Nita Farahany
Professor of Law
Vanderbilt University Law School
Nita Farahany is pursuing research in the areas of behavioral genetics, mental retardation, insanity and criminal law. Professor Farahany earned her undergraduate degree in genetics, cell and developmental biology from Dartmouth. She received the Order of the Coif from Duke, where she focused on the philosophy of biology and philosophy of law, and completed her master's thesis on "The Limited Applicability of Estimates of Genetic Heritability." After completing her M.A., Farahany clerked for the Honorable Judith W. Rogers on the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit. She delivered a presentation, "Science or Science Fiction? Behavior Genetics of Criminal Behavior," at the Genome, Ethics, Law & Policy Series in 2004, and is serving as a special co-editor of the fall and winter issues of Law & Contemporary Problems, which will focus on behavioral genetics and criminal law. She is currently a candidate for a Ph.D. in philosophy from Duke, and is completing her dissertation, "Rediscovering Criminal Responsibility through Behavioral Genetics" while serving as a fellow at Vanderbilt. She is also completing her master's thesis for her A.L.M in Biology at Harvard, with a focus on the mentally retarded in the criminal justice system and medical versus legal concepts of insanity.
Internal Staff Login