People | Faculty
Lisa S. Parker, PhD
Director, Center for Bioethics & Health Law
Professor, Department of Human Genetics
Graduate School of Public Health
University of Pittsburgh
Director, Master of Arts Program in Bioethics
Contact:
412-648-7007
Address:
Center for Bioethics and Health Law
Barco Law Building, Room 519
3900 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Related Sites:
Lisa Parker, a philosopher, is Professor of Human Genetics in the Graduate School of Public Health. She directs the University’s interdisciplinary Master of Arts in Bioethics program in The Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, and is director of the Area of Concentration in Humanities, Ethics, and Palliative Care in the School of Medicine. She is also a member of the Steering Committee in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies and a fellow of the Center for Philosophy of Science. Dr. Parker has published extensively on ethical concerns related to the design and conduct of research, particularly genetic research and mental health research, as well as on aesthetic surgery, confidentiality, and informed consent. With a national working group of the Association of Schools of Public Health, Dr. Parker edited Ethics and Public Health: Model Curriculum (Association of Schools of Public Health, 2003). She is co-author of the second edition of Informed Consent: Legal Theory and Clinical Practice (Oxford, 2001) and is co-editor of Mutating Concepts, Evolving Disciplines: Genetics, Medicine, and Society in the Philosophy and Medicine Series published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2002.
Dr. Parker’s recent research has focused on the ethical management of incidental findings and return of research results, privacy protection, pharmacogenomic research and genetic enhancement. She has sustained interest in employing feminist approaches to bioethical issues and in the critical analysis of bioethics as a social practice and field of inquiry. She is a co-investigator for an international research ethics training program focused on China and sponsored by the Fogarty International Center of the NIH. She has provided research ethics training in Kolkata and New Delhi, India through two other Fogarty-sponsored training programs. In 2012, she was appointed to the Genomics and Society Working Group of the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research for the NHGRI, where she has served on the study section of the ELSI Program (the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Program) and on two national working groups examining the management of incidental findings and research results, as well as on the Expert Scientific Panel of the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network.
Dr. Parker collaborates with investigators across the University, as well as nationally and internationally, on both empirical studies and theoretical and policy analyses. With Carnegie Mellon colleagues, she offered guidance regarding discovery and management of incidental findings in the use of DNA to identify human remains following natural disasters and armed conflict. With colleagues in the Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Parker was involved in a community-based project to investigate the care of elderly living with depression and other severe mood disorders. She serves as a co-investigator and ethics consultant on studies involving biobanking and whole exome/genome sequencing in different patient populations. With colleagues in India, she is investigating differing conceptions of privacy and analyzing the appropriateness of privacy protection requirements utilized in the US and by the NIH when applied in Indian research and patient care contexts.
Education
BA – Philosophy, Hillsdale College (1984)
MA – Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh (1986)
PhD – Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh (1990)
Awards, Honors, and Fellowships
Nellie Westerman Prize in Ethics, American Federation for Clinical Research (1990)
Andrew Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities, Woodrow Wilson Foundation (1984-1990)
Research and Professional Interests
Research ethics, particularly issues in genomic and psychiatric research
Informed consent, privacy, and confidentiality
Feminist approaches in bioethics
Bioethics as a social practice
Teaching Activities
Bioethics
Clinical Research Ethics
Ethical Issues in Clinical Genetics
Ethical Issues in Genomic Medicine & Research
Feminist Theory
Gender, Ethics & the Body
Research Ethics & the Responsible Conduct of Research
Session instructor, Ethical Issues in Clinical Practice, MS-4 elective
Selected Publications
Parker LS, Grubs RE: Ethical considerations regarding classroom use of personal genomic information. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education. 2014; 15(2):191-196. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v15i2.856 PMID: 25574277
Grubs RE, Parker LS, Hamilton RJ: Subtle psychosocial sequelae of genetic test results. Current Genetic Medicine Reports. 2014; 2:242-249. doi: 10.1007/s40142-014-0053-7
Dal-Ré R, Katsanis N, Katsanis S, Parker LS, Ayuso C: Managing incidental genomic findings in clinical trials: Fulfillment of the principle of justice. PLOS Medicine 2014; 11(1): e1001584. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001584. PMID: 24453945
Cohen DA, Shirts BH, Jackson BR, Parker LS: Laboratory informatics based evaluation of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase C677T genetic test overutilization. Journal of Pathology Informatics 2013; 4:33. doi: 10.4103/2153-3539.122389. PMID: 24392247
London AJ, Parker LS, Aronson JD: DNA identification after conflict or disaster. Science 2013; 348:1178-1179. doi: 10.1126/science.1238085. PMID: 24031004
Satkoske VB, Parker LS: Preserving testicular tissue and a boy’s open reproductive future. American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB) 2013; 13(3): 36-7. doi: 10.1080/1526516.2013.760984
Parker LS, London AJ, Aronson JD: Incidental findings in the use of DNA to identify human remains: An ethical assessment. Forensic Science International: Genetics 2013; 7:(2): 221-229. doi: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2012.10.002. PMID: 23116722
Parker LS, Satkoske VB: Ethical dimensions of disparities in depression research and treatment in the pharmacogenomic era. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2012; 40(4):886–903. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-720x.2012.00718.x. PMID: 23289692
Parker LS: In sport and social justice, is genetic enhancement a game changer? Health Care Analysis, 2012; 20(4):328-46 doi: 10.1007/s10728-012-0226-z. PMID: 22983765
Parker LS: Returning individual research results: What role should people's preferences play? Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology 2012:13(2):449-484.
http:mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/content/ahc_
Wolf SM et al.: Managing incidental findings and research results in genomic research involving biobanks and archived data sets. Genetics in Medicine 2012:14(4): 361-384,
doi: 10.1038/gim.2012.23. PMID: 22436882
Mishra NN, Parker LS, Nimgaonkar VL, Deshpande SN: India'as Disability Certificate: a challenge to health privacy. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2012; 9(1):43-45, PMID: 22319852
Parker LS, Brody H: Comparative effectiveness research: A threat to patient autonomy? Health Progress 2011; 92(5): 64-71. PMID: 21936279
Satkoske VB, Parker LS: Practicing preventive ethics, protecting patients: Challenges of the electronic health record. The Journal of Clinical Ethics 2010; 21(1): 36-38. PMID: 20465073
Satkoske VB, Parker LS: Emergency contraception policy: how moral commitments affect risk evaluation. Law, Probability and Risk 2010; 9(3-4):187-199. doi: 10.1093/lpr/mgq009.
Dobransky-Fasiska D, Brown C, Pincus HA, Nowalk MP, Wieland M, Parker LS, Cruz M, McMurray ML, Mulsant B, RNDC-Community Partners, Reynolds III CF: Developing a community-academic partnership to improve recognition and treatment of depression in underserved African American and white elders. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2008; 17(11): 953-964. doi: 10:1097/JGP.0b013e31818f3a73. PMID: 20104053
Shirts BH, Parker LS: Changing interpretations, stable genes: responsibilities of patients, professionals, and policymakers in the clinical interpretation of complex genetic information. Genetics in Medicine 2008; 10(11):778-783. doi:10.1097/GIM.0b013e31818bb38f.
PMID: 18941419
Parker LS, Kienholz ML: Disclosure issues in neuroscience research Accountability in Research 2008; 15(4):226-241. doi: 10.1080/08989620802388697. PMID: 18972264
Mishra NN, Parker LS, Nimgaonkar VL, Deshpande SN: Privacy and the Right to Information Act, 2005, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2008; 5(4): 158-161. PMID: 18988373
Wolf SM, et al. Managing incidental findings in human subjects research: Analysis and recommendations. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2008; 36(2): 219-248. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00266.x/pdf
PMID: 18547191
Parker LS. The future of incidental findings: Should they be viewed as benefits? Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2008; 36(2): 341-351. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00278.x/pdf
PMID: 18547203
Selected Presentations
Unexpected Findings in Genetic Testing: What Do We Do Now? Ethics Grand Rounds. Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, May 22, 2014.
The ‘Right to an Open Future’—The Content, Limits, and Usefulness of the Concept. The Child’s Right to an Open Future in the 21st Century. American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. Atlanta, GA, October 26, 2013.
Navigating the High C’s of Community Research, American College of Epidemiology. Chicago, IL, September 9, 2012.
Genetics of Sports Performance: Frameworks for Considering Clinical and Societal Ethics, American College of Medical Genetics. Charlotte, NC, March 27-31, 2012.
Ethics of Psychiatric Genetic Research. International Symposium on Ethics, Culture and Population Genetics, Indian Society of Human Genetics. New Delhi, India: March 18, 2009.
Reconceptualizing and Managing Incidental Findings of Research. Bioethics Grand Rounds. Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland, OH: January 6, 2009; Translating ELSI: Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Genomics, Case Western Reserve University and NHGRI. Cleveland, OH: May 1-3, 2008.
Ethics and Genetic Testing of Children: Indications, Interests, and Implications. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio State University. Columbus, OH: May 8, 2008.
