Glenn’s research mixes qualitative research methods with theoretical scholarship. He has directed more than two dozen bioethics and health policy research initiatives, across disciplines, universities, health systems and in state, national and international context. Most of that research has focused on these areas:
Reproductive Technology
Research resulting in major publications includes: a survey of IVF programs’ disclosures to oocyte donors, a comparative evaluation of the public policy models for genetic services in the U.K. and United States, evaluation of perceived outcomes of genetic counseling, the viability of “non-directiveness” in genetic counseling, a comparative examination of parental motivations regarding their future children in assisted reproduction vs. unassisted, study of pharmaceutical benefits organizations’ criteria for “normalcy” in male infertility, an examination of prenatal cardiac genetic testing, an examination of family models’ correlation to reproductive technology.
In their theoretical work, McGee and his co-authors have published work that applies classical American pragmatic theory to reproduction, including papers that analyzed: the meaning of infertility as disease, ethical issues in enhancement of children, the rights of children to know the identity of gamete donors, a pragmatic approach to human cloning, a legal analysis of “regulation” of families in family law, an analysis of “contemporary” eugenics, and a proposal of an “adoption model” to regulate reproductive technology or human cloning, co-authored with Ian Wilmut, cloner of Dolly. In addition, he and colleagues analyzed implications of OB-GYNs acting as primary caregivers, and an analysis of the possibility of male pregnancy.
Genetics, Genomics & Big Data
Publisher’s Weekly noted that in his book Beyond Genetics, McGee advanced the proposition that human genetic information is turning “being digital” (of Nicholas Negroponte fame) into “being genomic,” a sphere of living in which hereditary information can be understood as part of a mind-boggling sphere of data. Alongside this work, the group’s research to date has included: a study of ethical issues in commercial population genomics in Iceland, a study of informed consent to gene transfer research and gene therapy, a collaborative effort to define ethical issues in the creation of synthetic life, a review of legal issues in patenting of genes and genetic tests, development of a public policy problem called “genetic exceptionalism,” ethical issues in a “public health genetics” at CDC, and two models for Islamic governance of genetic technologies. He has also collaborated on several analyses of ethical issues in stem cells.
Clinical and Hospital Ethics
Research to date has included: a national study of ethics committees, a national study of ethics committee chairs’ attitudes toward managed care, an approach to clinical ethics and managed care, development of paradigms for clinical ethics consultation practice and for outcomes of clinical ethics, and development of a pragmatic approach to bioethics in a rural setting (Montana).
Dr. McGee’s overarching interest has been to create a pragmatic approach to bioethics. This has resulted in many journal articles, an edited book and several chapters and reference articles.
A variety of other programs and projects have resulted in publications, such as an analysis of the importance of federalism in bioethics at the government level, a formula for how much research subjects should be paid, the development of a model for pragmatic philosophy in social science-rooted bioethics, a study of emergency research done without informed consent, and development of a pragmatic model for community consultation about research, the history of bioethics, and other projects. Many projects have resulted in conferences, such as the 2006 ASBH spring conference “Bioethics and Politics” that resulted from the work on federalism.
Apart from more than 5,000 citations, Glenn’s work has been discussed in general interest articles in places like Philadelphia magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, and UPenn Gazette. In 2001, Renée C. Fox interviewed Glenn McGee, which is available here. A list of his publications is posted at academia.edu, and selected citations at Google Scholar and on PUBMED.