Patricia A. Marshall, PhD

Patricia Marshall is Professor Emerita of Bioethics.

Dr. Marshall’s training is in medical anthropology. She has worked in the field of bioethics for more than thirty years. Her research and scholarly publications have focused on national and international research ethics, informed consent, and cultural diversity and bioethics practices. In recent years, her work has focused on ethical and social issues associated with genomics.

Dr. Marshall was Co-Director of the Center for Genetic Research Ethics and Law in the Department of Bioethics at the School of Medicine from 2010-2013, and Director from 2013-2021.  

Dr. Marshall has been awarded numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her research. In the area of genomics, she was funded to conduct a randomized trial testing the effectiveness of an educational video on comprehension of informed consent to genetic research in the United States and Nigeria. She was awarded an NIH Challenge Grant to conduct community-based research on knowledge and beliefs about genetic research and its relevance for reducing health inequalities. Dr. Marshall worked with Dr. Charles Rotimi’s team at African sites for the HapMap Project, an international consortium to develop a haplotype map for the human genome.

Dr. Marshall is a past member of the executive boards of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, the Society for Medical Anthropology, and the Society for Bioethics Consultation. She served on the Advisory Board for the FogartyInternationalCenter at the National Institutes of Health. She served as a consultant to the President's National Bioethics Advisory Commission on its project examining ethical issues in international health research. She was a consultant to the World Health Organization's Council for International Organization of Medical Societies on its revision of ethical guidelines for international research. Dr. Marshall was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences study panel on IRBs, Surveys and Social Science Research. She was appointed to the National Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP) for the NIH Office Human Research Protections. She is a founding member of H3Africa (Human Heredity and Health in Africa), an initiative to develop capacity for genomics research on the continent of Africa.