Leigh Garven Turner

Professor, Health, Society, and Behavior
Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health

health ethics, research ethics, ethics of stem cell research & regenerative medicine, health humanities, social studies of health & illness

UCI Department of Health, Society, and Behavior Faculty Profile

2023-2024 University of California, Irvine Newkirk Center for Science and
Society Faculty Fellowship, Irvine, CA, USA

2016 Ryan Bioethicist in Residence, Southern Illinois University, IL, USA

2013 Visiting Fellow, Brocher Foundation, Hermance, Switzerland

2013 Erasmus Mundus Visiting Scholar, Scientific Institute for Quality of
Healthcare & Division of Medical Ethics, Radboud University,
Nijmegen, Netherlands

2006-2008 William Dawson Scholar, Biomedical Ethics Unit and Department of
Social Studies of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal,
Quebec, Canada

2006-2007 Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Comparative Program on Health and
Society, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

2003-2004 Member, School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study,
Princeton, New Jersey, USA

1999 Visiting Scholar, Institute for the Medical Humanities, University of
Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA

Leigh Turner is a Professor in the School of Population and Public Health's Department of Health, Society, and Behavior. He is the founding Director of the University of California, Irvine Center for Health Ethics. Turner is also a member of UCI’s Stem Cell Research Center and UCI MIND. His current research addresses ethical, legal, and social issues related to stem cells and regenerative medicine products. In particular, he uses approaches from bioethics and the social sciences to examine the marketing claims and commercial practices of clinics selling unproven and unlicensed cell-based interventions. He also studies ethical issues related to crowdfunding for medical care, cross-border health-related travel, non-trial expanded access to investigational interventions, and other topics. Turner is a co-editor of Risks and Challenges in Medical Tourism: Understanding the Global Market for Health Services and The View from Here: Bioethics and the Social Sciences.

Trinh A, Turner L. Challenging Reward Structures and Organizational Cultures That Propagate Stem Cell Hyperbole. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports 2025; 21, 8: 2810-2819.

Prange S, Turner L. LGBTQ+ persons, queer bioethics, and inclusivity in stem cell research and regenerative medicine. Regenerative Medicine 2025; 20, 9: 387-397.

Jonlin E, Fujita M, Isasi R, Kato K, Munsie M, Muto K, Niakan K, Saha K, Sugarman J, Turner L, Hyun I. What Does ‘Appropriate Scientific Justification’ Mean for the Review of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell, Embryo, and Related Research? Stem Cell Reports 2025; 20, 5: 1-9.

Ikonomou L, Munsie M, Power C, Sipp D, Turner L, Rasko J. Effective Regulatory Responses to Predatory Stem Cell Markets in Australia and Canada. Cell Stem Cell 2024; 31, 10: 1393-1397.

Turner L, Wang J, Martinez Jr J, Najjar S, Rajapaksha Arachchilage T, Sahrai V. U.S. Businesses Engaged in Direct-to-Consumer Marketing of Perinatal Stem Cell Interventions Following the FDA’s Enforcement Discretion Era. Cytotherapy 2024; 26, 4: 393-403.

Turner L, Martinez Jr. J, Najjar S, Rajapaksha Arachchilage T, Sahrai V, Wang, J. Regulatory Claims Made by U.S. Businesses Engaged in Direct-to-Consumer marketing of Purported Stem Cell Treatments and Exosome Therapies. Regenerative Medicine 2023; 18, 11: 857-868.

Turner L, Martinez Jr. J, Najjar S, Rajapaksha Arachchilage T, Wang, J. Businesses Marketing Purported Stem Cell Treatments and Exosome Therapies for COVID-19: An Analysis of Direct-to-Consumer Online Advertising Claims. Stem Cell Reports 2023; 18, 11: 2010-2015.

Turner L, Martinez Jr. J, Najjar S, Rajapaksha Arachchilage T, Sahrai V, Wang J. Safety and Efficacy Claims Made by U.S. Businesses Marketing Purported Stem Cell Treatments and Exosome Therapies. Regenerative Medicine 2023; 18, 10: 781-793.

