Dr. Parker, a philosopher-bioethicist, collaborates with investigators across the University, as well as national and international colleagues, on both empirical studies and theoretical and policy analyses of bioethical issues. Her research focuses on ethical issues in genetic/genomic research, genetic counseling, and pharmacogenomics, with particular attention to return of results, management of incidental findings, and informed consent. She has a long-standing interest in the effect of new technologies and policies on health disparities and on those situated with less power in social hierarchies.

For the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Parker has served on ad hoc review panels, the ELSI Study Section, and the Societal and Ethical Issues in Research Study Section. She served on two NIH Working Groups—Managing Incidental Findings in Human Subjects Research and Managing Incidental Findings and Research Results in Genomic Biobanks & Archives—and has consulted on projects of the NIMH, NIDA, and NICHD. She served as Chair of the NHGRI Genomics & Society Working Group 2015-2017, was recently reappointed to it and to the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research, and serves on the Expert Scientific Panel of the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network.