I am a Research Fellow in the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy at The University of Manchester. Having worked as a commercial solicitor for many years, I moved from private practice to academia in 2020.

My first research role was as part of Dr Lucy Frith's interdisciplinary Reset Ethics research team, investigating the ethical aspects of decision-making during the pandemic in paediatric and maternity services.

I am currently working with Dr Frith on the UKRI ESRC ConnecteDNA project, examining the use of direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) by donor-conceived people. My focus is on the legal and regulatory challenges raised by DTCGT.

My research interests lie broadly in the dynamic interplay between law, ethics (particularly bioethics) and social change. I am particularly interested in the way legal and ethical frameworks are interpreted by people in their everyday lives, and in decision-making processes and practices. Having recently been fortunate enough to attend an international summer school at VU University in Amsterdam, I am now actively pursuing a keen new interest in empirical bioethics.

I have a PhD in Palliative Care and an LLM in Child Law. My PhD explored the influence of legal consciousness on the way in which the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is understood by hospice staff making decisions for patients who lack capacity to decide for themselves. My Masters dissertation considered children's autonomy in making mental- and medical-health treatment decisions.

Member of The Law Society of England and Wales

Member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association

Member of the Society of Legal Scholars

Member of the Society for Computers and Law