Dr. Little is Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, and Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown. Her research interests include issues in reproduction, clinical research ethics, data ethics, and the structure of moral theory.
A Rhodes Scholar and fellow of the Hastings Center, she has twice served as Visiting Scholar in residence at the National Institutes of Health Department of Bioethics, and was appointed to the Ethics Committee of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is co-founder of The Second Wave Initiative, which works to promote responsible research into the health needs of pregnant women.
In her previous role as Director of the Kennedy Institute, Dr. Little oversaw a time of transformative development, including the launch of the world’s first Introduction to Bioethics MOOC in April 2014; the inauguration of Conversations in Bioethics , an annual campus-wide event focused on a critical issue in bioethics; the deployment of a series of experimental undergraduate courses utilizing project-based learning and design studio methods. Dr. Little is founder and Director of EthicsLab , a unique team of Philosophers and Designers at Georgetown University that develops new methods to help people build ethical frameworks to better address real-world problems. Ethics Lab works to help surface the moral values at stake in emerging, complex issues, including data ethics and AI, to help build responsible progress. She is a founding co-chair of the Tech and Society Initiative at Georgetown.
James Giordano and Maggie Little, Amongst the Faculty Teaching Intensive Bioethics Course this Summer
June 11th, 2022
James Giordano and Maggie Little were part of the faculty teaching the Intensive Bioethics Course (IBC) 44, which took place at Georgetown University on June 9-11, 2022.…
“Ending the Evidence Gap for Pregnancy, HIV and Co-Infections: Ethics Guidance from the PHASES Project”
December 15th, 2021
Maggie Little and her co-authors describe the process, ethical foundations, recommendations and applications of guidance for advancing responsible inclusion of pregnant people in HIV/co-infections research.…
The Hoya Talks with Maggie Little about the “Disability Ethics” Module of Her Biothics Course
November 19th, 2021
The Hoya interviews Maggie Little about the new three-week disability ethics module that she piloted in her Bioethics course.…
Maggie Little Moderated Panel on Approaches to Managing Trustworthy AI
October 21st, 2021
Maggie Little moderated a panel on approaches to managing trustworthy AI as part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework workshop.…
Ethical Research Podcast Episode 9: Dr. Maggie Little on Research During Pregnancy
July 21st, 2021
Maggie Little talks with Dr. Ran Goldman about the exclusion of pregnant women from medical research.…
Maggie Little and James Giordano Spoke at Kennedy Institute of Ethics 50th Anniversary Symposium on Bioethics
June 5th, 2021
Maggie Little and James Giordano spoke at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics 50th Anniversary Symposium on Bioethics, with the theme of “A New Era of Bioethics At Georgetown”. The symposium was held in Georgetown University, in association with the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, which celebrated its 30th anniversary, on June 1-5, 2021.…
Maggie Little Discussed the Scientific and Ethical Considerations when Designing Clinical Trials that Enroll Pregnant People at the Duke University’s Center for Health Policy
February 2nd, 2021
Maggie Little was part of the panel discussion around the Scientific and Ethical Considerations when Designing Clinical Trials that Enroll Pregnant People, which took place on February 2, 2021.…
“Pregnant Women & Vaccines Against Emerging Epidemic Threats: Ethics Guidance for Preparedness, Research, and Response”
January 3rd, 2021
Maggie Little and other researchers take a look at the way in which pregnant women and their offspring have been historically excluded from research agendas and investment strategies for vaccines against epidemic threats. They offer 22 concrete recommendations to ensure that the needs of pregnant women and their offspring are fairly addressed.…
Maggie Little Chaired Discussion on the Ethics of Research During Pregnancy
November 30th, 2020
Maggie Little chaired the Ethics of Research During Pregnancy discussion, that was part of the PHEPREN and Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR) seminar, which took place on November 30, 2020.…
Maggie Little Moderated Conversation on How AI Is Helping in the Fight Against COVID-19
July 22nd, 2020
In this event, hosted by the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business as part of the Stanton Distinguished Leader Series, Maggie Little moderated a conversation with Benevolent AI CEO Ken Mulvany on how AI is helping in the fight against COVID-19. The panelists discuss how business and technology are being used to help move us out of the COVID19 crisis.…
“Views among Malawian Women about Joining HIV Prevention Clinical Trials when Pregnant”
May 27th, 2020
Maggie Little and her co-authors conducted 35 semi-structured interviews with reproductive-aged women in Malawi, in order to understand their views about participating in biomedical HIV prevention research during pregnancy. …
“Women’s Views about Contraception Requirements for Biomedical Research Participation”
May 8th, 2019
Maggie Little and her co-authors inquire on the views of women in the U.S. and in Malawi around the requirement of contraception among reproductive aged women in biomedical studies. They explore when such requirements are appropriate.…
“Malaria Vaccine Trials in Pregnant Women: An Imperative Without Precedent”
February 4th, 2019
Although pregnant women are highly susceptible to Plasmodium falciparum malaria, leading to substantial maternal, perinatal, and infant mortality, no trials of malaria vaccines have ever been conducted in pregnant women. This publication, co-authored by Maggie Little, resulted from the discussions held at an expert meeting convened in December 2016 at NIAID, NIH, in Rockville, Maryland to deliberate on the rationale and design of malaria vaccine trials in pregnant women.…
