Holly Peay is a Senior Research Scientist in the GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center at RTI International. Dr. Peay received her BA from University of Virginia in Biomedical Ethics, her MS in Genetic Counseling from University of South Carolina School of Medicine, and her PhD in Medicine from Leiden University in the Netherlands. She is Board Certified in genetic counseling by the American Board of Genetic Counseling.
Dr. Peay conducts social/behavioral and empirical bioethics research related to common and rare disorders. Areas of focus for Dr. Peay are genetic disorders, neuropsychiatric conditions, HIV, gene therapy and gene editing, and newborn screening. She has expertise in studying decision-making processes, decision motivations, perceptions of benefits and harms, and informed consent in research and clinical settings. Dr. Peay develops evidence-based behavioral interventions that are informed by ethical theory. She is experienced in embedding social/behavioral research into clinical research studies. Dr. Peay frequently conducts community-engaged research in which she integrates diverse stakeholders into study planning, implementation, reporting, and the development of recommendations or guidance.
Focal points of Dr. Peay’s research are the psychosocial and behavioral impacts of emerging technologies and approaches for their ethical application. Examples include social/behavioral studies of early phase clinical trials; assessment of preferences regarding new therapeutics; ethical approaches to return of research results; and decision support and informed consent tools.
