This year’s conference will take place from Tuesday 11th to Friday 14th September at the University of Bristol, with Professor Keith Stanton as President. Medical law will take place in the first half of the conference, so papers will be presented on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th September.

The overall theme of the Conference is “Pressing Problems in the Law and Legal Education”, but we are happy to see proposals for papers that do not directly address the theme. All colleagues, whether practitioners, research students, early career academics or more senior colleagues, are invited to offer papers. If you are interested in presenting a paper, please e-mail slsmedicallaw [at] gmail.com with a title and a brief abstract. We are happy to discuss any potential submissions informally, so please get in touch. If you are proposing a paper for another section, we’d be grateful if you could let us know. There is no bar on giving more than one paper although it is useful for planning purposes and co-ordinating with other convenors to have a heads-up on this.

As in past years there will be a best paper prize. Papers for the prize must be placed in the paper bank by 3rd September. The Prize includes a monetary award of £250, and the winning paper will be published in Legal Studies.

This year, the SLS is introducing the presentation of research posters. If any members of the section would be interested in offering a poster, please get in touch. There will be a prize for the best poster. An example will be placed on the SLS website in due course so that those unfamiliar with research posters can see what it involves. We hope that the posters will be successful.

The Conference will also have additional sessions on legal education within particular subject areas: members who would be willing to contribute to such sessions on medical law are also welcome to contact us. Remember that all speakers, presenters, delegates and convenors are required to book and pay to attend the conference. Booking information will be circulated later in the year.

Co-convenors of the Medical Law Stream

Dr Ruth Stirton, SIBLE, School of Law, University of Sheffield
ruth.stirton [at] sheffield.ac.uk

Dr Amel Alghrani, CSEP, School of Law, University of Manchester
amel.alghrani [at] manchester.ac.uk

SLS Medical Law Section.
Society of Legal Scholars,
PO Box 3017.
Bristol BS6 9HJ. UK.
webadmin [at] legalscholars.ac.uk

This Intermural Student Bioethics Network meeting (KCL) is in association with with Royal Society of Medicine Open Section

The meeting will take place in the Gordon Museum at on the Guy’s Hospital Campus of Kings College London

The Gordon Museum entrance is on the mezzanine floor of The Hodgkin Building of the Guy’s Campus, nearest tube/train is London Bridge (St Thomas’ Street Exit)

The timetable is as follows

1515 – Registration and Coffee in the Asklepios Room, Ground floor, Gordon Museum

1530 – Welcome by Chair – Dr Andrew Papanikitas, President Elect, RSM Open Section

1535-1600 Human enhancement – what is it? Why should we think about it? Dr Tom Douglas, Uehiro Centre, Oxford University

1600 -1625 Cosmetic enhancement – in the eye of the beholder? Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen, Group Medical Director, BUPA and Board Member, Independent Healthcare Advisory Service

1625- 1650 Human enhancement and childhood potential – Professor Sam Lingam, Consultant neurodevelomental paediatrician

1650-1715
Human enhancement -What’s the story? – Dr Pete Moore, Science Journalist and author

1715-1800 A panel discussion – following which all delegates are invited to continue the conversation over a glass of wine and nibbles in the the Asklepios Room.

The meeting is supported by a Kings College London Roberts Open Grant

The series is held in the second term each year, in the Strand campus; lectures are usually on Thursdays from 1-2 pm.

All are welcome to attend these lectures, including members of the public. Attendance is free of charge.

Lent Lectures 2011-12

Speakers this term are:

Lord Justice Munby
Chairman of the Law Commission
2 February 2012
More details

Dr Anna Dixon
Head of Policy, King’s Fund
9 February 2012 [new date]
More details

Dr Mark Sheehan
Oxford Biomedical Research Centre Ethics Fellow,
Ethox Centre, University of Oxford
23 February 2012
More details

Professor Albert Weale
Chair of Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Professor of Political Theory and Public Policy, UCL
Vice-President (Public Policy) at the British Academy
ESRC Professorial Fellow
1 March 2012
More details

Professor Allyson Pollock
Professor of public health research and policy,
Co-director Global health, policy, and innovation
Centre for primary care and public health
Queen Mary, University of London
8 March 2012
More details

Professor Mary Dixon-Woods
Professor of Medical Sociology, University of Leicester
15 March 2012
More details

For any queries, or to reserve a place, contact Neema Sofaer.

30 November 2011
Personal, Legal, and Medical Reflections on AIDS @ 30

• Professor Robert Wintemute, Professor of Human Rights Law, School of Law, King’s College London
• Dr Mary Poulton, Consultant and Clinical Lead Sexual Health and HIV, King’s College Hospital

This joint session will take place at 5.15 pm in Room K6.29.

Questions and media enquiries should be directed to:

Dr Richard A. McKay
ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of History / Centre for the Humanities and Health
King’s College London
richard.mckay [at] kcl.ac.uk

Sponsored by the Economic & Social Research Council, the Department of History, the Centre for the Humanities and Health, Queer@King’s, and the School of Arts & Humanities Small Research Grants, King’s College London

Podcasts of previous lectures can be found here

Evan Davis talks to Rob George, consultant in palliative care about truth-telling and disclosure in palliative care.

