Osagie K. Obasogie

Osagie K. Obasogie is the Haas Distinguished Chair and Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law, with joint appointments in the Joint Medical Program and School of Public Health. He holds a B.A. from Yale University, J.D. from Columbia Law School, and Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Berkeley. His research focuses on constitutional law, policing, bioethics, and race in medicine. Key works include Blinded By Sight (2014), awarded the Herbert Jacob Book Prize, and co-edited Beyond Bioethics (2018). He chairs the Diversity and Health Disparities Cluster at the Othering and Belonging Institute and leads projects on police violence, eugenics legacies, and climate inequities. Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship (2022) and elected to the National Academy of Medicine (2021), his advocacy includes repurposing eugenics-linked funds for anti-racist initiatives. His current projects examine medical roles in police accountability and the impact of DNA databases on criminal justice.

Education:

• Ph.D., Sociology, UC Berkeley (2002-2007)
• J.D., Columbia Law School (2000-2003)
• B.A., Sociology and Political Science, Yale University (1996-2000)

Research Interests:

• Law, policing, and racial justice
• Ethical dimensions of genetics and biotechnology
• Historical and contemporary eugenics in health policy
• Climate change and racial health disparities

Awards:

• Guggenheim Fellowship (2022)
• Member, National Academy of Medicine (2021)
• Herbert Jacob Book Prize (2014)

Key Contributions:

• Advocacy to rename a eugenics-linked fund for anti-racist education
• Published seminal work on 'excited delirium' as a legal/medical justification for police violence
• Expert commentary in New York Times, Washington Post, and New Scientist