Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Ph.D., is a fellow in science and technology policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and a lecturer in the Department of BioSciences at Rice University. She is also a track advisor for the Wiess School of Natural Sciences’ Professional Science Master in Biosciences and Health Policy, a core member of the Rice Synthetic Biology Institute, and a steering committee member for Rice’s Medical Humanities Research Institute.
Matthews is the director of the Baker Institute Science and Technology Policy Program and the Center for Health and Biosciences’ Biomedical Research Program. Her research focuses on ethical and policy issues at the intersection between traditional biomedical research and public policy. Specifically, she focuses on regulation and ethical issues associated with emerging biotechnology, including vaccines, stem cells, synthetic biology, and genomic medicine. Matthews also collaborates with Kenneth Evans and Neal Lane to understand how scientific advice is used in and provided for the federal government, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
Matthews has a B.A. in biochemistry from The University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Matthews is the director of the Baker Institute Science and Technology Policy Program and the Center for Health and Biosciences’ Biomedical Research Program. Her research focuses on ethical and policy issues at the intersection between traditional biomedical research and public policy. Specifically, she focuses on regulation and ethical issues associated with emerging biotechnology, including vaccines, stem cells, synthetic biology, and genomic medicine. Matthews also collaborates with Kenneth Evans and Neal Lane to understand how scientific advice is used in and provided for the federal government, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
Matthews has a B.A. in biochemistry from The University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.