University of Wisconsin Law School Professor R. Alta Charo, a nationally prominent bioethicist, has been named by President-elect Barack Obama to his Transition Team.

Charo worked on issues surrounding science and health policy for Obama’s pre-transition team from mid-September to early November, and when Obama was elected president, Charo was asked to serve on the formal transition project.

Charo is working on the team reviewing the Department of Health and Human Services, taking advantage of her familiarity with a number of issues related to bioethics, health policy, and science policy.

"Since the election, I have been able to do my work from Madison, but our tasks now require us to be working in person with current executive branch personnel in order to ensure a well-informed and smooth transition," Charo e-mailed from Washington, where she is working in late November and December. Charo expressed appreciation to her Law School colleagues for helping her to make a rapid change in plans.

Charo is the Warren P. Knowles Professor of Law & Bioethics at the Law School and has a joint appointment with the School of Medicine and Public Health in the Department of Medical History and Bioethics. She is the author of nearly one hundred articles, book chapters, and government reports, and was elected to the National Academies Institute of Medicine in 2006. Among her teaching areas at the Law School are bioethics, food-and-drug law, and health law.

For more information on Charo and her work, see

http://law.wisc.edu/profiles/racharo .

Submitted by on November 18, 2008

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