Emerging Technologies
Grace Wickerson is the Health Equity Policy Manager at the Federation of American Scientists. They work on embedding equity in health policies, with an eye towards leveraging data and technology as key tools for accelerating change. They are committed to ensuring technologies are accessible to all as well as securing innovations for patients who are under-researched and underserved in medicine.
They received their Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University. Their research focused on materials, design, and fabrication strategies for advanced medical devices, from wearables to implantables. In addition to their research on medical devices, Grace worked as a research intern with the Center for Health Equity Transformation working on engineering design methods for building with those with lived experiences of illness. They are passionate about re-tooling engineering education to serve the public good, writing about transforming engineering for equity in Scientific American and for The American Society of Engineering Education. Prior to Northwestern, Grace received their B.S. in Materials Science and Nanoengineering from Rice University.
To bring participatory science into the mainstream, there will need to be creative policy solutions for incentive mechanisms, standards, funding streams, training ecosystems, assessment mechanisms, and organizational capacity.
Extreme heat is the number one weather-related killer of Americans, yet receives minimal targeted federal support and dedicated funding for planning, mitigation, and recovery.
Maternal mortality is a crisis in the United States. The Biden-Harris Administration should establish an AI Center of Excellence to bring together data sources and then analyze, diagnose, and address maternal health disparities, all while demonstrating trustworthy and responsible AI principles.
There’s more work to be done to build a healthier future for all Americans, but here are some ideas for starters.
Just over a year ago, I found myself pausing during a research lab meeting. “Why were all the subjects in our studies of wearable devices white? And what were the consequences of exclusion?” This question stuck with me long after the meeting. Digging into the evidence, I was alarmed to find paper after paper signaling embedded […]
Pulse oximeters are medically transformative, but racially biased. The FDA must take steps to correct the problems with these ubiquitous devices.
The Biden-Harris Administration must act to address bias in medical technology at the development, testing and regulation, and market-deployment and evaluation phases.