Dr. Powell was for 15 years the Director of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics, and held during that time the Trachtenberg Chair in Bioethics. She is a Clinical Professor of Epidemiology, Division of Bioethics, and Psychiatry. She served four years as Executive Director of the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, which functioned as New York State’s bioethics commission.  She has worked with the National Academy of Medicine on many projects related to public health and ethics, and currently chairs the Committee on Research Priorities for Preventing and Treating Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias. Dr. Powell graduated magna cum laude from Harvard-Radcliffe College. At Yale Medical School she earned the Parker Prize, Yale’s highest award for a graduating medical student. She completed her internship, psychiatric residency and Consultation-Liaison fellowship at Columbia.  She is a board certified psychiatrist and Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, the American Psychiatric Association and The Hastings Center. Dr. Powell's book, Reimagining Dementia, was published in 2019 and featured on numerous media outlets, including Fresh Air with Terry Gross. 

Selected Publications

T. Powell, “Life Imitates Work,” JAMA. 2011;305(6):542-543.

T Powell, D Hanfling, L Gostin, “Emergency Preparedness and Public Health: the lessons of Hurricane Sandy,” JAMA, December 26, 2012; 38(24): 2569-70.

J Hodge, D Hanfling, T Powell, “Practical, Ethical and Legal Challenges Underlying Crisis Standards of Care,” Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics, Supplement 41:1, Spring, 2013; 50-56.

L Biddison, K Berkowitz, B Courtney, M De Jong, A Devereaux, N Kissoon, C Sprung, T Powell, “Care of the Critically Ill and Injured During Disasters and Pandemics:Ethical Considerations: CHEST Consensus Statement,” Chest, On-Line First, August, 2014, doi:10.1378/chest.14-0742. (This and following article were part of a 2 year project for the American College of Chest Physicians to delineate best practices for critical care in public health crises.)

B Courtney, J Hodge, E Toner, B Roxland, M Penn, N Kissoon, A Devereaux, M Christian, J Dichter, T Powell, “Consensus Statement on Care of the Critically Ill and Injured During Disasters and Pandemics 2013:Legal Preparedness,” Chest, On-Line First, August, 2014. doi:10.1378/chest.14-0741.  

T Powell, E Stein, “Legal and Ethical Concerns About Sexual Orientation Change Efforts,” LGBT Bioethics: Visibility, Disparities, and Dialogue, special report, Hastings Center Report 44, no. 5 (2014): S32-S39.

Powell T, Chuang E. COVID in NYC: What We Could Do Better. Am J Bioeth. 2020 Jul;20(7):62-66. doi: 10.1080/15265161.2020.1764146. Epub 2020 May 28.PMID: 32464081

Powell T, Bellin E, Ehrlich AR. Older Adults and Covid-19: The Most Vulnerable, the Hardest Hit. Hastings Cent Rep. 2020 May;50(3):61-63. doi: 10.1002/hast.1136.PMID: 32596888

Powell T. OK Boomer, MD: The Rights of Aging Physicians and the Health of Our Communities. Hastings Cent Rep. 2020 Nov;50(6):3. doi: 10.1002/hast.1191.PMID: 33315250

Powell, T. Running Toward Disasters: one bioethicist’s experience in translational ethics. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 65(4) (autumn 2022):622-628.

T Powell. Imagine This: Happy Aging in America. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 2023. 66(4): 610-619.

A Mishkin, T Powell. Not Viable: Conference Locations That Pose Significant Reproductive Health Risks. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2024; 177. doi 10.7326/M23-2545.