Christopher Robertson, PhD
Professor, Health Law, Policy & Management - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
Christopher Robertson joined the BU Law faculty in 2020 as a tenured professor and N. Neal Pike Scholar in Health & Disability Law. He is also a Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management in the BU School of Public Health.
Professor Robertson is an expert in health law, institutional design, and decision making. His wide-ranging work includes torts, bioethics, professional responsibility, conflicts of interests, criminal justice, evidence, the First Amendment, racial disparities, and corruption.
In 2019, Harvard University Press published Exposed: Why Our Health Insurance is Incomplete and What Can be Done About It. Robertson has co-edited three books, Nudging Health: Behavioral Economics and Health Law (2016), Blinding as a Solution to Bias: Strengthening Biomedical Science, Forensic Science, and Law (2016), and Innovation and Protection: The Future of Medical Device Regulation (2022).
Professor Robertson is widely published in New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and Science, and his work is featured in Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and NPR Marketplace. He is funded by the NIH and Greenwall Foundation, among others.
Other Positions
- Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives - Boston University School of Law
- Professor - Boston University School of Law
- N. Neal Pike Scholar in Health & Disability Law - Boston University School of Law
Education
- Washington University in St. Louis, PhD Field of Study: Philosophy
- Harvard Law School, JD Field of Study: Biotechnology/Ethics
- Washington University in St. Louis, MA Field of Study: Philosophy
- Southeast Missouri State University, BA Field of Study: Philosophy
Publications
- Published on 9/2/2025
Miller JE, Robertson C. The Ethics of Industry-Funded Speakers' Bureaus-How They Disseminate Innovation and Could Corrupt Medicine. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Sep 02; 8(9):e2532331. PMID: 40960835.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/9/2025
Robertson C, Epstein WN. The Resurgence of Private Law in American Health Care. N Engl J Med. 2025 Aug 14; 393(7):630-631. PMID: 40787923.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 3/24/2025
Robertson C, McCuskey E, Ahmed A, Lomax D, Zeiler K, McCarthy D, Stephens L, Ulrich M, Vernaglia L, Duryea DP, Huberfeld N, Outterson K. Celebrating 70 Years of Health Law at BU. Am J Law Med. 2024 Dec; 50(3-4):149-160. PMID: 40126117.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 2/26/2025
Aaron DG, Robertson CT, King LP, Sage WM. A New Legal Standard for Medical Malpractice. JAMA. 2025 Feb 26. PMID: 40009364.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 1/25/2025
Aaron DG, Robertson C. E-Cigarettes at the Supreme Court - Potential Implications for the FDA and Public Health. N Engl J Med. 2025 Jan 30; 392(5):417-419. PMID: 39868961.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/19/2024
Robertson C, Bibbins-Domingo K, Curfman G. The US Preventive Services Task Force in Legal Jeopardy. JAMA. 2024 Nov 19; 332(19):1607-1608. PMID: 39312258.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/22/2024
Sklar T, Robertson C. The States' Hodgepodge of Physician Licensure Regulations. J Law Med Ethics. 2024; 52(2):419-421. PMID: 39435941.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/1/2024
Fishman J, Schaefer KA, Scheitrum D, Robertson CT, Albarracin D. Common measures of vaccination intention generate substantially different estimates that can reduce predictive validity. Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 01; 14(1):22843. PMID: 39353989.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/24/2024
Robertson C. Harm-Prevention Arguments are Easier to Confuse Than to Rebut. Am J Bioeth. 2024 Jul; 24(7):100-101. PMID: 38913465.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 5/25/2024
Silbaugh K, Del Valle L, Robertson C. Toward a Tobacco-free Generation - A Birth Date-Based Phaseout Approach. N Engl J Med. 2024 May 30; 390(20):1837-1839. PMID: 38804507.
Read At: PubMed
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