Academic interests

I am Associate Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Oslo. My work focusses on ethical questions related to medicine, innovation and the life-sciences. My PhD thesis was an analysis of the ethical and legal implications of artificial gametes (sperm and eggs manufactured in the laboratory). I have published widely on this topic, and on many related issues in reproductive ethics. I also have broader interests in a variety of bioethical topics, including morality and nature, and human relationships with animals and plants.

Background

I studied philosophy for my first degree, at Edinburgh University. It was here that I first became interested in questions about the interaction between philosophy, science and ethics. I gained my PhD from Imperial College, London. Prior to coming to UiO, I was lecturer in ethics at Norwich Medical School, at the University of East Anglia (UK).

Education and qualifications

  • 2008: PhD ‘Regulating conception with artificial gametes’, Imperial College, London
  • 2004: MA(res) in Environment, Culture and Society (Distinction), Lancaster University
  • 2003: MSc in Medical Ethics (Distinction), Imperial College, London
  • 1995: MA Honours Degree in Mental Philosophy, Edinburgh University