Margaret Foster Riley

  • Professor of Law, General Faculty
  • Dorothy Danforth Compton Professor, Miller Center
  • Professor of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine
  • Professor of Public Policy, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
  • Director, Animal Law Program

Margaret (Mimi) Foster Riley teaches food and drug law, health law, animal law, bioethics, regulation of clinical research and public health law.

Riley has written and presented extensively about health care law, biomedical research, genetics, reproductive technologies, stem cell research, animal biotechnology, health disparities and chronic disease. She serves as chair of UVA's Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee and as legal advisor to the Health Sciences Institutional Review Board, which is responsible for reviewing all human subject research at UVA involving medically invasive procedures. She served on the National Research Council Committee on Revisions to the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects and has advised numerous committees of the Institute of Medicine and the Virginia Bar.

Before coming to Virginia, Riley was an associate with Pepper Hamilton & Scheetz in Philadelphia, where she worked primarily in complex securities, commercial and mass tort litigation. Prior to that position, she was a litigation associate with Rogers & Wells in New York. Riley received her law degree from Columbia University and her bachelor of arts from Duke University.

Education

  • J.D.
    Columbia University School of Law
    1985
  • A.B.
    Duke University
    1981

Books

Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic: Balancing Societal and Individual Benefits and Risks of Prescription Opioid Use (edited with Richard J. Bonnie, Morgan A. Ford & Jonathan K. Phillips), National Academies Press (2017).
Proposed Revisions to the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (with Robert Pool), National Academies Press (2014).

Book Chapters

Big Data, HIPAA, and the Common Rule: Time for Big Change?, in Big Data, Health Law, and Bioethics, Cambridge University Press, 251–264 (2018).
Twenty-First Century Technology with Twentieth-Century Baggage: FDA Regulation of Regenerative Medicine, in FDA in the Twenty-First Century: The Challenges of Regulating Drugs and New Technologies, Columbia University Press, 455–469 (2015).

Articles & Reviews

One Health Pandemic Prevention and Mitigation: The Role of FDA, 76 Food & Drug Law Journal 200 (2021).
A RAT by Another Name: 21st Century Cures Act and Stem Cell Therapies, 44 American Journal of Law & Medicine 291–308 (2018).
Implementing a Public Health Perspective in FDA Drug Regulation (with Aaron S. Kesselheim & Patricia J. Zettler), 73 Food & Drug Law Journal 221–256 (2018).
Revisit NIH biosafety guidelines (with Maureen O’Leary & Kenneth A. Oye), 357 Science 627 (2017).
CRISPR Creations and Human Rights, 11 Law & Ethics of Human Rights 225–252 (2017).
An Unfulfilled Promise: Changes Needed to the Drug Approval Process to Make Personalized Medicine a Reality, 70 Food & Drug Law Journal 289–314 (2015).
FDA’s Pathway for Regulation of FMT: Not So Fraught (with Bernat Olle), 2 Journal of Law & Bioscience 742–746 (2015).
Whole Genome Sequencing in Outbreak Analysis (with Carol A. Gilchrist et al.), 29 Clinical Microbiology Reviews 541–563 (2015).
Selected Comments submitted by panelists for the August 6, 2013 Public Workshop for the IOM RAC Review Committee, 25 Human Gene Therapy 27–30 (2014).
In Plain Sight: A Solution to a Fundamental Challenge in Human Research (with Lois Shepherd), 40 Journal of Law, Medicine, & Ethics 970–985 (2012).
Federal Funding and the Institutional Evolution of Federal Regulation of Biomedical Research, 5 Harvard Law & Policy Review 265–287 (2011).
How Should Ethics Affect FDA Regulation of Genetically Engineered Animals?, 1 Food & Drug Policy Forum (2011).
Regulating Reproductive Genetics: A Review of American Bioethics Commissions and Comparison to the British Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (with Richard A. Merrill), 6 Columbia Science & Technology Law Review 1–64 (2005).
A Critique of Human Cloning and Human Dignity: The Report of the President’s Council on Bioethics, 20 Journal of Law & Politics 463–488 (2004).

Reports & Datasets

Necessity, Use, and Care of Laboratory Dogs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Academies Press (2020).
Controlled Human Inhalation-Exposure Studies at EPA, National Academies Press (2017).
Ethical Implications of Animal Biotechnology: Considerations for Animal Welfare Decision Making (with Fuller Bazer, Edna Eiseiedel & Paul Thompson)46 , CAST Issue Paper (2010).

Op-Eds, Blogs, Shorter Works

What is the HIPAA Privacy Rule? A Health Law Scholar Explains, The Conversation (July 26, 2021).
Can Biden fix the vaccine mess? An expert says yes, The Conversation (January 27, 2021).
What is HIPAA? 5 questions answered about the medical privacy law that protects Trump’s test results and yours, The Conversation (October 15, 2020).
FDA Regulation of Antibiotic Use in Agricultural Animals, Jurist (May 26, 2012).

