Anne Drapkin Lyerly

Anne Drapkin Lyerly, MD, MA, is a Professor in the Department of Social Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She serves as Associate Director of the UNC Center for Bioethics and leads the NIH-funded PREPARE Project, focusing on ethics in pregnancy research. Her work bridges clinical practice, bioethics, and public health policy.

• Education: BA in English (Dartmouth College, 1991), MD (Duke University, 1995), MA in Philosophy (Georgetown University, 2004).
• Leadership: Co-founded the Obstetrics and Gynecology Risk Research Group and the Second Wave Initiative.

Her research addresses reproductive ethics, including projects like the NIH-funded PHASES initiative and Wellcome Trust work on Zika research. Key areas:

• Equitable inclusion of pregnant women in HIV/Zika trials
• Maternal-fetal surgery
• Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)
• Conscience clauses in reproductive care
• Pregnant adolescents' rights
• Drug/device policy reform

Scientific Contributions include the book A Good Birth (Penguin, 2014) based on qualitative maternal narratives, and over 30 peer-reviewed articles (2017-2025) on topics ranging from exome sequencing to pandemic-era birth settings.

• Awards: Fellow of The Hastings Center (2019), Elected to Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars (2018)
• Policy Roles: Chair of ACOG Ethics Committee, Advisor to WHO/FDA

Current focus areas:

• Post-Roe clinical research ethics
• Abortion restrictions' impact on medical education
• Teratology under new legal frameworks
• Maternal-fetal risk tradeoffs
• Equitable vaccine trials for pregnant populations
• Contraception incentives and voluntariness