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Deadline: Position has been filled.

Duties & Responsibilities

This is a newly created full-time term appointment for a post-doctoral employee needed to support the work of the Petrie-Flom Center on a sponsored research project in collaboration with the Collaborative Research Program in Biomedical Innovation Law (CeBIL) at the University of Copenhagen. Petrie-Flom’s CeBIL work will provide a comparative analysis of personalized medicine, explaining the shortcomings of the current innovation policy landscape in Europe and the US, and providing a comprehensive examination of various policy options to better align incentives. This will include a detailed discussion of regulatory exclusivities and prize systems within the context of the ongoing development towards a more open, more transparent, and more collaborative innovation paradigm. Where possible, it will also consider ethical questions raised by innovation policy in this sphere including data ownership, transparency of algorithms, governance roles for patients, and equity in distribution of benefits.

The Research Fellow for Precision Medicine will bear primary responsibility for the day-to-day work undertaken under the Petrie-Flom Center’s component of this collaborative project. Primary tasks will include conducting law, policy, and ethics research; initial drafting of reports and recommendations; collaborating with other CeBIL projects; and all other duties as assigned to ensure that this piece of the larger project produces valuable work-product in a timely fashion.

Reporting to the Petrie-Flom Center’s Executive Director, and interacting with the Center’s Faculty Director and Program Leadership at CeBIL, the fellow will bear primary responsibility for the day-to-day work necessary to complete project deliverables. It is essential that the fellow be able to work both independently and collaboratively, with frequent team meetings and weekly project status reports.

Responsibilities will include at least the following, covering both academic and administrative duties:

Conduct conceptual law, policy, and ethics research related to precision medicine, including but not limited to:

Reviewing biomedical literature in order to get a basic understanding of the most important technologies for the development of precision medicine

Investigating the landscape of intellectual property incentives commonly used to support the development of the technology that is most relevant to precision medicine

Analyzing the implications of recent intellectual property case law in the US (and to a lesser extent E.U.)

Assessing and evaluating the nature, source(s), and extent of the incentive gap for developing precision medicine and the feasibility, efficacy, and lawfulness of proposed legal policy solutions

Develop manuscripts for co-authored publication

Collaborate with other academic research institutions working on similar projects

Draft slides and presentation materials

Organize workshops and conferences to obtain expert input and disseminate results

Collaborate in identification of new research priorities, launch of projects related to the program mission, and proposal development, potentially to include grant writing

Oversee a simple program budget

Annual and all other reporting

Maintain up-to-date web text regarding program work and projects

The fellow may also be asked to blog periodically at Bill of Health, the Petrie-Flom Center’s blog.

Basic Qualifications

  • Doctoral-level degree in law, ethics, public health, social science, or other relevant discipline (J.D., Ph.D., M.D., etc.) required.
  • Additional Qualifications
  • Familiarity with and interest in the issues in precision medicine and related intellectual property issues
  • Experience conducting law and policy research, and drafting reports
  • Strong research and writing skills, including proficiency with Westlaw, Lexis, PubMed, and other research tools
  • Ability to independently identify and complete tasks with minimal direction and oversight
  • Ability to liaise effectively with a variety of domestics and international stakeholders and collaborators
  • Ability to complete tasks in a timely fashion
  • Qualitative research skills and experience with grants/contracts are a plus

Additional Information

This is a term appointment currently expected to extend through 12/31/2022, subject to funding and departmental need.

All offers to be made by HLS Human Resources.

Learn more and apply online!

Tags

bioethics   biotechnology   health law policy   innovation   regulation   research