Current Courses

Animal Law
Health Care Marketplace: Competition, Regulation, and Reform (SC)
Health Law Survey
Law and Ethics of Biotechnology

All Courses

Germs and Justice: Law and Disease
Legal Research and Writing

IN THE NEWS

04/06/2023
‘The World Crisis and International Law’ (UVA Miller Center)
03/02/2023
‘Hospital City, Health Care Nation’ (UVA Miller Center)
01/27/2023
Building the CDC That America Needs (UVA Miller Center)
09/08/2022
Roe v. Dobbs: The Future of Reproductive Health (UVA Today)
07/27/2022
FDA Chief’s Long-Promised Opioid Review Faces Skepticism (The Associated Press)
07/07/2022
How Strong Are HIPAA Protections in a Post-Roe World? (PolitiFact)
04/21/2022
UVA Law Professor Breaks Down Latest on Vaccine and Mask Mandates (NBC29)
03/30/2022
The Fight Against COVID: Has the U.S. Entered a New Normal? (UVA Miller Center)
02/28/2022
Opioid Pledge to Prove Tricky for FDA Head Dogged by Pharma Ties (Bloomberg Law)
02/17/2022
Virginia Court Rules Masks Will Be Optional in Loudoun County Public Schools (CNN)
01/28/2022
Virginia AG Says State Universities Cannot Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines Without Lawmakers’ Approval (CNN)
01/28/2022
UVA Responds to Virginia’s AG Vaccine Mandate Opinion (NBC29)
01/25/2022
Legal Expert Explains How Schools Are Rejecting Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order (NBC29)
01/20/2022
UVA Prof. Says Lawsuits Unlikely Following Removal of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates (NBC29)
01/10/2022
What You Have To Disclose to an Employer When COVID-19 Positive (NBC29)
11/15/2021
100 Million Workers Fall Under Biden’s Vaccine and Testing Rules: Here’s What to Know (Healthline)
10/01/2021
Is That Legal?! (With Good Reason)
08/24/2021
COVID-19 FAQs Answered. Margaret Foster Riley (WINA Radio)
08/23/2021
What FDA Announcement Might Mean for Unvaccinated Virginians (CBS 6)
08/14/2021
Get the Vaccine or Get Fired? In Shenandoah Valley, Some Nurses Choose Termination. (The Washington Post)
08/13/2021
Who Can Ask About Your Vaccine Status? Here’s What You Need To Know About HIPAA (PBS NewsHour)
08/12/2021
Virginia Schools Heading Back With Mishmash of Local Mask Policies (Virginia Mercury)
08/11/2021
What Happens If School Districts Don’t Follow CDC Mask Guidance? (CBS 6)
08/10/2021
With COVID-19 Cases in Children Rising, Health Experts Urge Masks in School (VPM)
08/08/2021
Masks in Schools: ‘Total Confusion’ for Parents in Virginia, Analyst Predicts (CBS 6)
07/31/2021
‘This Isn’t a Joke’: Spokane Bar Nyne Requires Vaccination Status for Entry (KREM-TV)
07/26/2021
What Is the HIPAA Privacy Rule? A Health Law Scholar Explains (The Conversation)
06/22/2021
Anti-Vax Group Mounts Legal Blitz To Sow Disinformation Against Vaccinations (The Guardian)
05/25/2021
Fact Check: Federal Law Does Not Prevent States, Businesses, Employers From Requiring COVID-19 Vaccines (USA Today)
05/25/2021
Can Businesses Ask Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination? Experts Explain HIPAA (Fox Business)
05/21/2021
VERIFY: Yes, Businesses Can Require Unvaccinated Customers To Wear Masks Even If There Are No Mandates (WUSA)
05/17/2021
Professor: 'Unlikely' Businesses Will Demand Proof of Vaccine (CBS6)
05/14/2021
People, Businesses in Charlottesville Navigate Through Confusion of New (Un)masking Guidance (NBC29)
01/27/2021
Can Biden Fix the Vaccine Mess? An Expert Says Yes (The Conversation)
01/22/2021
The Biden Administration Inherits the Covid-19 Crisis (Miller Center of Public Affairs)
12/01/2020
New HHS Policy Requires All Information to Be Released for Upcoming Rules (Government Executive)
11/16/2020
The Costs of Delay (Miller Center of Public Affairs)
11/09/2020
Biden Presses Ahead (Miller Center of Public Affairs)
11/05/2020
The Day After the Day After (Miller Center of Public Affairs)
11/05/2020
The Day After the Day After (Miller Center of Public Affairs)
10/15/2020
What Is HIPAA? 5 Questions Answered About the Medical Privacy Law that Protects Trump’s Test Results and Yours (The Conversation)
06/04/2020
The Internet of Bodies Is Here. This Is How It Could Change Our Lives (World Economic Forum)
11/13/2019
Google Sparks New Privacy Fears Over Health Care Data (The Hill)
10/22/2018
Ryan Establishes Committee To Facilitate Strategic Plan for UVA (UVA Today)
03/29/2018
President-Elect Ryan Appoints Search Committees for Provost, COO (UVA Today)
08/18/2017
Revisit NIH biosafety guidelines (Science Mag)
03/27/2017
UVA Anesthesiologist Faces $75,000 Malpractice Suit (The Cavalier Daily)
01/03/2017
Law Profs Examine 8 Legal Landmarks of 2016, and What They May Mean in 2017 (UVA Today)
06/16/2016
Hazel: Jail Inmate Died Within 24 Hours of Admission to State Hospital (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
06/04/2016
Trigger Warning: UVA Prof Weighs in on Gorilla Shot at Zoo (C'ville)
03/28/2016
Pig Farming: Addressing Environmental, Medical & Ethical Concerns (WVTF)
06/17/2015
With Obamacare in Peril at Court, Government Offers Scant Relief (Bloomberg Business)
05/23/2015
Four Whisleblowers Prompted HDL Investigation (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
12/05/2014
Does ACA Give Incentive to Hire Immigrants? (FactCheck.org)
12/02/2014
Does Obamacare Give Businesses a $3,000 Incentive to Hire Illegal Immigrants? (PolitiFact)
10/30/2014
Ebola Goes to Court (Slate)
07/03/2014
Senator's Obamacare Suit Faces Long Odds, Scholars Say (USA Today)
06/28/2012
Local, UVa Experts: Health Care Law Will Still Take Years to Implement; The Already Insured Won't See Much Change (The Daily Progress)
06/28/2012
Health Advocates React to Supreme Court Health Care Ruling (NBC 29)
05/29/2012
FDA Regulation of Antibiotic Use in Agricultural Animals (Author) (Jurist)
03/26/2012
Health Care Reform Opponents, Supporters Rally in Charlottesville (NBC 29)
05/10/2010
Stopping Animal Biotech in U.S. Won't Stop It Elsewhere, BIO Told (Food Chemical News)
03/08/2010
Reinventing Life (UVA Magazine)
12/15/2009
135,000 Uninsured Americans Will Die Before Health Reform Takes Effect, Analysis Finds (The Raw Story)
11/09/2009
UVA Law Class Exploring Animal Law Issues (NBC 29)
11/06/2009
UVA Seminar Focuses on Animal Law (Charlottesville Daily Progress)
05/25/2009
GE Animal Developers Urged to Engage Critics on Ethical Issues (Food Chemical News)
03/09/2009
UVa Researchers Happy About Funding for Stem Cell Research (WCAV)
01/14/2009
Barker Grant Aids U.Va. Animal Law Program (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
01/14/2009
Barker's Gift to Found Animal Law Program (Charlottesville Daily Progress)
11/12/2007
Lawyers Dispute Patents on Animals and Plants (Duke Chronicle (NC))
12/14/2006
Support for Stem-Cell Study Falls, Poll Shows (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
04/11/2005
The Write Stuff (U.S. News & World Report)

