Shaun D. Pattinson is a British

legal scholar Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the a ...

specializing in

medical law Medical law is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a br ...

and

medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...

. He currently serves as a Professor of Medical Law and Ethics at

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 ...

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 ...

. In 2011, he founded the Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences ( Durham CELLS) at Durham University.

Education and career

Pattinson earned his undergraduate law degree from the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

. He furthered his studies at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

, obtaining a master's degree and a Ph.D. He received higher doctorates by the University of Sheffield ( LLD) and

. (

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

). Pattinson took up a Lectureship in Law at the University of Sheffield in 2000 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2005. He was appointed as a Reader in Law at Durham University in 2006 and was promoted to Professor of Medical Law and Ethics in 2013.

Professional roles and honours

Pattinson has held several notable positions: * Guest Professor at

Tongji University Tongji University is a public university located in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Tongji is one of the ...

, since 2024. * Member of the Council of Governors of

South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for the management of the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, and community health services across South Tees and parts of North Yorksh ...

, since 2022. * Member of the editorial board of ''The Biologist'' (the journal of

Royal Society of Biology The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), previously called the Society of Biology, is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Fo ...

, since 2017. * Deputy Chair of the

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 ...

, where he also chaired the Horizon Scanning Advisory Group, until 2021. * 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 ...

from 2005 to 2011. His professional recognitions include being a Senior Fellow of the

Advance HE Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

(SFHEA), a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(FRSA) and a Fellow of the

(FRSB).

Research and publications

Pattinson's research interests focus on

and

, including the regulation of

emerging technologies Emerging technologies are technology, technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally innovation, new but also include old technologies finding new applications. Emer ...

. He has authored several books, including: * ''Influencing Traits Before Birth'' (2002). * ''Revisiting Landmark Cases in Medical Law'' (2018). * ''Law at the Frontiers of Biomedicine'' (2023). * ''Medical Law and Ethics'' (7th ed., 2025). His book ''Medical Law and Ethics'' received the 2010 Minty Medico-Legal Society Prize for best medico-legal book. He has also published with Deryck Beyleveld.

Recent work

From 2014 to 2017, Pattinson led a project entitled ‘Human Cloning and Stem Cell Research Through the Medium of Law’, funded by the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

. This involved using law to engage post-16 students in the debate over human cloning, stem cell research and mitochondrial replacement technology. A finding was that UK school students had been misinformed as to how

Dolly (sheep) Dolly (5 July 1996 – 14 February 2003) was a female Finn-Dorset sheep and the first mammal that was cloned from an adult somatic cell. She was cloned by associates of the Roslin Institute in Scotland, using the process of nuclear transfer f ...

had been cloned. In January 2023, Pattinson published ''Law at the Frontiers of Biomedicine'', presenting a legal theory termed 'contextual legal idealism'. This work explores the regulation of emerging biotechnologies, such as heritable genome editing and cryonic reanimation, and was supported by a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pattinson, Shaun Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British legal scholars Scholars of medical law Academics of Durham University