The Bioethics Essay Award Committee at the Center for Bioethics is delighted to announce the winner of the 2026 Bioethics Essay Award: SK Sharma, PhD, a student in the Master of Science in Bioethics (MBE) virtual program. His paper, "The Aggregation Machine," was selected as the best submitted scholarly essay on ethics and medicine by a student at Harvard Medical School or Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and from a record number of submissions this year. Fellow in-person MBE student, Siqi (Mandy) Zhou, was selected for an honorable mention for her exceptional paper, "Beyond the Clinical Gaze: Rational Mistrust, Structural Vulnerability, and the Demands of Relational Solidarity in BRCA Genetic Testing for African American Women."
Winning Essay
"The Aggregation Machine" by SK Sharma
SK Sharma grew up in South Central Los Angeles, started college at 14, and became the first in his family to graduate from university. After completing his PhD in Biophysical Chemistry and Chemical Physics at Caltech at 23, SK built a career spanning investment banking at Goldman Sachs, venture capital, strategy consulting, and nearly a decade as Chief Analytics and AI Officer at Universal Music Group. He holds four U.S. patents as lead inventor and has co-authored 18 peer-reviewed scientific publications. A Billboard ‘40 Under 40’ honoree and Constellation Research AI 150 inductee, SK delivered the 2023 commencement address at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. He is currently Senior Advisor at Warburg Pincus, on the Board of the Caltech Alumni Association, and a member of the editorial board of Scatterplot, a Mathematical Association of America journal. His research examines the ethical dimensions of AI systems, with a focus on epistemic harm in AI-designed drug candidates and the moral obligations that arise when algorithmic systems make or inform consequential decisions about human welfare. His future work will explore governance frameworks for AI in high-stakes medical and social contexts.
Honorable Mention
"Beyond the Clinical Gaze: Rational Mistrust, Structural Vulnerability, and the Demands of Relational Solidarity in BRCA Genetic Testing for African American Women" by Siqi (Mandy) Zhou
Siqi (Mandy) Zhou received a BS in management from Beijing Institute of Technology, China, and a BA in accounting from the University of Reading, United Kingdom. As an undergraduate, she conducted research on the medical ethics of pelvic inflammatory disease resulting from HIV and sexually transmitted infections in women of childbearing age. Her bioethical interests focus on the ethical challenges in reproductive medicine, particularly genetic engineering in assisted reproduction, and the health disparities affecting women and children. Upon completing the MBE program, she intends to pursue a PhD at a business school to further explore the intersection of business ethics and bioethics.