AT UVA LAW

As Delta Spreads, Professor Makes 7 Vaccine Mandate Predictions
New Courses This Fall Offer Different Looks at the Law
Mandatory Vaccinations: Law, Ethics and Religious Liberties
Harnessing Science That Keeps You Up at Night
Faculty Focus: Administrative Law
Insights on Teaching From an Exchange With Germany
The Legal Landmarks of 2016
Insight From the Trenches: 7 J-Term Courses That Pair Outside Experts with UVA Law Professors
"The Future of Medicine," with Professor Mimi Riley
King v. Burwell and the future of Obamacare
Bring Back the Woolly Mammoth? UVA Law Professor Weighs Ethical, Legal Implications of Cloning Long-Lost Species
UVA Law Professors Analyze Supreme Court Decision in Gene-Patenting Case
Law Professors Seek to End Common Conflict of Interest in Clinical Research
At Annual Supreme Court Roundup, UVA Law Professors Explain Health Care, Immigration Decisions
Ahead of Supreme Court Roundup, Howard Discusses Emerging Picture of the Roberts Court
Health Law at the University of Virginia School of Law
UVA Law Professors React to Supreme Court Health Care, Stolen Valor Rulings
"The President's Contraception Mandate: A Basic Necessity or a Violation of Religious Liberty?"
Media Advisory: Law Professors Available to Speak About Health Care Reform, Potential Supreme Court Showdown
Professor Margaret Foster Riley Discusses Animal Law Course

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