About
Nancy E. Kass, ScD, is the Phoebe R. Berman Professor of Bioethics and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, holding dual appointments in the Berman Institute of Bioethics (as Deputy Director for Public Health) and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (as Professor of Health Policy and Management). Since June 2023, she serves as an Ethics Advisor to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment. Her work bridges bioethics, public health policy, and healthcare systems improvement.
Education:
- Postdoctoral Fellowship: Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University
- ScD in Public Health: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- BA from Stanford University
Research focuses on public health ethics, research ethics, and learning health systems. Key areas include outbreak response ethics, big data governance, and ethical frameworks for integrating research into clinical care. Her recent work emphasizes global health equity, obesity prevention ethics, and ethical preparedness for public health emergencies.
Professional service includes leadership roles such as Vice-Provost for Graduate Education at Johns Hopkins University (2017–2023) and a 2009–2010 assignment at the World Health Organization (WHO) Ethics Review Committee Secretariat in Geneva. Current projects explore stakeholder perspectives on informed consent in clinical trials and ethical challenges in outbreak containment in low-resource settings.
Labs/Teams: Active in interdisciplinary collaborations at the Berman Institute and Bloomberg School, leading initiatives such as the Learning Health Care Systems and Outbreak Ethics projects.
