Keren Ladin

Dr. Keren Ladin is Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health at Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. She is also a Graduate Biomedical Sciences Member in the Clinical and Translational Science Program at Tufts. Dr. Ladin serves as Director of the Research on Aging, Ethics, and Community Health (REACH Lab) at Tufts University and is the Concentration Lead for Practice to Policy Translational Research in the Clinical and Translational Sciences Masters and PhD program.

Dr. Ladin earned her AB with honors in History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine from the University of Chicago in 2005. She continued her education at Harvard University, receiving her MSc in Population & International Health in 2007 and her PhD in Health Policy with a concentration in ethics in 2013. Her academic journey included a Visiting Research Fellowship at the Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing in Germany (2007-2008) and a Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the Board of Global Health/Institute of Medicine (2006).

Dr. Ladin's research focuses on health equity, health services research, decision-making, and bioethics, with particular emphasis on transplantation, aging, kidney disease, and health disparities. Her work examines questions of equitable allocation of health resources, shared decision-making processes, and systemic disadvantages that affect health outcomes and individuals' ability to make and pursue life plans. She employs mixed-methods approaches, integrating quantitative, qualitative, and normative methodologies to understand how social networks impact health disparities, acute medical decision-making, and resilience during major life transitions.

Her research program has three primary aims: (1) understanding the role of social networks in complex medical decision-making, (2) evaluating the impact of public policies on vulnerable populations' health, and (3) identifying barriers and developing interventions to improve healthcare utilization among vulnerable populations, particularly older adults and those facing surgical decisions.

Dr. Ladin has published extensively across multiple domains including medical ethics, transplantation ethics, health disparities, and decision-making in chronic conditions. Her recent work shows a strong focus on shared decision-making across various medical contexts including transplantation, kidney disease, cancer treatment, and end-of-life care, with particular attention to vulnerable populations and health equity considerations.

Dr. Ladin has received notable recognition for her work:

• Greenwall Faculty Scholar (2017)
• KL2 Award, NIH NCATS (2016)

Her research has been supported by prestigious funding agencies including:

• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Greenwall Foundation
• Private foundations

Dr. Ladin is actively involved in professional service, currently serving as Chair of the United Network on Organ Sharing (UNOS) Ethics Committee and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Ethics Committee. She is also a member of several professional organizations including the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Academy Health, and the American Public Health Association.

At Tufts, Dr. Ladin directs the REACH Lab (Research on Aging, Ethics, and Community Health), which brings together interdisciplinary researchers to address critical questions at the intersection of aging, ethics, and community health. The lab focuses on developing and testing interventions to improve decision-making processes, reduce health disparities, and promote health equity for older adults and other vulnerable populations.