Fellowship in ELSI Research

About the Fellowship in ELSI Research

The Stanford Training Program in Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Research at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and the Center for Integration of Research on Genetics and Ethics (CIRGE) was established in 2016 with support from the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

The goal of the training program is to create independent scholars who can conduct rigorous research on ethical, legal, social or policy implications of genetics and genomics. Specific objectives are to introduce trainees to conceptual frameworks and methods used in ELSI research, core bioethics concepts and literature, and to the experience of working in an interdisciplinary research environment. This program builds on 15 years of experience in ELSI research training as an NHGRI Center for Excellence in ELSI Research, CIRGE.

Common Fellowship Activities

Education: attend lectures, seminars, webinars, and conferences
Research: research design, data collection data analysis
Writing: book chapters, manuscripts, blog posts, grant applications, and journal publications
Mentorship: working with students on their own research projects and supervise student research assistants
Meetings: meetings with mentors, other fellows, faculty members, networking, group collaborations, and writing groups
Support for career development

All SCBE fellows are required to attend the weekly SCBE Seminars as part of their educational and professional development. Interested parties can attend our invited speakers seminars, which occur once per month.

Current Fellows

Carole Federico

Second Year Fellow

PhD, Experimental Medicine, McGill University
MSc, Experimental Medicine, McGill University
BSc, Biopsychology, University of British Columbia

Daphne Martschenko

First Year Fellow

PhD, Philosophy Education, University of Cambridge
MPhil, Politics, Development and Democratic Education, University of Cambridge
BA, Anthropology & Slavic Studies, Stanford University

Vasiliki (Vaso) Rahimzadeh

Second Year Fellow

PhD, Family Medicine, Biomedical Ethics Specialization, McGill University
MSc, Experimental Medicine, Biomedical Ethics Specialization, McGill University
BS, Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Jennifer Young

Third Year Fellow

PhD, Family Science, University of Maryland College Park
MS, Couples and Family Therapy, University of Maryland College Park
MA, East Asian Languages and Literature, Ohio State University
BA, Psychology & Chinese, University of Wisconsin Madison

The fellows' full bios can be found here.

Program Leadership

Mildred Cho, PhD

Fellowship Program Co-Director

Associate Director of the Center

Professor of Pediatrics

Holly Tabor, PhD

Fellowship Program Co-Director

Associate Professor of Medicine

Associate Director for Clinical Ethics and Education

Megan Cvitanovic

Fellowship Program Coordinator

Ethics Consult & Fellowship Coordinator for the Center

Criteria for Applicants

The NIH requires that candidates must have a PhD or MD (JD or Master’s degree only not accepted) prior to starting the fellowship, and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to be eligible for funding. We are seeking candidates with a background in social science, ethics, philosophy, history, health services research, public policy or other related disciplines.

Applying to the Fellowship in ELSI Research

We are not currently accepting applications for the ELSI Research Fellowship.

Application Process (Currently Closed)
1. When application process open, a link to our online application portal will be listed here.
- Required Documents/Information
- 1) CV
- 2) A cover letter describing your research interests
- 3) Contact information for three references
2. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis
3. If selected for an interview, applicants will be contacted directly by the Fellowship Coordinator

For other postdoctoral positions at Stanford, please visit https://postdocs.stanford.edu/prospective-postdocs.

Jason Batten

Resident in Internal Medicine and Anesthesia
MD, Stanford University
MA, Bioethics, Loyola Marymount University
BA, Health and Humanity, University of Southern California

"I highly recommend the Stanford training program in ethical, legal, and social implications research to anyone interested in exploring a career in bioethics research. When I completed the predoctoral fellowship, I was a medical student considering a career as a physician investigator; the fellowship provided me with protected time and structure to receive world-class mentorship, get involved in a variety of research projects, and develop my own academic interests. Now that I am a medical resident in a research-track program, I continue to be surprised by how this fellowship experience has enabled me to continue to pursue research even as a busy clinician by giving me the background to design and select research experiences wisely. However, the best part of the fellowship is the people: the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics is full of incredible individuals with diverse personalities, backgrounds, interests, and career trajectories -- they will teach you so much simply by working alongside you."

Katherine Darling

PhD, Sociology, UC San Francisco
BS, Molecular Environmental Biology, UC Berkeley
"Throughout my time as a research assistant and postdoc, SCBE was a second “academic home”. My cross-training in ELSI, Medical Sociology, and Science & Technology Studies has opened up so many opportunities to collaborate with biomedical researchers and clinicians. The interdisciplinary faculty mentoring team at SCBE really enables trainees to walk between worlds and stretch the impacts and boundaries of ELSI work."

