Called the “most interesting bioethicist of our time” by the American Journal of Bioethics, Jonathan D. Moreno is one of 14 Penn Integrates Knowledge university professors at the University of Pennsylvania, holding the David and Lyn Silfen chair. He is also Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, of History and Sociology of Science, and of Philosophy.
In 2008-09 he served as a member of President Barack Obama’s transition team.
His book, The Body Politic: The Battle Over Science in America, was named a Best Book of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews. A revised and updated edition of his book Mind Wars: Brain Science and the Military in the 21st Century,is available in paperback. He frequently blogs for The Huffington Post and Psychology Today.
Moreno is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and is a National Associate of the National Research Council. He has served as a senior staff member for three presidential advisory commissions, including the current bioethics commission under President Obama, and has given invited testimony for both houses of congress. Nominated by the U.S. government, Moreno is a member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Commission. He was an Andrew W. Mellon post doctoral fellow, holds an honorary doctorate from Hofstra University, and is a recipient of the Benjamin Rush Medal from the College of William and Mary Law School and the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award from Tufts University.
Moreno is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC, where he edits the magazine Science Progress. Moreno has served as adviser to many non-governmental organizations, including the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is a member of the Governing Board of the International Neuroethics Society, a Faculty Affiliate of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, a Fellow of the Hastings Center and the New York Academy of Medicine, and a past president of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. He advises various science, health, and national security agencies and serves as a member of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s TIGER committee on potentially disruptive novel technologies.
Moreno’s books have enjoyed favorable critical attention. Kirkus Reviews said that Moreno’s new book, The Body Politic: “illuminates intricate threads of history and complex philosophical arguments. Patient general readers, as well as scholars and students of bioethics, will benefit from Moreno’s erudition and fairness….” Publisher’s Weekly called it “[a]n important analysis of the societal currents swirling around volatile scientific issues . . . Moreno delivers a powerful defense of science [and] respects his readers’ intelligence in this nuanced and thoughtful book.” JAMA described Progress in Bioethics (2010) as “provocative and stimulating.” Publisher’s Weekly said that his book Science Next (2009) “brings hope into focus with reports of innovation that will enhance lives.” The journal Nature called Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense (2006), “fascinating and sometimes unsettling.” The New York Times said that Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans (1999) was “an earnest and chilling account.” His other books include Ethical Guidelines for Innovative Surgery (2006); Is There an Ethicist in the House? (2005); In the Wake of Terror: Medicine and Morality in a Time of Crisis (2003); Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Clinical Research (2003); Deciding Together: Bioethics and Moral Consensus (1995); Ethics in Clinical Practice (2000); and Arguing Euthanasia (1995). Moreno has published more than 400 papers, reviews and book chapters, and is a member of several editorial boards.