TENEILLE RUTH BROWN portrait
  • Adjunct Professor, Internal Medicine
  • Professor, College Of Law - Dean
  • Associate Professor, College Of Law
801-581-5883

Research Summary

I research law and the biosciences (genetics, neuroscience, medicine, and cognitive psychology). I also research medical ethics and the law. My work has been published in Stanford Law Review, Science, and many other peer-reviewed outlets.

Education

  • BA, History and Sociology of Science, Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania. Project: The Ethics of Elective Cosmetic Surgery: treatment or enhancement?
  • JD, College of Law, University of Michigan

Biography

Teneille Brown is the James I. Farr Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, the Director of the Center for Law and the Biomedical Sciences (LABS) and the Associate Dean of Research. She is also an adjunct in the Department of Internal Medicine/Center for Health Ethics, Arts, and Humanities (CHeEtAH). She graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, and completed three post-doctoral fellowships at Stanford, one in the Center for Law and the Biosciences, one on the MacArthur Project for Law and Neuroscience, and one at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. Her research is highly interdisciplinary. It spans a wide range of issues at the intersection of law, genetics, neuroscience, social psychology, philosophy, medicine, and ethics. Her work has been highlighted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and on national NPR outlets. Professor Brown teaches Torts, Evidence, Law and Neuroscience, Current Issues in Law & Biosciences, Bioethics, and a recent seminar on the Opioid Crisis. She is on the Executive Committee for the AALS Evidence section and the Utah's Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Evidence. She also serves on the Davis County Conviction Integrity Unit and the Utah State Office of Fairness and Accountability working group to mitigate jury bias. 

Select Media Highlights

Annie Linskey, Politicians Love to Talk—Just Not About Their Health, https://www.wsj.com/politics/politicians-love-to-talk-just-not-about-their-health-173a7091

 

Laura Morel, Anti-abortion pregnancy centers are deceiving patients – and getting away with it, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/15/us-anti-abortion-pregnancy-centers

Opinion: Of course hospitals in crisis mode should consider vaccination status, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/23/hospitals-ration-covid-vaccination-status/

Looming liability: Doctors, nurses on the pandemic frontlines are likely legal targets https://ksltv.com/473427/looming-liability-doctors-nurses-on-the-pandemic-frontlines-are-likely-legal-targets/

Why annual COVID-19 boosters may become the norm https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/why-annual-covid-19-boosters-may-become-the-norm (April 16, 2021)

 
FOX 13 Investigates: Law professor says Herbert’s orders are constitutional https://www.fox13now.com/news/fox-13-investigates/fox-13-investigates-law-professor-says-herberts-orders-are-constitutional (November 9, 2020)
 
After Biden’s Exposure to Trump, His Team Is Cagey on Health Questions https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/04/us/politics/biden-covid-test-trump.html (October 19, 2020)
 
The evidence that Trump is telling the truth about his positive coronavirus test https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/oct/02/evidence-trump-telling-truth-about-his-positive-co/ (October 2, 2020)
 
How will Utah health officials enforce new public mask requirement? https://kutv.com/news/local/how-will-utah-health-officials-enforce-new-public-masks-requirement (October 14, 2020)
 
Their dad died after a COVID-19 outbreak at work. Utah has made it difficult for them to sue. https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/09/05/their-dad-died-after/ (September 5, 2020)
 
Are mask mandates constitutional? Utah law professors say state has power to protect public health https://www.ksl.com/article/50000269/are-mask-mandates-constitutional-utah-law-professors-say-state-has-power-to-protect-public-health (July 18, 2020)

Utah Counties are Suing Billion-Dollar Pharmaceutical Companies. What's Their Strategy?, KUER Interview (June 4, 2018).

Curbing Opioid Addiction, S.J. Quinney College of Law @theU (May 29, 2018).

Study of Judges Finds Evidence From Brain Scans Led to Lighter Sentences, New York Times (August 16, 2012)