Research Staff

Megan Cvitanovic is a Research Coordinator at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (SCBE). She received her BS in Human Biology from Stanford University, where she also competed on the women’s rowing team. Prior to working as a research coordinator, she worked at SCBE as interim executive editor of the American Journal of Bioethics. In her current role, she helps coordinate IDD-TRANSFORM, a project centered on health and health care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). She also works closely with the clinical ethics team, assisting with policy and leading clinical ethics-related QI/research projects. Her research interests are centered around health care for people with IDD and children. In her free time you can find her riding her bike or running on trails near Boulder, Colorado.

Tehmi den Braven is a Social Science Research Professional at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (SCBE). She has a background in bioengineering; her research interests focus on the ethical implications of emerging technologies, particularly AI risks, as well as the intersection of medical and environmental ethics.

Alisha Giri is a Social Science Research Professional at SCBE and holds a PhD in Medical Anthropology and an MPH in Population and Quantitative Health Sciences from Case Western Reserve University. With a multidisciplinary background in academic research and nonprofit work, her interests span global health, human rights, and social determinants of health. Alisha’s work has addressed complex issues, including mental health stigma among vulnerable populations, food insecurity, and community-based health programs. She is passionate about applying her skills in qualitative methods and program evaluation toward research initiatives that amplify community voices and foster ethical, inclusive practices to drive meaningful change in health outcomes.

Henry Isselbacher is a Research Administrator at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in May 2024 with a degree in Economics and Public Health, earning honors in Public Health for his senior thesis titled "Vacancy Rates in US Hospitals with Workplace Violence Prevention Programs." As an undergraduate, Henry developed an extensive background in financial reporting and budgeting as CFO for UC Berkeley's student association and co-chair of several student fee committees. After graduating, Henry worked in the Division of Student Affairs at Cal as a Special Projects Coordinator, where he focused on efforts to streamline the accessibility and awareness of funding and other resources for students and student organizations.

Rachel Lee is a Social Science Research Professional at the Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis (CERA). She graduated from Emory University with a degree in Anthropology & Human Biology and minors in Spanish and Linguistics. Her undergraduate research examined the potential link between endogenous retrovirus expression and the development of autoimmune conditions. Prior to joining CERA, she worked at Dell Medical School. Her projects explored the lived experiences of patients with different chronic conditions to inform the design of health care services. She also developed health equity curriculum modules for executive education programs. Currently, her areas of interests include the ethical and social implications of prenatal screening, reproductive technologies, and direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

Casey McHugh is a Social Science Research Professional at SCBE. Casey brings more than a decade of experience conducting qualitative and mixed-methods research in international education, public health, and gender equity, including work with JBS International and School-to-School International on federally funded evaluations supported by AmeriCorps, USAID, and the CDC. Casey holds a master’s degree in Anthropology from The George Washington University and is committed to advancing ethical and equitable approaches to social science and health research.

Ariadne Nichol is a researcher at the National Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis (CERA). She earned her bachelors degree in Human Biology with a concentration in Biomedical Ethics from Stanford University, where she graduated with honors in Ethics in Society and was a Public Service Scholar. She has previously worked on global public health research ethics topics at Doctors Without Borders and at the World Health Organization (WHO). She also has published on One Health and emerging infectious disease issues in the American Journal of Bioethics. Her areas of interest include ethical issues of biomedical research in vulnerable populations; ethical challenges arising from emerging infectious diseases and use of experimental therapeutics; as well as ethical and social issues raised by application of big data and machine learning in health care and pharmacogenetics.

Prakriti Shrestha is a Social Science Research Professional at SCBE and completed her PhD in the Health Systems Program of the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Originally from Nepal, she has lived and worked in the United States for over a decade, earning an MSPH in International Health from Johns Hopkins and a BA in Biology from Grinnell College. Her dissertation research examined how global health funders shape equity in collaborations between institutions in high-income and low- and middle-income countries. Beyond this work, Prakriti has conducted research on transplant ethics, HIV prevention, digital health, and primary health care in South Asia. She also served as the student lead for the Department of International Health’s Power of Partnerships Committee, contributing to strategies for strengthening equitable collaborations across Johns Hopkins’ global partnerships. She is deeply committed to advancing fair, inclusive, and sustainable research partnerships that bridge institutions and contexts.

Justin Steinberg is a research assistant at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. He earned his bachelor's degree in history with cum laude from San Francisco State University. He then completed his master’s degree in special education, with an emphasis in visual impairments, from San Francisco State University, and I also graduated with the Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Achievement.

