ibhf staff

Michele Mekel, J.D., M.H.A., M.B.A.
Executive Director/Legal Fellow

Michele Mekel is executive director and fellow of the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future (IBHF), and associate director and senior fellow of the Center on Nanotechnology and Society (Nano & Society) - both at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Prior to joining IBHF and Nano & Society, Mekel was a visiting Fulbright Fellow at Queen's University Centre for Health Services and Policy Research in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where she conducted a comparative study of Canadian and U.S. academic-affiliated health policy research centers. As an attorney licensed in Illinois and Missouri, she has been a law clerk for the Missouri Supreme Court. In addition, her experience in health care administration includes work as the compliance officer and corporate planner for a health maintenance organization, and as a director for the Missouri Hospital Association. Her academic portfolio contains a number of legal and bioethics-oriented publications and presentations in the areas of nanotechnology, emerging biotechnologies, health care and health policy, and insurance. Presently, her research focuses on projects related to nanotechnology governance, human "enhancement" and the law, and current bioethics and health policy issues. Mekel is chair of the Nano & Society Adivsory Panel, an associate editor for Nanotechnology Law & Business, a board member of the Converging Technologies Bar Association, and a guest contributor to the Women's Bioethics Blog.

A graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, Mekel earned a juris doctor (graduating order of the coif), master's of health administration, master's of business administration, and bachelor's of journalism (graduating magna cum laude). During law school, she served as editor-in-chief of the Missouri Law Review.