Benjamin Berkman, J.D., M.P.H, is a faculty member in the NIH Department of Bioethics where he is the head of the section on the ethics of genetics and emerging technologies. He has a joint appointment in the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he serves as the Deputy Director of the NHGRI Bioethics Core. He was formerly the Deputy Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law (2007-2009). Mr. Berkman received a Bachelors Degree in the History of Science and Medicine at Harvard University (1999). He subsequently earned a Juris Doctor and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan (2005).
As a faculty member in the Department of Bioethics, Mr. Berkman's research interests span a wide range of topics. His current work focuses on the legal and ethical issues associated with genomic research, genetic information privacy, and clinical adoption of new genetic and reproductive technologies.
Selected Publications
Roesner N, McGrew S, Connor C, Berkman BE. Artificial Womb Technology: Emerging Legal and Bioethical Debates in Ectogestation. Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics (forthcoming).
Mumford K, Hendriks S, Miner S, Huelsnitz CO, Wakim P, Berkman BE. Factors Affecting Couples’ Decision-Making About Expanded Prenatal Cell-Free DNA Screening. Genetics in Medicine Open (forthcoming).
Roesner N, Jamal L, Wasserman D, Berkman BE. Reason-Based Abortion Bans, Disability Rights, and the Future of Prenatal Genetic Testing. American Journal of Law and Medicine 48(2-3): 187-199 (2022).
Berkman BE, Miner SA, Wendler D, Grady C. The Ethics of Encouraging Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccination. Journal of Public Health Policy 43(2): 311-319 (2022).
Strassle CL, Schwann B, Berkman BE. Autonomy Concerns with Using Contracts to Enhance Patient Adherence. Bioethics 36(6): 666-672 (2022).
Bayefsky MJ and Berkman BE. Implementing Expanded Prenatal Genetic Testing: Should Parents Have Access to Any and All Fetal Genetic Information? American Journal of Bioethics 22(2): 4-22 (2022).
McGrew S, Raskoff, S, Berkman BE. When Not to Even Ask: A Defense of Choice-Masking Nudges in Medical Research. Journal of Health Care Law and Policy 25(1):1-48 (2022).
Schupmann W, Miner SA, Sullivan HK, Glover JR, Hall JE, Schurman SH, and Berkman BE. Exploring the Motivations of Research Participants Who Choose Not to Learn Medically Actionable Secondary Genetic Findings about Themselves. Genetics in Medicine 23(12): 2281-2288 (2021).
Hendriks S, Grady C, Wasserman D, Wendler D, Bianchi DW, Berkman BE. A new ethical framework for assessing the unique challenges of fetal therapy trials. American Journal of Bioethics 22(3): 45-61 (2021).
Berkman BE, Mastroianni A, Jamal L, Solis C, Taylor H, Hull SC. The Ethics of Repurposing Previously Collected Research Biospecimens in an Infectious Disease Pandemic. Ethics and Human Research 43:1-17 (2021).
Strassle CL and Berkman BE. Prisons and Pandemics. San Diego Law Review 57(4): 1083-1125 (2020).
Strassle CL, Jardis E, Ochoa J, Berkman BE, Danis M, Rid A, Taylor HA. Should Incarcerated Populations be Enrolled in COVID-19 Vaccine Trials? NEJM 383:1897-1899 (2020).
Schupmann W, Jamal L, Berkman BE. Re-Examining the Ethics of Genetic Counseling in the Genomic Era. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 17:325-335 (2020).
Jamal L, Schupmann W, Berkman BE. An Ethical Framework for Genetic Counseling in the Genomic Era. Journal of Genetic Counseling 29:718-727 (2020).
Strassle CL and Berkman BE. Workplace Wellness Programs: Empirical Doubt, Legal Ambiguity, and Conceptual Confusion. William and Mary Law Review 61:1663-1717 (2020).
Sullivan HK, Bayefsky M, Wakim P, Huddleston, K, Biesecker BB, Hull SC, Berkman BE. Noninvasive Prenatal Whole Genome Sequencing: Pregnant Women’s Views and Preferences. Obstetrics and Gynecology 133:525-532 (2019).
Miller WK and Berkman BE. The Future of Physicians' First Amendment Freedom: Professional Speech in an Era of Radically Expanded Genetic Testing. Washington and Lee Law Review 76(2): 577-654 (2019).
Bayefsky M and Berkman BE. Toward the Ethical Allocation of Uterine Transplants. American Journal of Bioethics 18(7): 16-17 (2018).
Berkman BE, Miller WK, Grady C. Is it Ethical to Use Genealogy Data to Solve Crimes? Annals of Internal Medicine 169(5): 333-334 (2018)
Berkman BE, Wendler D, Howard D. Reconsidering the Need for Reconsent at 18. Pediatrics 142(2):e20171202 (2018).
Sullivan HK and Berkman BE. Incidental Findings in Low-Resource Settings. Hastings Center Report 48(3): 1-9 (2018).
Berkman BE and Bayefsky MJ. Prenatal Whole Genome Sequencing: An Argument for Professional Self-regulation. American Journal of Bioethics 17(1): 26-28 (2017).
Berkman BE. Refuting the Right Not to Know. Journal of Healthcare Law and Policy 19(1): 1-75 (2017).