The Washington Post reports that Robert Axelrod’s The Evolution of Cooperation is one of the ten most assigned books at Ivy League universities. Originally published in 1984, the book explores how cooperation can emerge in a world of self-seeking...
On April 4th, The Conversation U.S. published Shobita Parthasarathy’s article entitled “CRISPR dispute raises bigger patent issues we’re not talking about.” In the article, Parthasarathy argues that the patent dispute over CRISPR, a potentially...
Professor Shobita Parthasarathy has received a 2016 seed grant from Michigan's Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG), which supports individual research activities and collaborative projects in the field of women, gender, and...
This spring, Robert Axelrod was one of ten distinguished honorary degree recipients at Harvard’s 364th commencement ceremony.
The Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded John Ciorciari its prestigious Andrew Carnegie Fellowship to examine...
Shobita Parthasarathy has called for serious patent system reforms in a July 31 article she authored in The Conversation. Such reforms, she said, could "include increasing opportunities for the public to participate in patent decision-making,...
Beehives in a Michigan cherry orchard
Betsy Riley (MPP/SNRE ’14), 2013 Dow Sustainability Fellow
Created a resource guide for farmers and beekeepers trying to cope with the negative effects of honey bee colony collapse disorder....
The New England Journal of Medicine published John Ayanian’s report on the first 100 days of the Healthy Michigan Plan, Michigan’s expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The plan is a good blueprint for other Republican-governed states...
“This month, we are inundated with pink,” writes Shobita Parthasarathy, for The Conversation, a news source newly launched in the U.S. to offer views from the academic and research community.“By wearing pink ribbons, purchasing pink products, and...
In recent years, scientists, engineers, and policymakers have started asking governments to fund research into geoengineering technologies, which advocates say could result in a viable defense against climate change. However, due to its potential...
“Before we get too excited about the possibility of giving everyone access to potentially life-saving information, we need to remember that the relationship between the BRCA genes and cancer incidence is complex and fraught with uncertainty,” writes...
Shobita Parthasarathy has been elected to the Governing Council of the Society for the Social Studies of Science. The decision was announced in the society's email newsletter, Technoscience Update, on July 15.The Society for the Social Studies of...
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision upholding patents on human genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. The Court will soon decide the case involving Myriad Genetics, Inc., which owns...
In the article, "Ownership of Genes Stops Research," at the New York Times, Shobita Parthasarathy, associate professor of public policy, responds to the question of whether companies should be allowed to patent genes. Parthasarathy reasons that, as...
In honor of National Cancer Survivors Day Shobita Parthasarathy was interviewed by the MIT Press about cancer research and health care advances. In the Q&A format blog post, Parthasarathy spoke about gene patenting—specifically BRCA 1 and BRCA 2,...
Shobita Parthasarathy was interviewed in an article from PBS's NOVA Next about the effects of the U.S. patent system on scientific research and medical treatment.The article explores whether gene patents — patents on isolating or using genes in a...
A proposal by Shobita Parthasarathy was selected as one of fifty projects to receive a $60,000 seed grant under the MCubed program for funding research. MCubed is a new program created to empower interdisciplinary teams of U-M faculty to undertake...
Shobita Parthasarathy told Nature magazine that the geoengineering field "urgently needs" to define intellectual property rights for technologies that could have far-reaching consequences for the planet.The issue of whether such patents should...
Shobita Parthasarathy's book on the development and implications of gene testing and patenting has been re-released in paperback by The MIT Press.The book, Building Genetic Medicine: Breast Cancer, Technology and the Comparative Politics of Health...
Edie Goldenberg
Alan Deardorff has agreed to continue in his role of Associate Dean of the Ford School, but a number of other key leadership roles opened this fall as faculty concluded their terms in...
The Ford School is proud to congratulate Shobita Parthasarathy on her promotion to an associate professor of public policy with tenure, which was approved at University of Michigan Board of Regent's meeting on May 19.Parthasarathy was lauded for her...
Shobita Parthasarathy's opinion piece, "Gene Patents and Democracy," was posted to Nature.com's online community for breaking news on science research and policy, "The Great Beyond".Parthasarathy penned the piece in advance of the April 4 U.S. Court...
Even before we had mapped the human genome, American entrepreneurs had begun to stake claims to it. Over the last two decades, the U.S. Patent Office has issued more than 5,000 patents on parts of the human genome, leaving an alarming 20 percent of...
When we thoughtfully apply scientific analysis to policy challenges, we discover new and sometimes surprising relationships. If our analysis is sound, sound policies can emerge from these discoveries. The Ford School faculty members featured in...
Shobita Parthasarathy was interviewed by German Public Radio about recent debates on the legality of patenting human genes. Since a narrowly decided Supreme Court ruling in the 1980s, the U.S. Patent Office has allowed patents for a variety of life...
Dear Alumni and Friends,This edition of the feed offers news about a number of exciting activities at the Ford School. We have pictures from our 2010 Commencement celebrations. President Barack Obama, of course, delivered the University address, and...
You walk into your office, find it unbearably hot, and jack up the AC. Your office mates may complain when they have to dig out their cardigans in July, but the act itself is easily reversed with the flip of a switch and, at worst, you've only...
Shobita Parthasarathy spoke to NewScientist about a recent geoengineering research conference that gathered scientists and policy experts to discuss the creation of a voluntary set of standards to guide international ‘planetary rescue plan’ research...
Joan and Sanford Weill Hall Annenberg Auditorium (1120)
A wide-ranging discussion with technologist Alondra Nelson, reflecting on her time in the White House, her role as a social scientist involved in shaping science and technology (and particularly AI), her insights into the policy process, and specifically her work on the open access and AI Bill of Rights initiatives.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
STPP Lecture Series
Join for a conversation with former New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio. In conversation with STPP Director Professor Shobita Parthasarathy, the discussion will explore how urban tech is shaping social policy in “smart cities” like New York and beyond. How can we ensure that emerging technology serves the public interest, and what role can local, state, national, and even international policy play?
Join Dr. Abdul El-Sayed - physician, epidemiologist, and newly appointed Director of the Wayne County Health, Human & Veterans Services Department, and a Ford School Towsley Policymaker in Residence - for a conversation with policymakers at the intersection of social justice and environmental concerns. Dr. El-Sayed will be joined by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Michigan Senator Stephanie Chang (MPP/MSW '14) to reflect on their work to address environmental injustice in Michigan and beyond, and the challenges and opportunities ahead.