Heather Dron

PhD, History of Health Sciences, UC San Francisco
MPH, Global Health (Infectious Disease Emphasis), Emory University
BA, Molecular & Cellular Biology (Genetics Emphasis), UC Berkeley

Nicole Martinez-Martin

PhD, Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago
JD, Harvard University

The P50 grant, active from 2004-2015, pre-dated our current T32 fellowship in ELSI research. This grant allowed postdoctoral and postbaccalaureate scholars the opportunity to conduct interdisciplinary ELSI research and publish articles, including topics in behavioral genomics, new genomic technology, the perception of disabilities and disability rights, intellectual property and the impact of commercialization on pregnancy and families, and public health policy. The following are some of our former postdocs who worked under the P50 grant:

Megan Allyse

PhD, Sociology & Social Policy, University of Nottingham
BA, Communications & International Relations, Stanford University

Teneille Brown

JD, University of Michigan
BA, History and Sociology of Science, Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania

Nanibaa' Garrison

PhD, Genetics, Stanford University
BS, Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona

Anna Jabloner

PhD, University of Chicago
Mag. Phil., University of Vienna

“During my time as a fellow at SCBE, I conducted collaborative ethnographic research with Dr. Sandra Soo-Jin Lee. As part of the fellowship, I had opportunities to learn about different funding mechanisms for social science research in interdisciplinary settings, writing for wider academic and non-academic audiences, and opportunities for research on social and ethical dimensions of genetics. Having the opportunity to work with Dr. Lee as my postdoctoral mentor was the most amazing aspect of the fellowship.”

Stephanie Kraft

JD, University of California Hastings College of the Law
BA, Economics, Stanford University

"My fellowship at SCBE was invaluable to my career in bioethics. In my time at SCBE, I had the opportunity to contribute to empirical bioethics research on cutting-edge topics, conduct clinical ethics consultations, and collaborate with and learn from a supportive and thoughtful group of interdisciplinary scholars. As a fellow and now, I always enjoy working with the faculty and fellows I met at SCBE."

Martine Lappé

PhD, Sociology, UC San Francisco
BA, Sociology, UC San Diego

Jennifer McCormick

PhD, Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Michigan
MPP, Public and Science Policy, University of Michigan
BS, Molecular Biology, Ohio Northern University

Marsha Michie

PhD, Anthropology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
BA, Mathematics, Music, Agnes Scott College

Lauren Milner

PhD, Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University
BA, Psychology, University of Colorado at Boulder

Aaron Neiman

BA, Anthropology, Hampshire College

"I am a medical anthropologist by training, and my fieldwork concerns the day-to-day operations of medical and scientific research institutes. In addition to giving me the time and resources to further develop my own thinking, my SCBE fellowship therefore also doubled as practical experience, as I became more familiar with the world of academic medicine. I particularly appreciated the opportunity to discuss case studies in bioethics, and to hear from a diverse array of experts in clinical practice, law, and philosophy. Speaking candidly, I also feel that my time as an SCBE fellow has significantly advanced my career: both the fact of having been a fellow, and the conference presentations I gave during my time, have opened up subsequent funding opportunities. I am currently concluding my doctoral fieldwork in Sydney, Australia, supported by the NSF and the Wenner-Gren Foundation, where I study the emergence of electronic mental health therapies."

Jennifer Singh

PhD, Sociology, UC San Francisco
MPH, Public Health Genetics, University of Washington
BS, Biological Sciences, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

"As a PhD student in sociology with a focus on medicine, health, science, and technology at UCSF, I had the privilege of working on an interdisciplinary research project with Judy Illes and Joachim Hallmayer on the ethics of genetics research on neurological difference and autism was our case study. This experience aligned with my experiences in recombinant DNA technology and public health and set a remarkable foundation for sociological analyses of autism genomic science. It also marked the beginning of over a decade of research on this issue. Perhaps most impactful of this experience was learning the peer-review publication process through two co-authored articles our team produced."

Holly Tabor

PhD, Epidemiology (Minor: Genetics)
AB, History and Science, Harvard University

Rebecca Wilbanks

PhD, Modern Thought and Literature, Stanford University
BA, Biological Sciences and Comparative Literature, Cornell University

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Education Resources

About the Fellowship in ELSI Research

Common Fellowship Activities

Current Fellows

Carole Federico

Daphne Martschenko

Vasiliki (Vaso) Rahimzadeh

Jennifer Young

Program Leadership

Mildred Cho, PhD

Fellowship Program Co-Director

Holly Tabor, PhD

Fellowship Program Co-Director

Megan Cvitanovic

Fellowship Program Coordinator

Criteria for Applicants

Applying to the Fellowship in ELSI Research

Jason Batten

Katherine Darling

Heather Dron

Nicole Martinez-Martin

Megan Allyse

Teneille Brown

Nanibaa' Garrison

Anna Jabloner

Stephanie Kraft

Martine Lappé

Jennifer McCormick

Marsha Michie

Lauren Milner

Aaron Neiman

Jennifer Singh

Holly Tabor

Rebecca Wilbanks