Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy Capstone Project

The capstone project is designed to demonstrate that a student has acquired extensive knowledge of current thinking in bioethics, tech ethics and policy; has collected, synthesized, reported and critically reflected on these issues; and has developed competence in scholarly writing and procedures.

Capstone projects can be either:

• Applied Ethics+ Research Experience — Master’s students are highly encouraged to participate in our 10-week immersive summer experience where they will tackle real-world challenges in policy, technology, research, and ethics.
• A research paper focusing on a specific subject in bioethics or science policy, including the history and analysis of modern issues related to the subject (view details about the thesis requirement and submission process), or
• A summer project — a field placement to gain practical experience, with a written report analyzing the experience and integrating concepts learned in the program

Note: Joint JD/MA students generally complete the capstone project during the summer. International students may need additional approvals from Duke Visa Services before beginning a capstone project.

A Quick Look at Current and Past Summer Capstone Projects

Open AI: Incentives and Compensation of AI Models: A team of Applied Ethics+ students worked on a project for OpenAI. They conducted a comprehensive landscape analysis to explore how incentives and compensation mechanisms could influence AI model behaviors in alignment with predefined goals. View all past AE+ projects

UNESCO: Women in AI: A team of Applied Ethics+ students collaborated with UNESCO to assess the AI gender divide. They proposed relevant metrics to evaluate the current status, set objectives, and monitor progress. The project emphasized identifying policy solutions that promote inclusion by design without requiring significant financing. View all past AE+ projects

OECD: Creating Emerging Technology Foresight Strategies for Synthetic Biology: In partnership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Applied Ethics+ students developed strategies to anticipate the development of emerging technologies, focusing initially on synthetic biology. Their work aimed to help the OECD monitor new technologies and determine governance needs. View all past AE+ projects

Center for Humane Technology: Ethical Design and Impact of AI Technologies: Applied Ethics+ students explored the ethical implications of AI and digital technologies, focusing on their impact on user behavior and societal well-being. The project included an analysis of current design practices that prioritize engagement over well-being and proposed ethical guidelines to ensure that future technologies align with human values and promote a healthier digital environment. View all past AE+ projects

Illumina: Norms and Systems of Governance for Synthetic Biology: Partnering with Ginkgo Bioworks, Applied Ethics+ students explored the norms and governance systems around producing substances with potential harmful effects. The project involved assembling a historical review of how various substances have been categorized and how these categorizations have influenced controlled substances regimes. View all past AE+ projects

One Mind Project: Creating Mental Health Technologies and Application Code of Ethics to Scale: Applied Ethics+ students worked with Francis Haugen’s organization, One Mind, to develop an ethical framework for companies creating digital, hardware, and biotech mental health tools. The project required familiarization with new technological applications, including virtual and extended reality, being developed to treat mental health diseases. View all past AE+ projects

Matt Martin worked with the Technology Transfer Center at the National Cancer Institute, where he examined NIH’s ethics guidelines and conflict of interest policies to determine the entrepreneurial/startup activities permitted for intramural researchers.

Sharan Sawlani worked with Google to understand developing global accessibility regulations that could impact digital products and navigation, identifying opportunities for Google to engage with key policy stakeholders to build trust and inform developing accessibility regulations.

Victoria Matthews collaborated with Sony to provide expertise in AI Ethics—specifically Fairness, Transparency, and Accountability (FTA)—by working as a Policy Intern on the AI Ethics team.

Benjamin Spencer worked with the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on rules and regulations, at the state and university levels, that affect the usage of wards of the state in human research. His research was likely consolidated into two papers.

Pranathi Rao worked with Google to map key global regulations in the sector of AI and health that could impact Google products and research.

Amal Dadi worked with the Dogwood Alliance, an Asheville-based non-profit focused on ending industrial logging and promoting sustainable forest management in the South. His research project focused on climate, forests, and policy. This was a Stanback Fellowship offered in partnership with the Nicholas School.

Kayla Swan worked with the law firm Wyrick Robbins/Brooks Pierce on legal assignments relevant to technology, bioethics, and science policy.

Kristi Boyd worked with Truveta, where she developed a paper on ethical data practices, created a self-certification process for Truveta’s product teams, and potentially collaborated on AI projects.

Ben Sarbey shadowed Dr. Galanos and the palliative care team at Duke University Hospital on their rounds with patients in the palliative care unit. He focused on elements involved in dying well as well as grief/bereavement support provided to families after the death of a loved one.

Ava Parisi worked with Affirm, a fintech/financial services company, to research financial inclusion and digital financial literacy (DFL) in the fintech space.

Nora Mayer worked with Google to map global policy trends in AI to better inform her host supervisor on AI policies beyond just those exclusive to the United States and Europe.

Khairunnisa Mentari Semesta worked with Amgen at the intersection of science and business within their Commercial Data & Analytics (CD&A) organization. She collaborated on Competitive Intelligence, Forecasting, Primary Market Research, and Secondary Analytics.

Cameron Fox worked with the World Economic Forum’s Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco on a project to prepare emerging economies for the impact precision medicine would have on health policy, utilizing Rwanda as a model project.

Kellilyn Arnold worked with the Defense Veterans Brain Injury Center at Fort Bragg, NC on a project to improve the care of service members who sustain mild to severe traumatic brain injury (“TBI”). Specifically, she will be undertaking a project to assess the efficacy of a serum assay used to evaluate mild TBI. In addition, she will be working on how the recently modified Common Rule, which governs the conduct of clinic research by government agencies, applies to the military.

Sage Gustafson undertook a landscape summary of state and regional science communication organizations to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the different organizations and to better understand the policy and organizational models that are supporting science communicators.

Rishita Yeduri worked with the Global Women’s Health Technologies project at Duke Engineering School to evaluate the policy and ethical implications of a portable device (“the Pocket Colposcope”) used to screen for cervical cancer in women in rural populations and underdeveloped countries, who do not have access to the current clinic-based diagnostic technology.

Niko Porter completed a project on the use of DNA and familial DNA databases as a tool of Latin American migration policy, which will include working with the Bode Technologies forensics laboratory in Lorton, Virginia and the International Commission for Missing persons in The Hague, Netherlands.