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Benjamin Berkman, JD, MPH

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Benjamin Berkman, JD, MPH

Benjamin Berkman, J.D., M.P.H, is a faculty member in the NIH Department of Bioethics where he is the head of the section on the ethics of genetics and emerging technologies. He has a joint appointment in the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he serves as the Deputy Director of the NHGRI Bioethics Core. He was formerly the Deputy Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law (2007-2009), where he continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor. Mr. Berkman received a Bachelors Degree in the History of Science and Medicine at Harvard University (1999). He subsequently earned a Juris Doctor and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan (2005).

As a faculty member in the Department of Bioethics, Mr. Berkman's research interests span a wide range of topics. His current work focuses on the legal and ethical issues associated with genomic research, genetic information privacy, and clinical adoption of new genetic and reproductive technologies.

Curriculum Vitae PDF Icon

Selected publications

Hendriks S, Grady C, Wasserman D, Wendler D, Bianchi DW, Berkman BE. A new ethical framework for assessing the unique challenges of fetal therapy trials. American Journal of Bioethics (forthcoming).

Berkman BE, Mastroianni A, Jamal L, Solis C, Taylor H, Hull SC. Repurposing Research Samples in a Pandemic. Ethics and Human Research (forthcoming).

Strassle CL and Berkman BE. Prisons and Pandemics. San Diego Law Review (forthcoming).

Strassle CL, Jardis E, Ochoa J, Berkman BE, Danis M, Rid A, Taylor HA. Should Incarcerated Populations be Enrolled in COVID-19 Vaccine Trials? NEJM 383:1897-1899 (2020).

Wendler D, Berkman BE. Maximizing the Value of Human Biospecimens: Lessons from the Coronavirus and the Seattle Flu Study. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.a.61891 (2020).

Van Dikje I, Berkman BE, Bredenoord A, Henneman L, Vliegenthart R, Repping S, Hendriks S. Should germline genome editing be allowed? The effect of treatment characteristics on public acceptability. Human Reproduction (forthcoming).

Berkman BE. Is There a Right Not to Know Genetic Information About Oneself. In Deliberate Ignorance: Choosing Not to Know (R. Hertwig and C. Engel, eds.) Strüngmann Forum Reports, vol. 29, J. R. Lupp, series editor. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2020).

Schwartz B, Richerson PJ, Berkman BE et al. The Deep Structure of Deliberate Ignorance: Mapping the Terrain. In Deliberate Ignorance: Choosing Not to Know (R. Hertwig and C. Engel, eds.) Strüngmann Forum Reports, vol. 29, J. R. Lupp, series editor. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2020).

Miner S, Miller W, Grady CG, Berkman BE. "It's just another added benefit": Women's experiences with employment-based egg freezing programs. AJOB Empirical Bioethics DOI: 10.1080/23294515.2020.1823908 (2020).

Pierson L, Gibert S., Berkman BE, Danis M, Millum J. Allocating Scarce Biospecimens for Use in Research. Journal of Medical Ethics DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2019-105766 (2020).

Berkman BE. Commentary on the Right Not to Know and the Obligation Not to Know. Journal of Medical Ethics 46(5):304-305 (2020).

Schupmann W, Jamal L, Berkman BE. Re-Examining the Ethics of Genetic Counseling in the Genomic Era. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-020-09983-w (2020).

Jamal L, Schupmann W, Berkman BE. An Ethical Framework for Genetic Counseling in the Genomic Era. Journal of Genetic Counseling 29:718-727 (2020).

Berkman BE, Brody LC, Collins FS and Green ED. Karen Rothenberg's (Not So) Secret Roles and Contributions at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Journal of Health Care Law and Policy 22:167-171 (2020).

Strassle CL and Berkman BE. Workplace Wellness Programs: Empirical Doubt, Legal Ambiguity, and Conceptual Confusion. William and Mary Law Review 61:1663-1717 (2020).

Chung ET and Berkman BE. Should Patient Groups Have the Power to Redirect How Their Samples Are Used? American Journal of Bioethics 19(8):26-28 (2019).

Sullivan HK, Bayefsky M, Wakim P, Huddleston, K, Biesecker BB, Hull SC, Berkman BE. Noninvasive Prenatal Whole Genome Sequencing: Pregnant Women's Views and Preferences. Obstetrics and Gynecology 133:525-532 (2019).

Miller WK and Berkman BE. The Future of Physicians' First Amendment Freedom: Professional Speech in an Era of Radically Expanded Genetic Testing. Washington and Lee Law Review 76(2): 577-654 (2019).

Prince AE and Berkman BE. Reconceptualizing Harms and Benefits in the Genomic Age. Personalized Medicine 15(5):419-428 (2018).

Lockhart NC, Weil CJ, Carithers LJ, Koester SE, Little AR, Volpi S, Moore HM, Berkman BE. Development of a Consensus Approach for Return of Pathology Incidental Findings in the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project. Journal of Medical Ethics 44(9): 643-645 (2018).

Bayefsky M and Berkman BE. Toward the Ethical Allocation of Uterine Transplants. American Journal of Bioethics 18(7): 16-17 (2018).

Berkman BE, Miller WK, Grady C. Is it Ethical to Use Genealogy Data to Solve Crimes? Annals of Internal Medicine 169(5): 333-334 (2018).

Berkman BE, Wendler D, Howard D. Reconsidering the Need for Reconsent at 18. Pediatrics 142(2) (2018).

Sullivan HK and Berkman BE. Incidental Findings in Low-Resource Settings. Hastings Center Report 48(3): 1-9 (2018).

 

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