Duke Names Janet Malek and Marc Groman to Lead Applied Ethics & Policy Graduate Program

The Duke Initiative for Science & Society has named Janet Malek, Ph.D., and Marc Groman, J.D., as co-leads of the Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy (MA-AEP) program. Together they bring expertise in bioethics, health policy, emerging technology, artificial intelligence, and responsible innovation.

“At Duke, we are building a program for students who want to do more than identify ethical or policy problems,” says Science & Society Director David Hoffman. “We want them to understand how decisions are made in the real world, who they affect, how governance structures succeed or fail, and how principled leadership can help innovation earn public trust.”

Bringing Bioethics from Theory to Practice

Malek will lead the program’s Bioethics & Science Policy concentration. She brings extensive experience as a clinical ethics consultant at Houston Methodist Hospital, and her research addresses topics including reproductive decision-making, fetal and pediatric ethics, and end-of-life care. As Program Lead for Bioethics Outreach at Duke University Medical School’s Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and History of Medicine, she helps apply rigorous ethical approaches to the decisions facing patients, families, clinicians, and health care institutions.

“Ethics gets interesting when the answers are neither obvious nor easy,” Malek says. “I want students to wrestle seriously with difficult questions and emerge prepared to make decisions that are analytically sound, clinically pragmatic, and responsive to the people whose lives are affected.”

National Expertise in Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Tech Policy

Groman will lead the Technology Ethics & Innovation Policy concentration. A nationally recognized leader in privacy, cybersecurity, and digital governance, Groman has more than 25 years of experience across government, industry, and academia. He previously served as Senior Advisor for Privacy in the White House Office of Management and Budget, Chief Privacy Officer at the Federal Trade Commission, and President and CEO of the Network Advertising Initiative. At Duke, he teaches in the master’s program and advises organizations on responsible technology strategy, data governance, and risk management.

“Responsible innovation is a way to build better technology and stronger institutions,” Groman says. “We teach students to ask the right questions early, engage the people affected, and turn ethical principles into practical strategies that help innovation earn trust and deliver lasting public value.”

Creating Leaders in Responsible Innovation

Their appointment comes as advances in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, digital health, and data-driven decision-making increasingly blur the boundaries between technology ethics and bioethics. The MA-AEP program prepares students to meet those challenges by combining rigorous ethical analysis with practical tools for policy development, risk management, organizational leadership, and responsible innovation.

Together, Malek and Groman will help students examine questions at the center of today’s most consequential debates: How should emerging technologies be designed, implemented, and governed? Who benefits, who bears risk, and how can individuals and institutions protect human well-being, promote justice, and create lasting public value?

Learn more about Malek and Groman’s work and how the Duke Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy is preparing graduates to build a better future through responsible innovation.