Sylk Sotto | Pitt Bioethics

Professional Statement

Dr. Sylk Sotto is an internationally recognized scholar and leader in academic medicine with over 25 years of experience in the health sciences. As the inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Affairs, Development for the Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and Associate Professor of Medicine, she drives organizational transformation centered on equity and institutional excellence.

Her scholarship sits at the intersection of research ethics, health equity, and community engagement, examining how trust and trustworthiness, cultural humility, and cultural safety shape ethical research practice and participation. As a practitioner-scholar, she bridges rigorous academic inquiry with applied leadership to reform institutional policies, practices, and advance ethical frameworks in academic medicine.

Previously at Indiana University’s Center for Bioethics and the Indiana CTSI, she championed ethical community engagement, participant protections, and directed All IN for Health, a statewide health research registry and promotions initiative. She has also contributed to clinical ethics fellowships and consultations within hospital settings.

Her teaching, spanning research ethics, medical humanities, culturally responsive care, and clinical Spanish are rooted in critical pedagogy and cultural humility. She aims to develop reflective practitioners who recognize the ethical weight of institutional power, identity, and history in shaping health outcomes and education.

Appointments

Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Affairs, Development Health Sciences,
Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine School of Medicine
Associate Professor of Practice Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations and Policy School of Education
Core Faculty Institute for Bioethics

Education and Training

EdD, University of Denver, 2017
MPS, University of Denver, 2011
MBA, University of Denver, 2003
BS, Colorado State University, 1999

Professional Interests in Bioethics

Representative Publications

“Deserved Trust”: Perspectives in trust and trustworthiness by biomedical researchers in clinical and translational sciences
S Sotto-Santiago, M Pangelinan, Z Orrel, I Jones, D Lynch, B Hudson, …
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 1-26

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“Do they REALLY trust us”?: Lessons from a volunteer research registry
S Sotto-Santiago, S Wiehe, B Hudson, J Slaven, C Vinaixa, R Bruns, …
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science 8 (1), e196

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“I am interested!”: the voices of the community and their participation in health advisory boards
S Sotto-Santiago, S Wiehe, G Claxton, G Stamper, L Delp, B Hudson, …
Health Equity 8 (1), heq. 2022.0206

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Health Equity Starts with Us: Recommendations from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Racial Justice and Health Equity Task Force
S Sotto-Santiago, BT Edmonds, S Wiehe, S Moe
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science 6 (s1), 27-27

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Recent Funding

NCATS (R25 TR004387)- Clinical and Translational Science Workforce Development through a Statewide Community College Partnership. MPI 2023-2028
IUPUI - Ethics and Health Equity: The Black & Latino/a/x Experience. PI

Awards and Honors

Indiana University Board of Trustees Teaching Award, Indiana University, 2021
Distinguished Teaching Award, Department of Medicine, 2021
Indiana University School of Medicine Scholar Educator Award, Indiana University, 2023
ational Award , AAIM Distinguished Service Awar, Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, 2022
Faculty Leader, Women’s History Month Leadership Awards, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 2020
Alpha Omega Alpha at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University, 2020
Outstanding Contributions to Inclusive Excellence, 2021
Outstanding Mentor, Indiana University Medical Student Program for Research and Scholarship (IMPRS)/ T35, 2021