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 now Associate Professor of Philosophy on the downtown Brooklyn campus of Long Island University in New York, NY, 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 intellectual or cognitive disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism and dementia. I have also examined philosophical issues regarding preimplantation genetic diagnosis and reproductive autonomy, 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.
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 teach a senior seminar in Health Care Ethics as well as Philosophical Explorations, the two-semester core course in philosophy. On April 27 I will be presented with the 2010 David Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching at LIU.