Aaron Levine
Associate Dean for Research and Outreach, Associate Professor
- Ivan Allen Dean's Office
- School of Public Policy
Overview
Aaron D. Levine is Associate Dean for Research and Outreach in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. He is also an Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech and a Guest Researcher in the Division of Reproductive Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is a member of the leadership team for the NSF Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies (CMaT), where he serves as Co-Director for Engineering Workforce Development and leads ethics and policy research for the center. His research focuses on the intersection between public policy and bioethics. Much of his work has examined the development of stem cell science, particularly research using human embryonic stem cells, and the translation of novel cell therapies. He also writes extensively on the oversight of contentious areas of medicine, such as assisted reproductive technology. In 2012, he received a NSF CAREER award to examine the impact of ethical controversy on graduate science education and the development of scientific careers. He is an elected member of the Board of Directors of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities and the Vice-Chair for Bioethics on the International Society for Cell Therapy’s Presidential Task Force on Unproven Cell Therapies. He is also a long-time member of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Aaron has a long-standing interest in science communication and is the author of Cloning: A Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications, 2007), an accessible introduction to the science of cloning and embryonic stem cells and the ethical and policy controversies this science inspires. He was an AAAS Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellow for 2019-2020. You can follow Aaron on twitter at @aarondlevine
He completed his Ph.D. in Public Affairs at Princeton University, where his dissertation research examined the impact of public policy on the development of human embryonic stem cell science. He also holds an M. Phil. from the University of Cambridge, where, as a Churchill Scholar, he studied computational biology at the Sanger Centre and developed algorithms to help analyze the human genome sequence, and a B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar.
- Ph.D., Princeton University, Public Affairs
- M.Phil., University of Cambridge, Biological Sciences
- B.S., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Biology
Interests
- Ethics and Philosophy of Science and Technology
- S&E Organizations, Education, Careers and Workforce
- Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
Courses
- PHIL-3127: Sci, Tech & Human Values
- PST-3127: Sci,Tech & Human Values
- PUBJ-8000: Joint GT/GSU PhD Program
- PUBP-3030: Policy Analysis
- PUBP-3130: Research Methods
- PUBP-3244: Stem Cell Policy Ethics
- PUBP-6112: Research Dsgn-Polcy Sci
- PUBP-8813: Special Topics
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
- Medical Crowdfunding to Access CAR-T Cell Therapy
In: The Lancet Oncology
Date: August 2019
- Ethical Considerations in the Translation of CAR-T Cell Therapies
In: Cell & Gene Therapy Insights [Peer Reviewed]
Date: May 2018
- Contribution of Assisted Reproductive Technology to Overall Births by Maternal Age in the United States, 2012-2014
In: Journal of the American Medical Association [Peer Reviewed]
Date: March 2017
- Challenges in the commercialization and translation of cell therapies
In: BMC Biotechnology [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2015
- Self-regulation, compensation, and the ethical recruitment of oocyte donors.
In: Hastings Center Report [Peer Reviewed]
Date: February 2010
Over the last couple of decades, oocyte donation has become common, important, and sometimes lucrative. Women who donate eggs are often offered fees, though ostensibly only to offset their expenses and limited to no more than $10,000, following recommendations adopted by the fertility industry. Is the industry adhering to its recommendations? A study of advertisements published in college newspapers raises questions.