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Senior Lecturer in Law, The Open University

I started my academic career in 1995 after graduating in law and in 1997/8 gained an ESRC scholarship to support my PhD studies with Professor R.D. Mackay at De Montfort University, Leicester. I gained my PhD in 2001; my thesis title was Involuntary Action and the Criminal Law. I have remained interested in criminal responsibility throughout my career.

My main research interest is in the overlap between neuroscience and the criminal law. I am particularly interested in what cognitive neuroscience may tell us about excusing conditions in criminal law defences and the implications of the use of brain computer interfaces to allow patients in locked in states to communicate their wishes to those who care for them. More broadly I am interested in the use of neuroscience to inform decisions by the courts when it is used in evidence in the courtroom. I am also interested in the ethical issues raised by the claims made by neuroscientists as to the application of their findings in a broader societal context.

Experience

  • –present
    Senior Lecturer in Law, The Open University