I work to bring philosophical inquiry to the practice of medicine, nursing, and public health. In addition to being a scholar, I am also a practicing healthcare ethics consultant. That work includes case consultation, ethics education, and policy development. I have led or served on institutional review boards, animal care and use committees, scarce-resource allocation committees, vaccine mandate exemption committees, and a hospital committee on therapeutic termination of pregnancy. More recently I completed a nursing degree, passed the NCLEX, and worked as a bedside nurse. I want to understand healthcare ethics from both inside and outside the system.

My research focuses on vaccine ethics and policy, clinical ethics, and public health ethics. I have published two monographs, Values and Vaccine Refusal (Routledge, 2016) and America's New Vaccine Wars (Oxford University Press, 2023, with Katie Attwell), along with three edited volumes and nearly a hundred articles and book chapters. My work appears in journals including JAMA, JAMA Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Milbank Quarterly, Hastings Center Report, and the American Journal of Bioethics.

My op-eds and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Time, STAT, NBCNews, and The Conversation. I have been interviewed by the Washington Post, Vox, NPR, CBC Radio, and outlets in Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia.

Speaking & Engagement

I am available to speak at conferences, grand rounds, colloquia, and other events. To inquire about a talk, please email me.

Topics

Vaccines and Immunization

Vaccine mandates and exemption policy
Vaccine hesitancy, refusal, and the people behind it
Vaccine communication with skeptical patients and parents

Pediatric Ethics

Pediatric assent and the role of children's preferences
When clinicians should override family decisions
Conflict between parents, between parents and clinicians, and between parents and adolescents

Clinical Ethics