Durham CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences) is a research centre at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, based in

Durham Law School Durham Law School is the law school of Durham University in Durham, England. In 2022, Durham Law was ranked 5th in the UK in a league table which averaged the rankings of the Complete University Guide, ''The Guardian'' and the ''Times'' Univer ...

. It focuses on the legal and ethical issues raised by biological science, medicine and regulation: biolaw and

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

. It was founded in December 2011 and has members from anthropology, biology, law, medicine, philosophy, sociology and theology. Durham CELLS is an established expert research centre in biolaw and bioethics. Its activities include: * running a research blog on issues relating to the ethical, social and regulatory issues raised by the life sciences, * running a blog on obstetric violence, supported by conferences and seminars, * engaging school students with biomedicine and bioethics, and * supporting ethics advisory committees.

Notable members

Founder:

Shaun Pattinson Shaun D. Pattinson is a British legal scholar specializing in medical law and medical ethics. He currently serves as a Professor of Medical Law and Ethics at Durham Law School, Durham University. In 2011, he founded the Centre for Ethics and L ...

(2011) Current Directors: Samantha Halliday and

Former Directors include

Deryck Beyleveld Deryck Beyleveld is founding Director of the Sheffield Institute of Biotechnological Law and Ethics (SIBLE) and is now a member of Durham CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences). He is Professor of Law and Bioethics, and a former H ...

Other members: * Emma Cave chaired a

Nuffield Council on Bioethics The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a UK-based independent charitable body, which examines and reports on bioethical issues raised by new advances in biological and medical research. Established in 1991, the Council is funded by the Nuffield F ...

working group on Stem Cell-Based Embryo Models in 2024, setting out governance proposals. She also chaired

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

Good Medical Practice Advisory Forum, resulting in new Good Medical Practice guidance in 2024., General Medical Council * Richard Goldberg has addressed the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pandemic Response and Recovery on vaccine damage schemes and vaccine liability. * Samantha Halliday co-leads the Northern Network for Medical Humanities: Narratives of consent and invisible women. * Camilla Pickles is a key member of the International Platform in Obstetric Violence. * Chloe Elizabeth Romanis is editor of

Medical Law International ''Medical Law International'' is a peer-reviewed law review that covers issues in medical law, bioethics, and health governance. It was established in 1993 and is currently published by SAGE Publications Sage Publishing, formerly SAGE Publicat ...

References

{{authority control Bioethics research organizations Organizations established in 2011