Jessica Berg

Jessica Berg is the current Dean of the UC Davis School of Law and holds the title of Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law. Previously, she served as Dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law from 2013 to 2024, holding the Tom J.E. and Bette Lou Walker Professorship. Her academic career includes roles as Visiting Professor at Michigan State Medical School, Scholar in Excellence at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Fellow at the University of Virginia’s Center for Biomedical Ethics and Institute for Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy.

Education: B.A. and J.D. (with honors) from Cornell University, and an MPH from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on bioethics, informed consent, end-of-life decision-making, reproductive law, and public health law. She authored the Oxford University Press book Informed Consent: Legal Theory and Clinical Practice and has over 50 publications.

Professional Service: Legal consultant for the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics (2007–2013), member of the National Cancer Institute’s Pediatric Central Institutional Review Board (2006–2009), and contributor to committees for the National Heart Lung Blood Institute (2005–2013). Awards include the 2009 Mather Spotlight Award and 2008 Health Policy Researcher of the Year.

Her work bridges law and medicine, addressing topics like e-medicine ethics, organizational ethics in healthcare, and genetic enhancement research. She has advised on policies for medical decision-making, confidentiality, and research with human subjects.