- PhD Program Director and Dracopoulos Rising Professor in Bioethics
Stephanie Morain, PhD, is a faculty member at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. She conducts both empirical and normative research into issues at the intersection of clinical research, public health, and health policy. Dr. Morain’s work focuses on two key areas: ethical and practical challenges presented by the integration of research and care, such as occurs in pragmatic clinical trials and comparative effectiveness, and issues related to women’s reproductive health.
A former Hecht-Levi Postdoctoral Fellow at the Berman Institute, Dr. Morain received her BA from Lafayette College with a dual major in Biology and History, Government, & Law, her MPH from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and her PhD from Harvard University’s Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy.
Research Interests
- Ethics and politics of public health policy
- Ethical and policy challenges presented by the transition to learning health care systems
- Public and stakeholder attitudes towards health policies
- Research ethics
Education
- Ph.D., Harvard University
- MPH, Columbia University
- A.B., Lafayette College
Recent Publications
- Morain S & Largent E. “Think Pragmatically: Investigators’ Obligations to Patient-Subjects When Research is Embedded in Care.” Am J Bioethic. 2022 Apr 18 Pubmed PMID: 35435790
- Kass NE, Faden RR, Angus DC, Morain SR. “Making the Ethical Oversight of All Clinical Trials Fit for Purpose.” JAMA 2025 Jan 7;333 (1):75080. Pubmed PMID: 39425948
- Morain SR, Mathews DJH, Geller G, et al. “Identification and Management of Pragmatic Trial Clinical Trial Collateral Findings: A Current Understanding and Directions for Future Research.” Healthcare 2021; 9(4). Art. 100586. PMID: 34600345