Biography

Education and Training

Awards & Honors 

Graduate Fellow for Teaching Excellence, Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Pennsylvania 2011-2012; The Joan Cahalin Robinson Prize, Society for the History of Technology -2013; Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching by Affiliated Faculty - 2018 

About Me

Working with colleagues and students in a medical school was a long standing goal for Meggie. She was honored to be invited to teach at CMSRU in 2023, and even thrilled to be recruited to the Center for Humanism that same year.  Meggie is a historian of medicine and bioethicist who earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in History and Sociology of Science. She is a passionate educator and has taught courses in bioethics, history of medicine, science, medicine, public health, and environments and societies. She believes that understanding history not only contextualizes contemporary knowledge, it widens our apertures and allows us to see new possibilities and alternative paths.

Dr. Crnic’s research builds on the intersection of her teaching interests and casts new light onto the intersection of place, human health, and well-being.  Her forthcoming book (under contract with the University of Washington Press) uncovers the transformation of America’s seashores from health resorts to common vacation destinations. In addition, she is part of an interdisciplinary team that is studying the ethics of hospital design, particularly how space can enhance well-being and promote (or limit) autonomy. 

Dr. Crnic was thrilled to join the Center for Humanism in 2023. She is the Director of the Bioethics concentration, teaches selectives in Medical Ethics and Medically Related Law and Racism and Medicine, and serves as a mentor for Capstone projects. She collaborates on research projects that study the impact of ethics and medical humanities curriculum on students’ professional development and contributes to studies that examine the educational culture and practices during students’ clerkship years. She serves on the ad-hoc committees for Racism in Medicine, as well as the committee on Climate Health. 

Meggie lives in South Jersey with her husband, children, two dogs, the occasional fish, and a cat who rules them all. She loves cheering for her sons’ teams; volunteering for her town’s historic committee; traveling to National Parks and hiking whenever possible; tinkering in her garden; and baking so she can share (and eat) the fruits of her labor.