Dr. Lisa S Parker, PhD

Dr. Parker, a philosopher-bioethicist, collaborates with investigators across the University, as well as national and international colleagues, on both empirical studies and theoretical and policy analyses of bioethical issues. Her research focuses on ethical issues in genetic/genomic research, genetic counseling, and pharmacogenomics, with particular attention to return of results, management of incidental findings, and informed consent. She has a long-standing interest in the effect of new technologies and policies on health disparities and on those situated with less power in social hierarchies.

For the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Parker has served on ad hoc review panels, the ELSI Study Section, and the Societal and Ethical Issues in Research Study Section. She served on two Working Groups—Managing Incidental Findings in Human Subjects Research and Managing Incidental Findings and Research Results in Genomic Biobanks & Archives—and has consulted on projects of the NIMH, NIDA, and NICHD. She served as Chair of the NHGRI Genomics & Society Working Group 2015-2017 and serves on the Expert Scientific Panel of the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network. At the state level, she has consulted on newborn screening (Pennsylvania) and stem cell research (Maryland), and for the University, provides ethics expertise to the Institute for Personalized Medicine and is a consultant to the Institutional Review Board. For the National Society for Genetic Counselors, she serves as the bioethics consultant to its Ethics Advisory Group.

Dr. Parker directs the University’s Center for Bioethics & Health Law, as well as the Master of Arts Program in Bioethics in the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences and the Area of Concentration in Humanities, Ethics, & Palliative Care for the School of Medicine. She teaches research ethics for the School of Public Health, in addition to courses in the Bioethics Program, the Genetic Counseling Program, and the Gender, Sexuality, & Women’s Studies Program. As part of Fogarty International Center training programs, she provides research ethics training in China, Egypt, and India. She collaborated on the 2003 model curriculum Ethics and Public Health for the Association of Schools of Public Health.

1990 | University of Pittsburgh | PhD in Philosophy

Bioethics
Clinical Research Ethics
Ethical Issues in Clinical Genetics
Ethical Issues in Genomic Medicine & Research
Feminist Theory
Gender, Ethics, & the Body
Research Ethics & the Responsible Conduct of Research

Parker LS. The future of incidental findings: Should they be viewed as benefits? Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2008; 36(2):341-351. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00278.x/pdf.  PMID: 18547203

Shirts BH, Parker LS. Changing interpretations, stable genes: responsibilities of patients, professionals, and policymakers in the clinical interpretation of complex genetic information. Genetics in Medicine 2008; 10(11):778–783.  doi: 10.1097/GIM.0b013e31818bb38f.  PMID: 18941419

Wolf SM et al.. Managing incidental findings and research results in genomic research involving biobanks and archived data sets. Genetics in Medicine 2012: 14(4): 361-384.  doi: 10.1038/gim.2012.23.  PMID: 22436882

Parker LS. Returning individual research results: What role should people’s preferences play. Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology 2012: 13(2): 449-484. http://mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/content/ahc_content_396769.pdf

Parker LS. In sport and social justice, is genetic enhancement a game changer? Health Care Analysis, 2012; 20(4):328-46  doi: 10.1007/s10728-012-0226-z.  PMID: 22983765

Parker LS, Satkoske VB. Ethical dimensions of disparities in depression research and treatment in the pharmacogenomic era. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2012; 40(4): 886–903.  doi: 10.1111/j.1748-720x.2012.00718.x.  PMID: 23289692

Parker LS, London AJ, Aronson JD. Incidental findings in the use of DNA to identify human remains: An ethical assessment. Forensic Science International: Genetics 2013; 7:(2): 221-229. doi: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2012.10.002.  PMID: 23116722

London AJ, Parker LS, Aronson JD. DNA identification after conflict or disaster. Science 2013; 348:1178-1179. doi: 10.1126/science.1238085.  PMID: 24031004

Cohen DA, Shirts BH, Jackson BR, Parker LS. Laboratory informatics based evaluation of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase C677T genetic test overutilization. Journal of Pathology Informatics 2013; 4:33. doi: 10.4103/2153-3539.122389.  PMID: 24392247

Dal-Ré R, Katsanis N, Katsanis S, Parker LS, Ayuso C. Managing incidental genomic findings in clinical trials: Fulfillment of the principle of justice. PLOS Medicine 2014; 11(1):  e1001584. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001584. PMID: 24453945

Grubs RE, Parker LS, Hamilton RJ. Subtle psychosocial sequelae of genetic test results. Current Genetic Medicine Reports. 2014; 2:242-249. doi: 10.1007/s40142-014-0053-7

Parker LS, Grubs RE. Ethical considerations regarding classroom use of personal genomic information. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education. 2014; 15(2):191-196. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v15i2.856  PMID: 25574277

Seaman JB, Terhorst L, Gentry A, Hunsaker A, Parker LS, Lingler JH. Psychometric properties of a decisional capacity screening tool for individuals contemplating participation in Alzheimer's Disease research. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2015; 46(1):1-9. doi: 10.3233/JAD-142559. PMID: 25765917.

Ferrari R, Parker LS, Grubs RE. Sickle cell trait screening of collegiate athletes: ethical reasons for program reform. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 2015; 24(6):873-7. doi: 10.1007/s10897-015-9849-1. PMID: 26040250.

Kalynchuk EJ, Althouse A, Parker LS, Rajkovic A. Prenatal whole exome sequencing: parental attitudes. Prenatal Diagnosis, 2015; 35(10):1030-6. doi: 10.1002/pd.4635 PMID: 26151551.

Adams SM, Anderson KL, Coons JC, Smith RB, Meyer SM, Parker LS, Empey PE. Advancing pharmacogenomics education in the core PharmD curriculum through student personal genomic testing. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 2016; 80(1).

Sankar PL, Parker LS. The Precision Medicine Initiative’s All of Us Research Program: an agenda for research on its ethical, legal, and social issues. Genetics in Medicine 2017; e-publication ahead of print 08 December 2016, doi:10.1038/gim.2016.183.