Katrin Gerlinger

Katrin Gerlinger serves as a Scientific Associate at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), employed by the Office for Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag (TAB) since 2006. Her work focuses on evaluating societal, ethical, and policy dimensions of emerging technologies through rigorous parliamentary advisory reports.

Her academic foundation includes a doctorate in statistics and econometrics from the University of Potsdam (2004) analyzing global CO₂ emissions patterns, preceded by doctoral studies (1989–1991) and a finance degree specializing in statistics and agriculture (1985–1989) from Humboldt University of Berlin. Prior professional experience encompasses epidemiological research at ZEG (2005–2006), climate impact analysis at PIK (1998–2004), and environmental statistics at TU Berlin (1991–1997).

Dr. Gerlinger's research spans technology assessment in healthcare innovation, with core expertise in digital health ethics, global pharmaceutical policy, and disability-inclusive technologies. Her investigations consistently address equity implications—examining how telemedicine accessibility, data mining governance, and neglected disease drug development impact vulnerable populations. She emphasizes context-specific policy frameworks that balance innovation acceleration with societal risk mitigation, particularly in developing regions. Recent work integrates climate technology assessment through hydrogen partnership analyses.

Her publication trajectory reveals evolving thematic priorities: early focus on gene doping (2007–2009) and human enhancement (2011–2013) matured into comprehensive assessments of African medical innovation (2017) and contemporary digital health challenges (2022–2025). The consistent thread is critical evaluation of technology-society interactions through interdisciplinary lenses combining statistical rigor, ethical analysis, and policy pragmatism.

Within the TAB structure at ITAS, she operates as part of KIT's parliamentary advisory mechanism, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to translate complex technical analyses into actionable legislative recommendations. Current projects examine telemedicine implementation, hydrogen technology transfer to developing economies, and digital accessibility solutions for persons with disabilities—demonstrating sustained relevance to pressing socio-technical challenges.