Research Profile

Portrait of Lucia Becker-Grohl

Lucia Becker-Grohl

Postdoctoral Researcher in Evolutionary Bioethics

Short Bio

I study how evolved social strategies shape contemporary moral judgments in medicine and biotechnology. My work combines empirical methods with normative analysis to clarify responsibilities toward future persons and kin in rapidly changing clinical contexts. I collaborate with clinicians, community advisors, and policymakers to translate findings into practice.

Research Interests

  • Evolutionary foundations of moral norms
  • Ethics of gene and embryo editing
  • Parental responsibility and future generations
  • Cross-cultural bioethics
  • Empirical ethics and mixed methods
  • Moral psychology in clinical decision-making

Short CV

  • 2014–2016: Research Assistant, Center for Human Origins and Values, North Westridge Institute
  • 2016–2020: Doctoral Researcher, Dept. of Ethics and Evolvability, South Estuary Graduate School
  • 2020–2022: Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Comparative Health Norms, Airore City
  • 2022–present: Postdoctoral Researcher, Inst. of Bioethics and Human Evolution

Affiliations

  • Inst. of Bioethics and Human Evolution
  • Center for Comparative Values in Health, Airore City

Education

  • PhD, Evolutionary Bioethics, South Estuary Graduate School , 2020
  • MA, Philosophy of Biology, New Meridian University , 2016
  • BA, Anthropology and Ethics, College of Hatherleigh , 2014

Teaching

  • Evolutionary Approaches to Bioethics (graduate)
  • Ethics of Emerging Reproductive Technologies
  • Research Methods in Empirical Ethics

Awards

  • Early Career Paper Prize, Society for Interdisciplinary Bioethics , 2021
  • Fieldwork Innovation Grant, Riverlight Foundation , 2018

Publications

  • Lucia Becker-Grohl, Evolving Duties: Kinship, Cooperation, and the Ethics of Germline Editing, Journal of Evolutionary Bioethics , 2023.
  • Lucia Becker-Grohl; M. Alvarez-Roan, Public Moral Intuitions about Embryo Research Across Life-History Contexts, Ethics & Adaptation Quarterly , 2022.
  • Lucia Becker-Grohl, Normative Drift in Clinical Genetics: An Empirical-Philosophical Analysis, Proceedings of the Institute for Human Futures , 2021.
  • Lucia Becker-Grohl, Beyond Harm and Benefit: An Evolutionary Account of Parental Responsibility, Monographs in Applied Ethics , 2020.

Abstract

My current project investigates how life-history variables (e.g., perceived resource scarcity, kin proximity, and interdependence) shape moral judgments about reproductive interventions such as embryo selection and germline editing. Drawing on evolutionary theory and empirical ethics, I use mixed methods: qualitative interviews with patients and counselors in community genetics clinics, survey-vignette experiments with lay publics, and comparative analyses of policy documents. The study maps systematic differences in how people weigh potential benefits to future children, obligations to kin, and social spillovers. I argue for a context-sensitive framework that distinguishes evolved heuristics from reflective ethical reasoning, proposing practical guidance for consent, counseling, and public communication when moral intuitions diverge. The goal is to aid institutions in designing procedures that respect plural values while safeguarding equity and future-oriented responsibility.