Zettler P, Ikonomou L, Levine A, Turner L, Grilley B, Roxland B. An International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy working group short report on the future of expanded access to unapproved cell and gene therapies. Cytotherapy 2023; 25, 7: 712-717.

Ikonomou L, Cuende N, Forte M, Grilley B, Levine A, Munsie M, Rasko J, Turner L, Bidkhori H, Ciccocioppo R, Grignon F, Srivastava A, Weiss D, Zettler P, Levine B. International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy Position Paper: Key considerations to support evidence-based cell and gene therapies and oppose marketing of unproven products. Cytotherapy 2023; 25, 9: 920-929.

Ikonomou L, Magnusson M, Dries R, Herzog E, Hynds R, Borok Z, Park J-A, Skolasinski S, Burgess J, Turner L, Mojarad S, Mahoney J, Lynch T, Lehmann M, Thannickal V, Hook J, Vaughan A, Hoffman E, Weiss D, Ryan A. Stem cells, cell therapies, and bioengineering in lung biology and disease 2021. American Journal of Physiology-Lung, Cellular, and Molecular Physiology 2022; 323: L341-L354.

Akkas F, Turner L, Richardson E. 2022. Adverse events related to unapproved stem cell products and other regenerative interventions-recommendations for more robust regulation of the direct-to-consumer marketplace. Regenerative Medicine 2022; 17, 2: 63-68.

Turner L. Hope, hype, cures, and persons with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 2022; 64 (1), 8.

Turner L, Munsie M, Levine A, Ikonomou L. Ethical Issues and Public Communication in the Development of Cell-based Treatments for COVID-19: Lessons from the Pandemic. Stem Cell Reports 2021; 16, 11: 2567-2576.

Turner L. The American stem cell sell in 2021: U.S. businesses selling unlicensed and unproven stem cell interventions. Cell Stem Cell 2021; 28, 11: 1891-1895.

Turner L, Snyder J. Ethical issues concerning a pay-to-participate stem cell study. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2021; 10: 815-819.

Turner L. ISSCR’s Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation: Supporting development of safe and efficacious stem cell-based interventions. Stem Cell Reports 2021; 16: 1394-1397.

Lovell-Badge R, Anthony A, Barker R, Bubela T, Brivanlou A, Carpenter M, Charo, A, Clark A, Clayton E, Cong Y, Daley G, Fu J, Fujita M, Greenfield A, Goldman S, Hill L, Hyun I, Isasi R, Kahn J, Kato K, Kim, J-S, Kimmelman J, Knoblich J, Mathews D, Montserrat N, Mosher J, Munsie M, Nakauchi H, Naldini L, Naughton G, Niakan K, Ogbogu U, Pedersen R, Rivron, N, Rooke H, Rossant J, Round J, Saitou M, Sipp D, Steffann J, Sugarman J, Surani A, Takahashi J, Tang F, Turner L, Zettler P, Zhai X. ISSCR Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation: The 2021 update. Stem Cell Reports 2021; 16: 1398-1408.

Snyder J, Turner L. Crowdfunding, stem cell interventions and autism spectrum disorder: comparing campaigns related to an international “stem cell clinic” and US academic medical center. Cytotherapy 2020; 23, 3: 198-202.

Smith C, Martin-Lille C, Higano J, Turner L, Phu S, Arthurs J, Nelson T, Shapiro S, Master Z. Challenging misinformation and engaging patients: characterizing a regenerative medicine consult service. Regenerative Medicine 2020; 15 (3): 1427-1440.

Turner L. Preying on Public Fears and Anxieties in a Pandemic: Businesses Selling Unproven and Unlicensed “Stem Cell Treatments” for COVID-19. Cell Stem Cell 2020; 26 (6): 806-810.

Snyder J, Bateman-House A, Turner L. Is right to try being tried? Using crowdfunding data to better understand usage of nontribal pre-approval access pathways. Regenerative Medicine 2020; 15, 8: 1979-1985.

Sipp D., Turner L., Rasko, J. Stem Cell Businesses and Right to Try Laws. Cell Stem Cell 2019 25 (3): 304-305.

Snyder J, Turner L. Crowdfunding for Stem Cell Based Interventions Intended to Treat Neurological Diseases and Injuries. Neurology 2019 3, 6: 1-7.

