Beyond Two-Step Methodology: The Atomic Approach to Transgender Data Collection in Biobanks
American Journal of Bioethics · Published June 2026
PhD Candidate · University of Rochester
Hi, I'm Rebecca Sanaeikia
I'm Becca — a philosopher and bioethicist asking how institutions like hospitals, courts, databases, and social media platforms can stop using classification as a tool of exclusion and start using it as a tool of justice. My work sits at the intersection of trans studies, political philosophy, and AI ethics.
What I'm Working On
Latest Research, Media & Teaching
Latest Research
My paper in AJOB proposes the "atomic approach" to transgender data collection — disaggregating sex/gender into constituent clinical attributes to reduce epistemic injustice in biobanks.
See all publications →Media & Speaking
I was recently on the PhilOcc Podcast discussing AI and trans health ethics. I also co-organize Wonder Philosophy — bringing philosophy outside the academy.
See media appearances →Teaching
I am currently teaching Introduction to Privacy, Fairness, and Ethical Considerations for Healthcare Data Science at the Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, University of Rochester, and have previously taught Intro to Moral Issues at Rochester Institute of Technology and Queer Spaces Online at University of Rochester.
See teaching record →Featured Publication
Research Approach
A justice-first framework for trans data
Most scholarship on classification asks: what is the most accurate way to categorize people? I start from a different place — what is the most just? This is what I call a justice-first approach to ontological questions about sex, gender, and trans status.
Standard systems impose a single framework across medical records, insurance claims, legal documents, and research databases — what philosophers call ontological monism. For trans, nonbinary, and intersex people, this produces systematic blind spots and real-world harms.
Drawing on Robin Dembroff's ontological pluralism and Kristie Dotson's concept of epistemic injustice, I argue that multiple, context-sensitive frameworks must coexist.
Read the full research statement →
01
Data Design
Developing the "atomic approach" — replacing binary sex/gender fields with trait-level clinical attributes that capture only what is medically relevant, reducing harm while enabling rigorous research.
02
Epistemic Justice
Analyzing how EHRs, claims algorithms, and research databases perpetuate epistemic injustice — dismissing trans testimony, producing cisnormative bias, and silencing the people most affected.
03
Digital & Social Spaces
Extending the justice-first lens to content moderation: arguing that platform failures to protect LGBTQ+ users constitute public health crises requiring ethical accountability.
Selected Publications
Recent Work
Content Bubbles: The Double Bind of Trust Erosion and Exclusion
Forthcoming — Feminist Philosophy Quarterly
Epistemic Violence Against Trans* People in Iran: Unethical Medico-Legal Processes of Gender-Affirming Care
Journal of Gender Studies
View publication →Doing Justice: Ethical Considerations Identifying and Researching Transgender and Gender Diverse People in Insurance Claims Data
Journal of Medical Systems
View publication →Project Outside Academia
Project Sogand
The Transfemicide Database
In my spare time, I founded Project Sogand — an open-source archive documenting fatal violence against trans feminine and queer people in Iran. It is both a memorial and a data resource: built to empower survivors, honor those lost, and support future scholarship. The same justice-first principles that animate my academic work apply here, where the stakes are most visible.
Visit Project SogandBeyond the Desk
When I'm not philosophizing
Gaming
Currently deep in Arc Raiders. Video games are where I decompress — the worldbuilding and emergent narratives aren't so far from ontology, honestly.
Beautiful & Sweet Pea
My two cats: Beautiful and Sweet Pea. They are exactly as wonderful as their names suggest and significantly better at sitting still than I am.
Let's connect
I welcome collaborators, questions, and feedback from researchers, advocates, and community members. Find me online or write me directly.