Michele Mcgowan PhD

Michelle L. McGowan comes to Penn State from the Women’s and Gender Studies Program Faculty at Case Western Reserve University. She received her B.A. in Sociology from Boston College, and a Ph.D. in Women Studies from the University of Washington. Dr. McGowan completed a predoctoral fellowship in ethical, legal, and social aspects of human genetics and biotechnology at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society in Graz, Austria, and postdoctoral training in bioethics at the Center for Genetic Research Ethics and Law at Case Western Reserve University. She currently serves as an associate editor for the journal Human Reproduction.

Dr. McGowan’s research is focused on the social and ethical implications of reproductive and genetic technologies in the United States. She is particularly interested in the motivations of users of reproductive and genetic technologies and how they conceptualize the risks and benefits of their use. She is also interested in how the perspectives of users of novel technologies can contribute to bioethical discourse and the development of social policy. Her recent scholarship has focused specifically on participation in egg donation, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, fertility preservation, carrier screening, and direct-to-consumer and clinical genomic testing. Dr. McGowan teaches courses on reproductive ethics, ethical aspects of genetics and genomics, international women's health issues, qualitative research methodologies and critical readings in bioethics.