Fu W, Smith C, Turner L, Fojtik J, Pacyna J, Master Z. Characteristics and Scope of Training of Clinicians Participating in the US Direct-to-Consumer Marketplace for Unproven Stem Cell Interventions. Journal of the American Medical Association 2019; 321, 24: 2463-2464.

Tanner C, Munsie M, Sipp D, Turner L, Wheatland C. The politics of evidence in online illness narratives: an analysis of crowdfunding for purported stem cell treatments. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine 2019; 23, 4: 436-457.

Ikonomou L, Wagner DE, Turner L, Weiss DJ. Translating Basic Research into Safe and Effective Cell-based Treatments for Respiratory Diseases. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2019; 16, 6: 657-668.

Zarzeczny A, Atkins H, Illes J, Kimmelman J, Master Z, Robillard J, Snyder J, Turner L, Zettler P, Caulfield P. The stem cell market and policy options: a call for clarity. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 2018; 1-16.

Turner L. Direct-to-consumer marketing of stem cell interventions by Canadian Businesses. Regenerative Medicine 2018; 13 (6): 643-658.

Sipp D, Robey, P, and Turner L. Clear up this stem-cell mess. Nature 2018; 561 (7724): 455-457.

Wagner D, Turner L, Panoskaltsis-Mortari A, Weiss D, Ikonomou L. Co-opting of ClinicalTrials.gov by patient-funded studies. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine 2018; 6 (8): 579-581.

Turner L. The U.S. Direct-to-Consumer Marketplace for Autologous Stem Cell Interventions. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 2018; 61, 1: 7-24.

Snyder J, Turner L. Selling stem cell ‘treatments’ as research: prospective customer perspectives from crowdfunding campaigns. Regenerative Medicine 2018; 13 (4): 375-384.

Knoepfler P, Turner L. The FDA and the US direct-to-consumer marketplace for stem cell interventions: a temporal analysis. Regenerative Medicine 2018; 13 (1): 19-27.

Snyder J, Turner L, Crooks V. Crowdfunding for Unproven Stem Cell-Based
Interventions. Journal of the American Medical Association 2018; 319, 18: 1935-1936.

Weiss D, Turner L, Levine A, Ikonomou L. Medical Societies, Patient Education Initiatives, Public Debate, and the Marketing of Unproven Stem Cell Interventions. Cytotherapy 2018; 20 (2): 165-168.

Turner L. ClinicalTrials.gov, Stem Cells, and “Pay-to-Participate” Clinical Studies. Regenerative Medicine. 2017; 12 (6): 705-719.

Martins Martinho A, Turner L. Stem Cells in Court: Historical Trends in U.S. Legal Cases Related to Stem Cells. Regenerative Medicine 2017; 12 (4): 419-430.

Crooks V, Whitmore R, Snyder J, Turner L. “Ensure that you are well aware of the risks you are taking…”: Actions and activities medical tourists’ informal caregivers can undertake to protect their health and safety. BMC Public Health 2017; 17: 487: 1-10.

Turner L, Knoepfler P. Selling Stem Cells in the USA: Assessing the Direct-to-Consumer Industry. Cell Stem Cell 2016; 19 (2): 154-157.

2024-2028 National Science Foundation Emerging Frontiers & Multidisciplinary Activities, EFRI BEGIN OI: Title: Feasibility of 3D Biological Neurocomputers for Intelligent Biomedical Motor Control Systems Award Number 2422412 Principal Investigator: An Do; Co-Principal Investigators: Hung Cao, Charles Liu, Zoran Nenadic, Leigh Turner

2024-2026 California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Title: The Contemporary U.S. Direct-to-Consumer Marketplace for Unapproved and Unproven Stem Cell ‘Therapies’ Principal Investigator: Leigh Turner

International Society for Stem Cell Research

Associate Professor
University of Minnesota 2008—2021

Assistant/Associate Professor
McGill University 2000—2008

Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics 1998—2000

Research Associate
The Hastings Center 1996—1997

Research Assistant
University of Southern California 1996—1996

Public Health

Stem Cell Research Center

UCI MIND: Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurogical Disorders

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=7008

Last updated
05/04/2026