Sydney Walls is a Research Coordinator at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She received her BA in Anthropology from Stanford University and her Master in Public Health from the University of Kansas Medical Center. Her research interests are centered around public health and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) as she is a sibling to her autistic brother who has high support needs. She is currently a committee member on the Disability Section for the American Public Health Association and is a council member for The Arc's National Sibling Council. Prior to working at SCBE, she worked for the Association of University Centers on Disability as both a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) Trainee and as a research staff member for the Kansas LEND Program. She worked on projects that improved medical education on IDD for medical students and family medicine residents, innovated mental health care for autistic teens, and developed a state recognized certification program on developmental disabilities.

Previous Staff Members

Caroline Moore graduated summa cum laude from the University of Oregon with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and minors in Anthropology, Food Studies, and Psychology. Her degree focused on an interdisciplinary approach to social justice and ethics, not just from an academic perspective but their pragmatic application in the world. Prior to joining SCBE, Caroline worked in the non-profit sector fighting for equitable access to health care. Her most recent position at NARAL Pro-Choice America connected her to national and local public policy and political advocacy advancing reproductive freedom. Her areas of interest include applied ethics, intersectional analysis of social, political, and economic injustices, and DEI work.

Colleen Berryessa graduated from Harvard University in 2011 with a degree in Government with secondary study in Mind, Brain and Behavior. Colleen's main academic and research focus is on the legal, social, bioethical, and policy-oriented effects of advances in neuroscience, behavioral genetics, and other sciences and technology on criminology, criminal justice, law, punishment, the legal system, and public policy. Accordingly, her Harvard senior thesis explored how new scientific understandings of the origins of sexually deviant and pedophilic behavior could change and affect current American criminal justice policy and legislation, as well as the societal, cultural, ethical, and legal reactions to these changes and future policies.

Emily Borgelt was the Project Manager of a NHGRI-funded R01 grant titled "Social Networking and Personal Genomics: Emerging Issues for Health Research (PI: Sandra Soo-Jim Lee, Ph.D.). She also works with Chris Scott on projects related to stem cell ethics and education. Emily holds a B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology from Emory University and a M.A. in Bioethics from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to joining SCBE, she worked as a Research Coordinator at the National Core for Neuroethics, University of British Columbia and as a manager of the group's Clinical Neuroethics program.

Angie Boyce - Former Project Manager for CIRGE

Vivian Chin - Vivian Chin graduated with a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Barnard College, Columbia University in May 2006. Her first significant research project in college was on physical chemistry using the Scanning Tunneling Microscope where she explored surface dynamics of mixtures of chiral molecules in solution semiabsorbed on graphite surfaces. She presented her paper at the American Chemical Society Conference in San Diego (2005). Later, she completed a neuroscience research thesis on the regulation of feeding behavior where she studied the orexigenic effects of the neuropeptide, ghrelin, on specific hypothalamic nuclei in the rat. In college, she also devoted her time serving as an EMT for Columbia's Emergency Medical Service. Vivian first became strongly interested in neuroethics from taking a college class devoted to the field. In her role as program coordinator for the Stanford Program in Neuroethics worked on two research projects. The first explored trends in studies on incidental findings found in the human brain. The second investigated reasons for why women should care about neuroethics.

Molly Havard joined SCBE in April 2010 as an administrative assistant. She graduated from Stanford University in 2010, majoring in Human Biology with a focus in Biochemical Threats. At Stanford, she was a founding member of the Stanford Student Society for Stem Cell Research and designed a student initiated course entitled “Introduction to Stem Cells: An Interdisciplinary Approach.” She was a violinist in the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and has run in two marathons. In her role as a Research Assistant, she helped with CTSA projects and a NSF curriculum development grant for stem cell education.

Lisa Hisaw joined SCBE as a fulltime Research Assistant in 2008 after she graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and minor in Economics. During her junior and senior years, she worked as a Student Assistant with Dr. LaVera Crawley comparing the quantity and quality of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising (DTCA) of pharmaceuticals in ethnic and general interest magazines and analyzing focus groups of African American and Caucasian physicians to assess how DTCA has affected their practices. In her role as a Research Assistant, she helped with a pilot study on social media websites as a venue for health message distribution and factor in medical decision making. She helped develop and code a database of hundreds of MySpace blogs that discussed the HPV Vaccine, Gardasil. In Fall 2009, Lisa left SCBE to pursue her M.D. at University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine.

