Cinnamon Bloss, PhD

Dr. Cinnamon Bloss is a tenured Professor of Public Health, Psychiatry, and Medicine (Division of Biomedical Informatics) at the University of California San Diego. She is the Founding Director of the Center for Empathy and Technology, situated within the UCSD Institute for Empathy and Compassion, where she also serves as Associate Director. Dr. Bloss conducts and leads interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research focused on social and behavioral phenomena related to emerging information and biotechnologies. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NHGRI, NCATS), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and philanthropic donations.  Dr. Bloss has been recognized by the Western Societies of Medicine with the Carmel Prize for Research Excellence and has published over 100 papers.  

In 2021, Dr. Bloss was appointed by the NIH Director to serve as Chair of the Novel and Exceptional Technology and Research Advisory Committee, a federal advisory committee that provides recommendations to the NIH Director and a public forum for the discussion of scientific, safety, and ethical issues associated with emerging biotechnologies. Prior to assuming the chairpersonship of the committee, she served as a member and Co-chair of the Gene Drives in Biomedical Research Working Group from 2019-2021. 

Dr. Bloss has received multiple teaching awards at UCSD, where she founded a new concentration in Technology and Precision Health for the Master in Public Health degree. She has mentored over 50 trainees.  Dr. Bloss currently serves as Interim Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health. She is a California-licensed clinical psychologist.