Biography
A leading expert and author on the legal, ethical, and social issues surrounding health law and the biosciences, Henry T. “Hank” Greely specializes in the legal implications of new biomedical technologies, especially those related to genetics, neuroscience, and stem cells. He frequently serves as an advisor on California, national, and international policy issues, and chairs the California Advisory Committee on Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Active in university leadership, Professor Greely chairs the steering committee for the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, directs both the law school’s Center for Law and the Biosciences and the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics’ Program on Stem Cells in Society, and serves on the leadership council for the university’s interdisciplinary Bio-X Program.
Before joining the Stanford Law School Faculty in 1985, Professor Greely was a partner at Tuttle & Taylor and served as the staff assistant to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. He was as a clerk to Justice Potter Stewart of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Professor Greely has an appointment (by courtesy) with the Stanford University Department of Genetics.
Key Works
- Henry T. Greely, The Social Consequences of Advances in Neuroscience: Legal Problems; Legal Perspectives in Neuroethics: Defining the Issues In Theory, Practice and Policy, Judy Illes, ed., Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- Henry T. Greely, C Cloning Californians--Report of the California Advisory Committee on Human Cloning, 53 Hastings Law Journal 1143-1203 (2002).
- Henry T. Greely, Genotype Discrimination: The Complex Case for Some Legislative Protection, 149 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1483-1505 (2001).
- Henry T. Greely, Breaking the Stalemate: A Prospective Regulatory Framework for Unforeseen Research Uses of Human Tissue Samples and Health Information, 34 Wake Forest Law Review 737-66 (1999).
- Henry T. Greely, (North American Regional Committee, Human Genome Diversity Project), Proposed Model Ethical Protocol for Collecting DNA Samples, 33 Houston Law Review 1431-1473 (1997).
In the News
Courses & Programs
Courses
- Contracts
- FDA's Regulation of Health Care
- Health Law & Policy I
- Health Law & Policy II
- Law and Biosciences
Programs
Publications & Cases
Recent Publications View All
- Henry Greely, The Genetics of Fear, DemocracyJournal.org, Summer 2008, pg. 55.
- Mildred K. Cho, Sara L. Tobin, Henry T. Greely, Jennifer McCormick, Angie Boyce and David Magnus, Stangers at the Benchside: Research Ethics Consultation, 8 American Journal of Bioethics 4 (2008).
- Hank Greely, When DNA and Insurance Collide (letter to the editor), New York Times, March 2, 2008.
- Henry Greely; On Neuroethics, Science, October 26, 2007, pg. 533.
- Henry Greely, Implications for Access to Health and Life Insurance, in Cancer-Related Genetic Testing and Counseling: Workshop Proceedings, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press (October 2007).
- Henry T. Greely, Science and the Supreme Court (Book Review: Jeffrey Toobin, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court), Nature, September 20, 2007, pg. 285.
- Hank Greely, Covering the Risks (Letters), The Economist, September 15, 2007.
- Henry T. Greely, The Uneasy Ethical and Legal Underpinnings of Large-Scale Genomic Biobanks 8 Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics 343 (September 2007).
- Henry T. Greely and Judy Illes, Neuroscience-Based Lie Detection: The Urgent Need for Regulation, 33 American Journal of Law & Medicine 377 (2007).
- Henry T. Greely, Knowing Sin: Making Sure Good Science Doesn't Go Bad, in Cerebrum 2007: Emerging Ideas in Brain Science, Cynthia A. Read, ed., New York: Dana Press, 2007.
Affiliations & Honors
Professional Affiliations
- Chair (1996-Present), Steering Committee, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (SCBE)
- Chair (2002-2003), Stanford Faculty Senate
- Chair, Working Group on Stem Cell Research Policy Implementation
- Co-chair, Stanford Program in Organizing Neuroethics Education and Research
- Director, Stanford Program on Stem Cells in Society, SCBE
- Ethics Chair, North American Committee, Human Genome Diversity Project
- Ethics Officer, World Cell Line Collection 1 (Collaboration between the Human Genome Diversity Project and the Centre de l'Etude de Polymorphism Humain
- Member, Center for Integrating Research in Genetics and Ethics, SCBE
- Member, Stanford Program on Neuroethics, SCBE
- Member, Working Group on Human Trials of Cell Based Interventions for Neurological Conditons, John Hopkins University
- Member (2002-Present), Faculty Leadership Council, Bio-X Program
- Member, Scientific Advisory Committee and Ethics Advisory Committees, Deparment of Veterans' Affairs, DNA Bank Project
- Member, Genetics Advisory Board, Deparment of Veterans' Affairs, BEST Study
- Member, Ethics Committee, American Society for Gene Therapy
- Member, Ethics Committee, International Society for Stem Cell Research
- Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Stem Cell Network (Canada)
- Member, Ethics Advisory Board, Affymetrix, Inc.
- Member, Executive Committee, France Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
- Member, Steering Committee, Neuroscience Institute at Stanford
- Member, Advisory Committee, Stanford Institute for Clinical Information
- Member, Advisory Committee, Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Member, Executive Committee, Stanford Program in Regenerative Medicine
- Member, Operations Subcommittee
- Member, Bioethics Subcommittee

- hgreely@stanford.edu
- 650 723.2517
- Curriculum Vitae
Education
- BA, Stanford University, 1974
- JD, Yale Law School, 1977
Expertise
- Biotechnology
- Contracts
- Health Law and Policy
- Law and the Biosciences
- Property
- The Food and Drug Administration