Jennifer Ladd - Jennifer Ladd was the Program Manager of CIRGE from 2008 to 2010, coordinating the research, teaching and administrative activities of the Center. Jennifer graduated with distinction from Stanford University in 2008, receiving a BS in Molecular and Cell Biology. Her honors thesis, for which she was awarded the Firestone, was entitled The Role of ETS Transcription Factors Erg and Fli-1 in the Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells. In addition to pursuing her strong interests in lab science and medicine, Jennifer delved into bioethics through courses at Stanford and a tutorial during a study abroad term in Oxford. She was also co-Editor-in-Chief of Stanford Scientific Magazine, previously holding the positions of Head Ethics & Policy Editor and Features Editor. At CIRGE, Jennifer worked on several research projects, including an investigation of life scientists' views on their responsibilities to society and the potential impacts of their research and a study on the U.S. print media's portrayal of the ethical issues stemming from personal genomics. Jennifer left SCBE in Fall 2010 to pursue her M.D. at Stanford University, School of Medicine.

Martine Lappé was a research assistant at CIRGE and a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of California, San Francisco. Her dissertation focuses on the social dimensions of research on environmental factors and gene-environment interactions in autism. Martine earned her BA in Sociology and a minor in Health Care/Social Issues, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2004 from University of California, San Diego. Her undergraduate thesis titled: "Investigating Risk: Structural Influences, Gender Power Dynamics and Social Capital in Relation to Women's HIV Prevention" received highest distinction. Before coming to CIRGE, Martine worked at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies as a member of several domestic and international HIV research teams. She is interested in medical sociology, feminist and risk theories, and ethical issues related to complex disease research. Martine was with CIRGE for over two years and worked on projects related to autism and ethics.

Haerin Lee joined SCBE in September 2008 as an Administrative Associate and Research Assistant. Haerin graduated from Stanford University in 2008 with B.A. in Human Biology, Area of Concentration: Infectious Disease and Human Care. At Stanford, Haerin was a member of the Stanford synchronized swimming team, served as a hospital coordinator for a student volunteer organization, and studied sex differences in autoimmune disease. She also volunteered at an orphanage in Olasiti Village, Tanzania. At SCBE, Haerin worked on CTSA projects in research ethics and assisting with daily center functions. Haerin left SCBE in Fall 2010 to pursue her M.D. at Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine.

Inna Sayfer was the Research Project Manager for Human Microbiome Project. Inna holds a Stanford B.A. in Quantitative Economics and a Ph.D. in Political Science. Inna’s doctoral thesis looked at the political economy of Russia’s dependence on trade in oil and gas. Prior to joining the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, Inna worked as an Associate Researcher with the Stanford Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (part of FSI). Her most recent publication is a co-authored chapter on Russia’s gas giant Gazprom to be published by Cambridge University Press in November 2011 in an edited volume titled Oil and Gas: State Owned Enterprises And The World’s Energy Supply. Inna worked on understanding ethical issues associated with Microbiome research.

Hywote Taye graduated in 2012 from Stanford University with an MA in Philosophy. She concentrated in Ethical Theory as well as Philosophy of Language. In 2011, she also received her BA from Stanford, where she majored in Human Biology with a concentration in Bioethics and a minor in French. During the summer of 2010, she interned at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics under the direction of Dr. Sandra Lee and assisted her in investigating the relation between social media and direct to consumer genetic testing. She returned to the Center in July of 2012 and served as Executive Editor for the American Journal of Bioethics as well as coordinator for the Center's Benchside Ethics Consultation Service.

Simone Vernez was the Project Manager of the NHGRI funded R01 Grant Project: Social Networking and Personal Genomics: Emerging Issues for Health Research (PI: Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, Ph.D). Simone graduated from Stanford with a BA in International Relations. While at Stanford, she worked in the Department of Psychiatry processing functional and structural brain imaging for pediatric and teen bipolar projects. Simone also worked alongside Dr. Herbert L. Abrams continuing a comprehensive study on the United States Nuclear Personnel Reliability Program, identifying risks for nuclear accidents by assessing stability among those who work most closely with nuclear arms. Additionally, she was a tutor coordinator of the Ravenswood Reads early literacy program at Haas Center for Public Service.

Isabelle Wijangco focused on global health policy and women’s empowerment. After graduating from Stanford in 2012 with a B.A. in Human Biology, she was a Stanford Ford Fellow in Philanthropy at the United Nations Foundation in New York. There, she worked with the Every Women Every Child movement to launch a project demonstrating the multidimensional returns on investment in family planning. She also helped facilitate global health and global South engagement in Post-2015, an unprecedented UN process to decide the next generation's international development priorities following the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals. Before that, she researched political determinants of health foreign aid at the Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute and worked on global health operations at the Office of the Surgeon General.

Maya Wolpert was the Program Manager of CIRGE, Center for the Integration of Research on Genetics and Ethics. She graduated from Stanford as a Human Biology major with a concentration in Bioethics, and has worked at SCBE for four years. She has spent her summers conducting AIDS research in South Africa, interning at the NIH Bioethics Center, and at Cleveland Clinic studying conflicts of interest in biomedical research. Her work was published in the AAMC's June 2010 Report.

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