Former Researchers of the Institute
Past Research Scholars
Ramya M. Rajagopalan
Ramya M. Rajagopalan’s work uses ethnographic and archival methods to examine the social impacts of genome technologies and big data in biomedicine. In one strand of her research, she has analyzed debates about the meaning and significance of genetic variation for social categories of identity like race. Rajagopalan earned her Ph.D. in biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and completed postdoctoral fellowships in sociology and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Past Postdoctoral Scholars
Amy Zhou
2018 – 2019
Amy Zhou earned her bachelor's degree and Ph.D. in sociology from UCLA. She is a medical sociologist interested in health inequalities in the United States and global setting. At the institute, Zhou conducted research on the social and ethical implications of gene drive technologies. After her scholarship was complete, she become an assistant professor in the sociology department at Barnard College.
Daniel Callies
2018 – 2021
Daniel Edward Callies received his bachelor's and master's degrees in philosophy from San Diego State University, and his Ph.D. at Goethe University Frankfurt. Daniel defended his dissertation “On the Ethics and Politics of Climate Engineering,” then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Goethe University until joining the Institute for Practical Ethics. He left to pursue a clinical ethics fellowship with the Health Ethics Center at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
Jacob Sparks
2019 – 2020
Jacob Sparks earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in applied philosophy from Bowling Green State University. After his time with the institute, he became an assistant professor in the philosophy department at California Polytechnic State University. At the institute, Sparks worked on ethical issues surrounding privacy and automation.
April Hovav
2019 – 2021
April Hovav earned a Ph.D. in sociology with a certificate in gender studies from the University of Southern California. After her time with the institute, she accepted a postdoc position at Occidental College. At the Institute for Practical Ethics, she conducted research on the social and ethical implications of using gene drive technologies to combat malaria.
Athmeya Jayaram
2019 – 2021
Athmeya Jayaram earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Amherst College and a Ph.D. in political theory at the University of California Berkeley. After his time with the institute, Jayaram accepted a Hecht-Levi Postdoctoral Fellow at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. Athmeya’s research concerns the justice and justification of emerging technologies.
Past Visiting Graduate Students
Daniel Trusilo
2022
While at the Institute for Practial Ethics, Daniel Trusilo was a Ph.D. candidate at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He researches the practical application of ethics to autonomous systems with a focus on autonomous robotic systems developed for humanitarian and conflict environments.
