Sheffield Institute of Biotechnology Law and Ethics

RECODE (Policy RECommendations for Open Access to Research Data in Europe)

FP7 funding was successful and the RECODE (Policy RECommendations for Open Access to Research Data in Europe) project is to commence next year. The project is to consider a broad range of issues raised by open access, dissemination, preservation and use of scientific data and Dr Mark Taylor co-director of SIBLE will lead on the workpackage addressing the ethical issues.

Wellcome Trust: Right to access the Benefits of Science in International Law

Professor Aurora Plomer was awared a grant from the Wellcome Trust to facilitate research and dissemination of work in progress on a book which she is writing on the right to access the benefits of science in international law. The book ‘Human Rights, Property Rights and Emerging Biotechnologies’ is to be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2012. The book analyzes the conceptual tensions in the texts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) between individual rights of authorship and the right of everyone to share in the benefits of science. The aim is to explore the implications for the governance of the life-sciences in the wake of the rising globalization of bio-economies, increased reliance on finance from the private sector in the funding of basic science, the shifting legal boundaries of intellectual property rights, the growth and multiplication of local, regional and international ethical codes of practice and the polarization of moral and religious debates on new biotechnologies.

Crucible Research Project: University Inventors

Who owns the knowledge produced at the University? Can you be an inventor at the University? This project is about understanding best practice to ensure maximal benefit to co-inventors, the university and to society’?

Chamu Kuppuswamy, Caroline Evans (Engineering) and Guillaume Hautbergue (SITRAN)

Crucible Research Project: Do you want to Know?

Imagine… …that convicted murderers possess a genetic trait that is rarely seen in the general population Then imagine… …that your whole genome is studied as part of your medical treatment for allergies. Incidentally you are found to have the murderer gene Do you want to know?

Dr Vicky Chico

Crucible Research Project: Paid to be a ‘Good’ Parent

This project will explore the social, legal and moral issues in the use of financial incentives to influence parenting and contraceptive behaviour.

Ruth is working with Sarah Spencer, a Speech and Language Therapist in Human Communication Sciences, and Rachel Dilley, a Sociologist in Sociological Studies.

British Acadamy Research Project: Establishing the Public Interest in Research Access to Confidential Health Records.

Dr Mark Taylor has been award a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship. This means that his research project on ‘Establishing the Public Interest in Research Access to Confidential Health Records.’ will be funded by the British Academy.Dr Taylor’s successful application to the British Academy has come in the face of very strong competition: 313 applications were submitted for assessment and the Academy has been able to make just 46 offers, giving a success rate of under 15% overall.

Interdisciplinary Research Projects with Medical School Students

Professor Tamara Hervey, Dr Ruth Stirton, Dr Lindsay Stirton and Dr Vicky Chico are supervising Medical students who are working on research projects. Both Professor Hervey and Dr Chico are experts in medical law, healthcare law and ethics. This is another example of interdisciplinary approach to research that the School of Law has. and the importance of legal research to other disciplines.

About the projects

The Medical School runs a six week Research Attachment SSC (Student Selected Component) as part of the second year MBChB curriculum.

For the majority of our students the Research Attachment is their first exposure to a research environment and is an invaluable opportunity to be involved in topics of personal, academic and vocational interest. Since the introduction of this SSC seven years ago we have noticed a marked increase in the number of students applying for our Intercalated BMedSci degree, many of whom have been stimulated by their experiences on attachment.