Profile
I received my Ph.D. in 2006 from Columbia University, where I worked primarily with Thomas Pogge and wrote my dissertation, "Rawlsian Contractualism and Cognitive Disabilities." I am an Assistant Professor of Philosophy on the downtown Brooklyn campus of Long Island University in the state of New York, USA.
As a philosopher, I seek to specify how theoretical frameworks apply to the concrete problems currently faced by human societies. In my ongoing research I argue that theories of justice can and must accommodate individuals with cognitive disabilities such as mental retardation, autism, and dementia. I have also examined philosophical issues regarding prenatal genetic testing and sex selection, the ethics of single embryo selection, moral personhood, and the comparison between gender and mental retardation as disadvantaged categories. I am currently co-organizing a conference on the philosophy of cognitive disability that will take place in September 2008.
From 1997-2001 I taught undergraduate courses in philosophy at Columbia University, where I received the 2002 Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. At Columbia I also created and co-taught a course in Research Ethics for Ph.D. students across the Arts and Sciences.
At Long Island University, I currently teach a seminar in Health Care Ethics as well as Philosophical Explorations, the two-semester core course in philosophy.