Sara Gerke

Sara Gerke is an Associate Professor of Law and Richard W. & Marie L. Corman Scholar at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she joined in July 2024. She additionally holds an associate professor appointment at the University of Illinois European Union Center and serves as a Research Fellow in the International Collaborative Bioscience Innovation & Law Programme (Inter-CeBIL) at the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Law.

• Dipl.-Jur. Univ., University of Augsburg
• M.A. in Medical Ethics and Law, King’s College London

Gerke specializes in the ethical and legal challenges of artificial intelligence and big data for healthcare and health law in the U.S. and Europe. Her comparative research spans cutting-edge medical developments including:

• Clinical translation of stem cell research
• Biological products regulation (somatic cells, tissues, gene therapy)
• Reproductive medicine (mitochondrial replacement techniques)
• Digital health governance

Her recent publications in journals like New England Journal of Medicine and Science focus on:

• Liability risks for medical AI developers
• Transparency frameworks for AI-enabled medical devices
• Genetic data privacy in corporate transactions
• AI explainability standards

Awarded as a 2025 National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader, Gerke leads EU-funded projects including:

• CLASSICA: €6M Horizon Europe project on AI-assisted surgery ethics (11 partners, 9 countries)
• OperA: €6M AI colonoscopy ethics project (17 partners, 13 countries)
• BLAST: NIH-funded study on robotics/bionics/bioprinting ethics

She contributes to global policy as:

• External reviewer for WHO Ethics and Governance of AI for Health
• Subject matter expert for Federation of State Medical Boards AI in Clinical Practice report
• Advisory Group member of American Board of AI in Medicine (ABAIM)