Research in NYU Langone’s Division of Medical Ethics centers on timely and challenging ethical issues in medicine, population health, and biotechnology. We use our research to advise healthcare centers, patients, patient advocates, the pharmaceutical industry, policymakers, state and federal legislators, and other groups in the medical and health industries on ways to integrate ethics into their policies and practices.

We direct the following research initiatives.

Preapproval Access to Investigational Medical Products

We work to ensure fairness and transparency in how patients access investigational drugs, biologics, and devices in development in the United States. To that end, we created the Working Group on Compassionate Use and Preapproval Access (CUPA) in 2014, which studies, raises awareness, and makes recommendations about the ethical issues surrounding compassionate use and other efforts to facilitate access to investigational medical products. We also collaborated on the Compassionate Use Advisory Committees, the first independent bodies of their kind created to advise a pharmaceutical company on the ethical, transparent allocation of its products in development.

Reproductive, Gender, and Sexuality Ethics Research Group 

Our Reproductive, Gender, and Sexuality Ethics Research Group proactively identifies ethical issues related to gender-affirming care for transgender and gender diverse individuals, including hormonal and surgical interventions.

Transplant Ethics and Policy

Through the Transplant Ethics and Policy research program, we engage in a broad range of ethical and policy issues related to organ transplantation, including organ procurement, fair allocation of organs, ensuring equity in the transplant candidate selection process, living and newly deceased donor considerations, translational genomics, and transplant financing. Learn more about our research on transplant ethics and policy.

Vaccine Ethics Project

Researchers in the Vaccine Ethics Project study the growth of and develop policies to counter vaccine hesitancy and disseminate information and strategies needed to confront anti-vaccine advocates.

Working Group on Pediatric Gene Therapy and Medical Ethics

The Working Group on Pediatric Gene Therapy and Medical Ethics addresses ethical issues surrounding genetic interventions in infants and children, including research design, patient autonomy, sibling and family involvement, fairness in access, and accuracy of information. It is funded by a gift from Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.