A fascinating programme about the use of leucotomy or lobotomy in Portugal, the US and the UK and the doctors who championed it as a potential cure for many psychiatric disorders from the 1930s to the 1950s.

The Council was established in 1991 with a remit to identify, examine and report on ethical questions raised by recent advances in biological and medical research.  It is jointly funded by the Foundation, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, but works independently.  It has a staff of eleven.

The Council is currently undertaking a fundamental strategic review in which it will set out its vision and plans for the coming years.  The incoming Chair will be expected to play a full part in that review, and to lead the Council in its implementation.

Expressions of interest are invited from people with the appropriate experience, public standing and independence to chair the Council for a period of up to five years.  Nominations would also be welcome. The time commitment varies, but averages three days a month. The post carries an honorarium of £7,000.

Please write in confidence before Friday 18 November 2011, enclosing a brief CV, or with your nomination, to the Director of the Nuffield Foundation, 28 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3JS, or email to arees [at] nuffieldfoundation.org.”

Chowen Lecture Theatre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton BN1 9PS, easily accessible on foot from Falmer station, about an hour and fifteen minutes by train from London Victoria

18th and 19th November 2011 at 8pm

Tickets £5/£4 concessions, available from The Dome box office 01273 709 709 or Brighton ticket shop.

Sue writes: “We would be delighted if you would join us at the first full production of The Tuesday Group which is being directed and performed by medical students at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. The play is a moving but at the same time realistic and humorous observation of the conversations that take place between people who know that they are approaching the end of their lives.”

“The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School Seeks Distinguished Candidates for Academic Fellowship Program.

PURPOSE: The Petrie-Flom Center is an interdisciplinary research program at Harvard Law School dedicated to scholarly research at the intersection of law and health policy, including issues of health care financing and market regulation, biomedical research and bioethics. The Academic Fellowship is a postdoctoral program specifically designed to identify, cultivate and promote promising scholars early in their careers. Fellows are selected from among recent graduates, young academics and mid-career practitioners who are committed to spending two years at the Center pursuing publishable research that is likely to make a significant contribution to the field of health law policy, medical innovation policy or bioethics. Our prior fellows have found employment as law professors at Harvard, UC Berkeley, BU, UCLA, Cornell and the University of Arizona.

PROGRAM: Petrie-Flom fellowships are full-time, two-year residential appointments starting in the summer of 2012. Fellows devote their full time to scholarly activities in furtherance of their individual research agendas. The Center does not impose teaching obligations on fellows, though in appropriate cases voluntary teaching opportunities may be made available. In addition to pursuing their research and writing, fellows are expected to attend and participate in research workshops on health law, bioethics, and biotechnology, and other events designated by the Center. Fellows are also expected to help plan and execute a small number of events in their field of expertise during their tenure, and to present their research in at least one of a variety of forums, including academic seminars, speaker panels, or conferences. Finally, the Center also relies on fellows to provide opportunities for interested students to consult with them about their areas of research, and to directly mentor our Student Fellows.

STIPEND AND BENEFITS: Fellows have access to the full range of resources offered by Harvard University. The Center provides each fellow with a private office, a research budget, and a stipend of $60,000 per full year.

ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must hold an advanced degree in a discipline that they intend to apply to issues relating to health law policy, biomedical research or bioethics. The Center particularly encourages applications from those who intend to pursue careers as law professors, but will consider any applicant who demonstrates an interest and ability to produce outstanding scholarship at the intersection of law and health policy, bioethics, or biotechnology during the term of the fellowship. Applicants will be evaluated by the quality and probable significance of their research proposals, and by their record of academic and professional achievement.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Applications will be accepted starting September 1, 2011. Completed applications must be received at petrie-flom [at] law.harvard.edu by 9:00 a.m. on November 14, 2011. Please note that ALL application materials must be submitted electronically, and should include:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. PDFs of all transcripts from all post-secondary schools attended
3. A Research Proposal of no more than 2,000 words describing the applicant’s area of research and writing plans. Research proposals should focus less on describing an interesting topic than on demonstrating that the applicant has an interesting and original idea about the topic that seems sufficiently promising to develop further
4. A writing sample that demonstrates the applicant’s writing and analytical abilities and ability to generate interesting, original ideas. This can be a draft rather than a publication. Applicants who already have publications may also submit PDF copies of up to two additional published writings
5. Three letters of recommendation, emailed directly from the recommender. Letter writers should be asked to comment not only on the applicant’s writing and analytical ability, but on their ability to generate new ideas and their commitment to pursue that intellectual enterprise in this area. To the extent feasible, letter writers should provide not just qualitative assessments but also ordinal rankings. For example, rather than just saying a candidate is “great,” it would be useful to have a statement about whether the candidate is (the greatest, in the top three, among the top 10%, etc.) among some defined set of persons (students they have had, people they have worked with, etc.)

All application materials with the exception of letters of recommendation should be e-mailed by the applicant to: petrie-flom [at] law.harvard.edu

Letters of Recommendation should be emailed directly from the recommender to the same address.

For questions or additional information, contact: Katherine Paras, Administrative Director, kparas [at] law.harvard.edu”