Kirstin Matthews is a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in Science and Technology Policy at the

James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, also known as the Baker Institute, is an American think tank on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1993, it functions as a center for public policy research. It is named ...

. Matthews received a bachelor's degree in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and a PhD in

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

from the

University of Texas Health Science Center The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...

. Matthews has published multiple policy recommendations pertaining to

stem cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, and

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

Research

Matthews is a Fellow in Science and Technology Policy at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, which is located at Rice University in Houston, Texas. She conducts research on policy and ethical issues associated with emerging biotechnology such as regenerative medicine, vaccines and genomic research. She was the project director for the task force, Access to Health Care in Texas: Challenges of the Uninsured and Underinsured, from 2004 to 2006. The task force released a series of reports on the uninsured in the state title "Code Red". Selected publications by Matthews include: * International Stem Cell Collaboration: How Disparate Policies between the United States and the United Kingdom Impact Research (2011), * Stem Cell Research in the Greater Middle East: The Importance of Establishing Policy and Ethics Interoperability to Foster International Collaborations (2010), * Conference Report – Stem Cell Policy in the Obama Age: Texas, U.S. and U.K. Perspectives (2010), * WANTED: Federal Stem Cell Research Oversight (2009), * Stem Cell Science and Policy Overview (2009), * Science and Technology: Recommendations for the Next Administration (2008), * Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Recommendations for the Next Administration (2008), * Conference Report – Beyond Science: The Economics and Politics of Responding to Climate Change (2008), * Hot Topic: Stem Cell Controversy—Are Human Skin Cells Really the Breakthrough? (2007), and * U.S. Stem Cell Policy – Unintended Consequences (2007). Her work has been utilized by the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

and

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in policymaking.

Blog

In addition to doing research for the Baker Institute, Matthews also contributes to th
Baker Institute Blog
for the

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

Teaching

Matthews is a lecturer at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. Her most recent courses include SOCI 314 – Science at Risk? Out of the Lab and into the Public Sphere (with

Elaine Howard Ecklund Elaine Howard Ecklund is the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology in the Rice University Department of Sociology, director of the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice, and a Rice scholar at the James ...

) and NSCI 511 – Science Policy and Ethics.

Membership

Matthews has served on the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

since 2003 and at the International Society for Stem Cell Research since 2007. In 2010, Matthews was invited onto a national talk show to discuss stem cell policy hosted by

Armstrong Williams Armstrong Williams (born February 5, 1962) is an American political commentator, entrepreneur, author, and talk show host. Williams writes a nationally syndicated conservative newspaper column, has hosted a daily radio show, and hosts a nationa ...

Sources

* * * * *https://www.ruf.rice.edu/~neal/temp/ST%20Policy/index/KMatthewsBio.pdf

References

External links

Baker Institute

Rice University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Kirstin American women biochemists Living people University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences alumni University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston alumni 21st-century American women scientists Year of birth missing (living people)