.
Job Titles:
- Research Coordinator at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics
Sydney Walls is a Research Coordinator at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She received her BA in Anthropology from Stanford University and her Master in Public Health from the University of Kansas Medical Center. Her research interests are centered around public health and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) as she is a sibling to her autistic brother who has high support needs. She is currently a committee member on the Disability Section for the American Public Health Association and is a council member for The Arc's National Sibling Council. Prior to working at SCBE, she worked for the Association of University Centers on Disability as both a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) Trainee and as a research staff member for the Kansas LEND Program. She worked on projects that improved medical education on IDD for medical students and family medicine residents, innovated mental health care for autistic teens, and developed a state recognized certification program on developmental disabilities.
Job Titles:
- Director of Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, Professor of Medicine and, by Courtesy, of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Population Health
Tara Diener, PhD received her Ph.D. in Anthropology and History from the University of Michigan in 2016 and a Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology, and Society in 2014. Prior to graduate studies at Michigan, she practiced as a Registered Nurse in obstetrics and pediatrics while earning an M.A. in Bioethics, Humanities, and Society from the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences (CEHLS) at Michigan State University. She has taught courses in creative non-fiction writing, medical, biological, and sociocultural anthropology, international and African studies, global health, political science, and the history of medicine in the US, Western Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa. She is an anthropologist and historian of medicine, maternal and infant health and mortality, global health (non)systems, and nursing ethics and practice. Her research combines archival and ethnographic methods, and her previous projects have focused on the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone.
Job Titles:
- Professor ( Research ) of Biomedical Data Science, of Medicine ( BMIR ) and, by Courtesy, of Genetics / Research
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Medicine ( Cardiovascular Medicine ) and, by Courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Co - Founder
- Director
- Biomedical Ethics and Professor ( Teaching ) of Medicine, Pediatrics and by Courtesy of Bioengineering
- Medicine and Biomedical Ethics and Professor ( Teaching ) of Medicine ( Primary Care and Population Health )
- Professor of Medicine
- Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Ethics and Professor of Pediatrics
David Magnus, PhD is Thomas A. Raffin Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Ethics and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine and by Courtesy of Bioengineering at Stanford University and an Associate Dean for Research. Magnus is member of the Ethics Committee for the Stanford Hospital. He is currently the Vice-Chair of the IRB for the NIH Precision Medicine Initiative ("All of Us"). He is the former President of the Association of Bioethics Program Directors, and is the Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Bioethics. He has published articles on a wide range of topics in bioethics, including research ethics, genetics, stem cell research, organ transplantation, end of life, and patient communication. He was a member of the Secretary of Agriculture's Advisory Committee on Biotechnology in the 21st Century and currently serves on the California Human Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee. He is the principal editor of a collection of essays entitled "Who Owns Life?" (2002) and his publications have appeared in New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Nature Biotechnology, and the British Medical Journal. He has appeared on many radio and television shows including 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, FOX news Sunday, and ABC World News and NPR. In addition to his scholarly work, he has published Opinion pieces in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune, the San Jose Mercury News, and the New Jersey Star Ledger.
Academic Appointments
Professor (Teaching), Pediatrics - Center for Biomedical Ethics
Professor (Teaching), Medicine - Primary Care and Population Health
Administrative Appointments
Associate Dean of Research, Stanford University, School of Medicine (2021 - Present)
Member, Stanford Hospital Clinical Ethics Committee (2018 - Present)
Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Bioethics (2012 - Present)
Thomas A. Raffin Chair, Medicine and Biomedical Ethics, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
Chair, Program in Regenerative Medicine Sub-Committee on Bioethics and Conflict of Interest (2005 - 2010)
Director, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (2003 - 2024)
Co-Chair, Stanford Hospital Clinics Ethics Committee (2003 - 2018)
Member, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Ethics Committee (2003 - Present)
Co-Director, Scholarly Concentration in Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities (2003 - 2016)
David Magnus, PhD, is Thomas A. Raffin Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Ethics, and Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, and by Courtesy of Bioengineering and Associate Dean of Research at Stanford University. He is a member of the Stanford Hospital and Clinics Ethics Committee, is past President of the Association of Bioethics Program Directors, and is the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Bioethics. He is currently the Vice-Chair of the IRB for the NIH Precision Medicine Initiative ("All of Us").
Thomas A. Raffin, MD, Co-Founder and Director Emeritus of the Center, is Colleen and Robert Haas Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Bioethics and former Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. In addition to biomedical ethics (withholding and withdrawing life support, medical decision-making in the context of managed care and HMOs, ethics of neurosciences, and ethical issues in human genetics), Dr. Raffin's other key areas of academic interest include the biology of acute lung injury, pulmonary fibrosis, and lymphangioleiomyomatosis.
Job Titles:
- ELSI Research Program Manager
Vivian Chin - Vivian Chin graduated with a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Barnard College, Columbia University in May 2006. Her first significant research project in college was on physical chemistry using the Scanning Tunneling Microscope where she explored surface dynamics of mixtures of chiral molecules in solution semiabsorbed on graphite surfaces. She presented her paper at the American Chemical Society Conference in San Diego (2005). Later, she completed a neuroscience research thesis on the regulation of feeding behavior where she studied the orexigenic effects of the neuropeptide, ghrelin, on specific hypothalamic nuclei in the rat. In college, she also devoted her time serving as an EMT for Columbia's Emergency Medical Service. Vivian first became strongly interested in neuroethics from taking a college class devoted to the field. In her role as program coordinator for the Stanford Program in Neuroethics worked on two research projects. The first explored trends in studies on incidental findings found in the human brain. The second investigated reasons for why women should care about neuroethics.
Job Titles:
- Primary Care & Population Health / Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- Professor in the School of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Primary Care & Population Health / Clinical Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor ( Research ) of Neurology ( Neurology Research Faculty ), of Medicine ( BMIR ) and, by Courtesy, of Biomedical Data Science