Professional Summary
Koffi N. Maglo received his BA degree from the University of Lomé in Togo. After obtaining MA and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Burgundy in France, he did postdoctoral studies at Virginia Tech in the US. He was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, (2003-5). His interests include philosophy of biology and biomedicine, ethics and population health, philosophy of science, history of 17thand 18thcentury physics, African philosophy.
In the area of philosophy of biology and biomedicine, his work focuses on the ontological and epistemic status of population stratification concepts in genomics and evidence-based medicine, and on theoretical and ethical issues in personalized medicine. He currently leads collaborative interdisciplinary research projects on ethics and obesity research, and on race-based therapy. He has previously organized in April 2007 an interdisciplinary symposium at the University of Cincinnati on “Race in the Age of Genomic Medicine: The Science and its Applications.” http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.asp?id=5592.
Koffi Maglo published also on the structure and developments of Newtonian mechanics and its reception across European scientific institutions. His publications include essays in recent French philosophy of science and on the French Enlightenment. At a more theoretical level, his research in the history of physics and in the philosophy of biology deals with questions about the reality, validity and utility of scientific notions.
Research Support
Grant: #R25OD023763 Investigators:Hardcastle, Valerie; Jacquez, Farrah; Maglo, Koffi; Malat, Jennifer; Maynard, Kathie; Montgomery, La'trice 09-15-2017 -07-31-2022 Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health GROWING COMMUNITY CHANGE RESEARCHERS Role:Collaborator $255,443.00 Awarded Level:Federal
Abbreviated Publications
Peer Reviewed Publications
“Researching vs. Reifying Race: The Case of Obesity Research,” with Lisa Martin as a co-author, pp.111–43, in Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies, vol.22, 2012.
“Group-Based and Personalized Care in an Age of Genomic and Evidence-Based Medicine: A Reappraisal,” pp.137-54, in Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University Press, vol.55:1, 2012.
“The Case against Biological Realism about Race: From Darwin to the Post-Genomic Era,” pp.361-90, in Perspectives on Science, MIT Press, vol.19:4, 2011.
“Genomics and the Conundrum of Race: Some Epistemic and Ethical Considerations,” pp.357-72, in Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University Press, vol.53:3, Summer 2010.
“Black/White Disparity in Self-Reported Hypertension: The Role of Nativity Status,” pp.1148-62, co-authored with Borrell LN, Crawford ND and Barrington DS, in Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, The Johns Hopkins University Press, vol. 19:4, November 2008.
“The Reception of Newton’s Gravitational Theory by Huygens, Varignon, and Maupertuis: How Normal Science May Be Revolutionary,” pp.135-69, in Perspectives on Science, MIT Press, 11: 2, 2003.
“Newton in the Encyclopédie of Diderot and d’Alembert: Perceptions and Debates over Newton’s Theories during the French Enlightenment,” in The Reception of Isaac Newton in Europe, New York/London, Continuum Press, Vol. II, 2015, chap.16 (In Press).
“Madame Du Châtelet, l’Encyclopédie et la philosophie des sciences,” pp.255-66, in Émilie du Châtelet: éclairages et documents nouveaux, Paris, Ferney-Voltaire: CIEDS, 2008.
“Bachelard et la négation positiviste de l’imagination scientifique,” pp.30-42, in Actualité et postérité de Gaston Bachelard, Presses Universitaires de France, 1997.
“Force, Mathematics and Physics in Newton’s Principia: A New Approach to Enduring Issues,” pp.571-600, in Science in Context, Cambridge University Press, 20:4, 2007.
Presentations
Paper Presentations
(2012. ) Race as a Proxy for Human Population Substructure in Genomics and Clinical Practice: Philosophy, from the Bench to the Bedside .American Philosophical Association (APA) Eastern Division Annual Meeting (forthcoming), Atlanta. .
(2012. ) Genomics, Race and Medicine: Revisiting the Science and the Practice .Mississippi State University.
(2012. ) Playing the Game of Force against Cartesians: From Newton to Laplace .Mississippi State University.
(2011. ) “BiDil in the Patient-Physician Relationship”: Philosophical and Ethical Background of a Pilot Project .Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Cincinnati.
(2011. ) Conceptualizing Human Population Differences in Biomedical Research .Institute for Research in African-American Studies and the Department of Philosophy, Columbia University.
(2011. ) BiDil at the Bedside: A Preliminary Investigation .Center for Genetics and Society, Tarrytown 2nd Annual Meeting, NY.
(2009. ) Using Race in Biomedicine: A Philosophical Perspective .Wagner College, NY.
(2008. ) Researching vs. Reifying Race .Cincinnati, OH.
(2008. ) Race in Genomics: Some Philosophical and Ethical Considerations .The Pennsylvania State University.
(2007. ) Newton and the Concept of Force .University of Pittsburgh.
(2006. ) Talking about Democratization in Africa: Models and Modalities .Fukuoka, Japan.
(2006. ) Madame du Châtelet and the Triumph of Newton’s Theories in France .Paris, France.
(2006. ) Race at the Age of Genomic Medicine: A Philosophical Perspective .University of South Florida.
(2006. ) Newton’s Philosophy of Mathematics and the Scientific Style of the Principia .University of Sienna, Italy.
(2006. ) Newton in the Encyclopédie .Germany.
(2005. ) Completing the Newton Revolution: The Cases of Euler and d’Alembert .MIT.
(2004. ) Defining Natural Kinds vs. Making up People in Genomic Studies .Harvard University.
(2004. ) Genomic Medicine and Race: Making the Case for Critical Genomic Epistemic .MIT.
(2004. ) Gene, Disease and Ancestry: The Conflict over Population Stratification Concepts in Science and Medicine .Boston.
Honors and Awards
Research Ethics Award, Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training, University of Cincinnati, 2010
Visiting Fellow, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, Fall 2007
Martin Luther King Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2003-5
Certificate of Appreciation, National Human Genome Center, Howard University, 2003
Courses Taught
History of Modern Philosophy Level:Undergraduate
Topics in Practical Ethics: Bioethics Level:Undergraduate
Issues in Social and Political Philosophy Level:Undergraduate
Philosophy and Race Level:Undergraduate
Moral and Political Ideas Level:Undergraduate
Contemporary Moral Issues Level:Undergraduate
Introduction to Ethics Level:Undergraduate
Introduction to Philosophy Level:Undergraduate
Realism and Pluralism in Science Level:Graduate
Studies in the Metaphysics of Scientific Change: Descartes-Newton & Priestley-Lavoisier (Graduate Level, with John McEvoy, UC) Level:Graduate
French Traditions in Philosophy of Science Level:Graduate
Social and Ethical Issues in Biomedicine Level:Graduate
Genomics, Race and Ethics Level:Graduate
Science, Philosophy and Society Level:Undergraduate
Classification, Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change: Race as a Case Study (with Sally Haslanger, MIT) Level:Graduate
Philosophy and Medicine Level:Undergraduate
Philosophy of Science Level:Undergraduate