Barbara Koenig, PhD

Professor, Institute for Health and Aging, and Department of Anthropology, History, and Social Medicine Director, UCSF Bioethics

Dr. Koenig is an anthropologist working in the inter-disciplinary field of bioethics. She founded and led Biomedical Ethics Research Programs at Stanford and Mayo Clinic. Dr. Koenig pioneered the use of empirical methods in the study of ethical questions in science, medicine, and health. Her current interests include characterizations of race in a genomics age, emerging genomic technologies, including biobanking, return of research results to participants, and using deliberative democracy to engage communities about research governance. She has been an active participant in policy development both at a federal level and through her role as fellow of the Hastings Center.