PRIM&R PRESENTER
Alex John London, PhD
Professor of Ethics and Computational Technologies, Director of the Center for Ethics and Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Bio
Dr. London is the K&L Gates Professor of Ethics and Computational Technologies, Director of the Center for Ethics and Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and Chief Ethicist at the Block Center for Technology and Society at Carnegie Mellon University. An elected Fellow of the Hastings Center, Professor London’s work focuses on ethical and policy issues surrounding the development and deployment of novel technologies in medicine, biotechnology and artificial intelligence. His book, For the Common Good: Philosophical Foundations of Research Ethics is available for free as an open access title. He is the author of over 100 papers or book chapters that have appeared in venues such as Mind, The Philosopher’s Imprint, Science, JAMA, The Lancet, and numerous other journals and collections. He is also co-editor of Ethical Issues in Modern Medicine, one of the most widely used textbooks in medical ethics. Dr. London is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Group on Ethics and Governance of AI whose report “Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health” was published in 2021 and he has been a member of two National Academy committees including the Committee on Creating a Framework for Emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation in Health and Medicine, whose report "Toward Equitable Innovation in Health and Medicine: A Framework” was published in 2023. He is currently a co-leader of the ethics core for the NSF AI Institute for Collaborative Assistance and Responsive Interaction for Networked Groups (AI-CARING).
For more than a decade, Dr. London has helped to shape key ethical guidelines for the oversight of research with human participants. He is currently a member of the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). From 2012-2016 he was a member of the Working Group on the Revision of CIOMS 2002 International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects. Prior to that he was an expert commentator at three World Medical Association meetings for the revision of the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki. From 2007-2018 he was a member of the Ethics Working Group of the U.S. HIV Prevention Trials Network where he was part of the group that drafted the HIV Prevention Trials Network Ethics Guidance for Research. From 2016-2017 he was part of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine Committee on Clinical Trials During the 2014-15 Ebola Outbreak and in 2016 he was appointed to the U.S. Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability. He has served as an ethics expert in consultations with numerous national and international organizations including U.S. National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, the World Medical Association, and the World Bank.
Committees
U.S. National Academy of Medicine Committee on Clinical Trials During the 2014-15 Ebola Outbreak
U.S. Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability