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Paul Spicer

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Paul Spicer

Headshot of Paul Spicer, Professor in the University of Oklahoma's Department of Anthropology

Professor
Ph.D. University of Minnesota, 1995

Office: Dale Hall Tower 804
Email: paul.spicer@ou.edu

Research Interests

  • Medical Anthropology
  • Bioethics
  • Addiction
  • Mental Health
  • Child Development
  • Genetics

Background

My current research focuses on health and social policy in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. I am a principal investigator of the Center on the Ethics of Indigenous Genomic Research, a National Human Genome Research Institute Center of Excellence in Ethical, Legal and Social Implications Research, co-leader of the program in Cancer Prevention and Control at the Stephenson Cancer Center, and director of Community Engagement and Outreach at the Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources. I just completed a term as Editor in Chief of the Infant Mental Health Journal and I am currently President of the Board of Zero to Three, the nation's leading organization for infants, toddlers, and their families.

Recent/Significant Publications

Hiratsuka VY, Beans JA, Reedy J, Yracheta JM, Peercy MT, Saunkeah B, Woodbury RB, O'Leary M, Spicer PG. (2019). Fostering Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Research in Tribal Communities: The Center for the Ethics of Indigenous Genomic Research. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. Sep 9; 1556264619872640. doi: 10.1177/1556264619872640.
 
Lewis CM, McCall, L‐I, Sharp RR, Spicer PG. (2020). Ethical priority of the most actionable system of biomolecules: the metabolome. Am J Phys Anthropol. Oct 23: 1 - 5. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23943.
 
Hiratsuka, V.Y., Beans, J.A., Blanchard, J.W., Reedy, J., Blacksher, E., Lund, J.R., Spicer, P. (2020). An Alaska Native community's views on genetic research, testing, and return of results: Results from a public deliberation. PLOS One doi:10.1371/journl.pone.0229540
 
Reedy, J., Blanchard, J.W., Lund, J., Spicer, P., Byars, C., Peercy, M., Saunkeah, B., Blacksher, E. (2020). Deliberations about Genomic Research and Biobanks with Citizens of the Chickasaw Nation. Frontiers in Genetics doi:10.3389/fgene.2020.00466
 
Woodbury, R.B., Beans, J.A., Wark, K.A., Spicer, P., and Hiratsuka, V.Y. (2020). Community Perspectives on Communicating about Precision Medicine in an Alaska Native Tribal Health Care System. Frontiers in Communication doi:10.3389/fcomm.2020.00070
 
Beans, J.A., Woodbury, R.B., Wark, K.A., Hiratsuka, V.Y., Spicer, P. (2020). Perspectives on Precision Medicine in a Tribally Managed Primary Care Setting. American Journal of Bioethics Empirical Bioethics doi:10.1080/23294515.2020.1817172

Classes Taught

  • ANTH 1823 Religion and Everyday Life
  • ANTH 2613 Native Peoples of North America
  • ANTH 3253 Applied Anthropology
  • ANTH 3943 Psychological Anthropology
  • ANTH 4223 The Anthropology of Childhood
  • ANTH 5273 Culture and Human Development
  • ANTH 5393 Indigenous Health
  • ANTH 5543 Research Design
  • ANTH 5853 Bioscience, Biopolitics, and Bioethics
  • Childhoods (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute)
  • Culture and Psyche (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute)