Job: Post-doctoral research fellow in the Laws of Social Reproduction at KCL

Research Associate, Laws of Social Reproduction

King’s College London – The Dickson Poon School of Law

Location:	London
Salary:	£37,412
Hours:	Full Time
Contract Type:	Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On:	11th December 2018
Closes:	13th January 2019
Job Ref:	R6/FFL/2517/18-RN

 The salary will be paid at Grade 6, £37,412 per annum, inclusive of £3,223 per annum London Allowance.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on a large-scale European Research Council funded project titled ‘Laws of Social Reproduction’. The project undertakes a comparison of the law’s regulation of five sectors of women’s labour including sex work, erotic dancing, commercial surrogacy, paid domestic work and unpaid domestic work.

The post-doctoral research associate (PDRA)’s main responsibilities are to conduct literature review across relevant disciplines, conduct qualitative research in India, analyse the field work data using suitable software, organise a major national level workshop involving numerous stakeholders including academics, activists and policy-makers, publish academic outputs and disseminate the research findings of the project.

Prior field work experience in India essential; field work experience in at least one of the five sectors of reproductive labour listed above is highly desirable. Proven research skills essential. Applications from doctoral and post-doctoral candidates in law, anthropology, sociology, geography, political science, medical ethics and feminist economics are welcome.

The selection process will include a panel interview and a presentation.

For an informal discussion to find out more about the role please contact: Professor Prabha Kotiswaran, Prabha.kotiswaran [AT] kcl.ac.uk

To apply, please register with the King’s College London application portal and complete your application online. When applying, in the ‘Upload supporting documents’ section, please attach a personal statement to tell us why you are suitable for the role.

Please enclose writing sample relevant to the themes of the research project.

Conference: Make Do or Amend – Should We Update UK Fertility & Embryo Law?

‘MAKE DO OR AMEND: SHOULD WE UPDATE UK FERTILITY AND EMBRYO LAW?‘ is a one-day conference taking place in London on Wednesday 5 December 2018 (9.30am–5.30pm).  

The conference will explore law and regulation governing fertility treatment and embryo research. There will be Keynote Addresses by SIR JAMES MUNBY (former President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales) and SALLY CHESHIRE (Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority).

Other confirmed speakers and chairs include DR ROY FARQUHARSON (Chair of ESHRE), DR KATHY NIAKAN (Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute and the first researcher licensed by the UK regulator to edit the genomes of human embryos), BARONESS RUTH DEECH (Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords), DR ANDY GREENFIELD (Programme Leader at MRC Harwell), EMILY JACKSON (Professor of Law at the LSE), BARBARA CONNOLLY QC (Barrister), PROFESSOR CHRISTIAN DE GEYTER (Chair of ESHRE‘s European IVF Monitoring Steering Committee), PROFESSOR ELLIE LEE (Director of the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies), NATALIE GAMBLE (Founder of Natalie Gamble Associates and Brilliant Beginnings), JAMES LAWFORD DAVIES (Partner at Hempsons), SATU RAUTAKALLIO-HOKKANEN (Chair of Fertility Europe), ERIKA TRANFIELD (Director of Pride Angel), DR ROGER HIGHFIELD (Director of External Affairs at the Science Museum Group), DR KYLIE BALDWIN (Senior Lecturer at De Montfort University), PROFESSOR ROBERT SPACZYNSKI (Vice President of the Polish Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians), FIONA FOX (Chair of Trustees at PET [Progress Educational Trust] and Chief Executive of the Science Media Centre), and SARAH NORCROSS (Director of PET).

The conference is supported by the Anne McLaren Memorial Trust Fund, the Edwards and Steptoe Research Trust Fund and ESHRE (silver sponsors), and by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, the European Sperm Bank, JMW Solicitors, the London Women’s Clinic and Vitrolife (bronze sponsors).

Further details of the conference, including the agenda and how to book your place, can be found at http://www.progress.org.uk/conference2018 – if you have any queries, please email sstarr [at] progress.org.uk

Job: Scientific Policy Manager at the HFEA

Contract type: Permanent full time

Salary: £36,000

Closing date: 14/10/2018

The Scientific Policy Manager is the main (internal) source of scientific Policy advice and briefing. They work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the HFEA’s scientific policies focus on improving quality of treatment and research, communicating these effectively, via briefings, articles, and speech-writing.

The post-holder manages the Scientific Advances Advisory Committee (SCAAC) and leads the Policy team’s scientific and clinical horizon scanning policy function, programming an annual international horizon-scanning panel meeting. They represent the HFEA at conferences and external working groups, presenting as required. The post also supports the Policy team, replying to public enquiries and drafting answers to relevant Parliamentary Questions. The Scientific Policy Manager is supported in their role by their line report, the Scientific Policy Officer.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with a degree or equivalent in a scientific or clinical subject, and knowledge or academic experience in a biological or clinical science. You’ll have experience or involvement in policy work (ideally in a regulatory context), initiating and managing projects and good analytical skills. You’ll be able to understand complicated legal, ethical and scientific issues around assisted reproductive technologies and engage confidently with professional groups. Ideally, you’ll have experience of producing evidence-based guidance and working closely with senior staff and committees.

This is a unique opportunity to play a key role in the Policy team. You will have the chance to make a real and tangible difference to our work and the lives of patients. For more information about the work we do, please visit the HFEA website.

Radio: The Changing Face of Procreation

BBC World Service, available via the iPlayer

Anyone with enough money, be they female, male, gay, straight, single or in a relationship now has the opportunity to try for a baby of their own. By the end of the century, an estimated 157 million people alive or 1.4 % of the world’s population will owe their lives to assisted reproductive technologies like IVF, donor eggs and sperm and surrogacy.

So how are people around the world using these innovations? And how well is society doing in getting to grips with the ethical questions that go hand in hand with the creation of life of in these ways.

The New World Of Reproduction

The Documentary,The Changing Face of Procreation Episode 1 of 2

In part one, Krupa Padhy examines where we have got to after 40 years of IVF. In England, she visits a family made up of white British parents and their three boys, plus a ‘snow baby’: created during an IVF cycle for her Indian-American genetic parents, but adopted as an embryo by her birth family. She hears from ethicists and law makers from around the world about how countries have struggled to adapt to new technological realities, and discovers stories that challenge ideas of what IVF is for, like that of an Indian woman who used her dead son’s sperm to create grandchildren.

Assisted Reproduction

The Documentary,The Changing Face of Procreation Episode 2 of 2

How humans make babies could be about to change, thanks to advances in IVF and reproductive technology. Krupa Padhy meets the new kinds of families that could become the norm, and explores how reproductive technology may soon alter the way all of us make babies.

Conference: The Development of Abortion Rights in a Changing Europe

Date: Friday 28 September 2018, 09:00 – 18:00

Location: Faculty of Law, University Of Cambridge, 10 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DZ

This conference will explore what human rights law has to say on the issue of abortion in 2018.

Event: WITH GREAT GENOMIC DATA COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

6.30pm–8.30pm on 26 June 2018

This event will explore questions raised by Big Data, the 100,000 Genomes Project and the new national NHS Genomic Medicine Service. The event is produced by Progress Educational Trust in partnership with Genomics England, as part of the Genomics Conversation.

The discussion will be chaired by TIMANDRA HARKNESS (author of the book Big Data: Does Size Matter?), with speakers including PROFESSOR ANN DALTON (Sheffield Children’s Hospital), PROFESSOR ANTHONY BROOKES (University of Leicester), PROFESSOR TIM HUBBARD (Genomics England) and DR NATALIE BANNER (Understanding Patient Data).

This event is taking place at University College London‘s Institute of Child Health. Email sstarr [at] progress.org.uk to book your FREE place(s).

Job: Research Fellowship (Socio-Legal) in the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, The University of Edinburgh

Salary:	£32,548 to £38,833 (UE07)
Hours:	Full Time
Contract Type:	Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed on:	15th June 2018
Closes:	16th July 2018
Job Ref:	044149

The Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society is seeking an experienced researcher in the field of socio-legal studies to contribute to scholarly and engagement activities within this cross-College, cross-School initiative. The Centre, supported by the Wellcome Trust, seeks to effect lasting change in how we understand and influence the dynamic relationship between biomedicine, individuals and society.

Working closely with the Centre’s Executive Team, the successful candidate will develop and undertake an empirical socio-legal research project concerned with the legal consciousness of stakeholders in a health research context, such as in the realm of reproductive medicine, data sharing or clinical trials. You will also contribute to cross-cutting projects involving other members of the Centre.

The work demands close attention to detail, the ability to prioritise, identify and achieve deadlines and use good judgement and initiative. A positive collaborative attitude is also essential.

The successful candidate will have demonstrated success in research, supported by a track record of strong relevant publications. In addition, applicants are invited to explore how their research interests complement the existing strengths of the Executive Team and their respective Schools.

The post is available from 1^st September 2018, full-time and fixed-term for 24 months.

Please include your CV and a supporting statement with details of how you meet the knowledge, skills and experience required for this post.

Informal enquiries may be directed to Professor Graeme Laurie (Graeme.Laurie [at] ed.ac.uk).

Job: Policy officer at the HFEA

Policy Officer
Fixed term contract (maternity cover)

Location: London

Salary: £25,000 plus benefits

Closing dates for applicants: 04/08/2017

We are looking for a fixed-term, full time Policy Officer to support a wide range of policy-related work. A key part of this will be to support Policy Managers in managing stakeholder groups and in carrying out reviews of HFEA policy, which can involve drafting committee papers, analysing consultation responses and giving policy advice. You will be working on various areas of policy, including on reducing multiple births, sperm and egg donation and fertility preservation. The successful candidate will also be responsible for dealing with patient, public and sector enquiries relating to all our policy areas.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who can work effectively as part of a team, and who has good written and verbal communication skills – including an ability to handle sensitive patient enquiries. You should be able to demonstrate experience of project management and of working with a variety of stakeholders. You should also have the skills required to undertake literature searches, be confident at analysing information, and have the ability to summarise and identify key points from a wide range of evidence.

Given the varied nature of this role, good time management skills and the ability to prioritise tasks effectively, is key. You will be educated to degree level (or be educated or have experience to an equivalent level) with good IT skills.

This is a unique opportunity to play a key role in supporting the Policy team to help ensure that everyone in the UK affected by assisted reproduction receives high quality care. You will have the chance to make a real and tangible difference to our work and the lives of patients. For more information about the work we do, please visit our website.

Please visit NHS Jobs to apply for this position

Conference: The Abortion Act: A Promise Fulfilled?

24 October 2017 – 25 October 2017
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 27 Sussex Pl, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RG

Tickets and information

The passing of the 1967 Abortion Act was a landmark moment for our reproductive rights, achieved at the vanguard of a wave of liberalising change across the western world, and directly inspiring reform in a number of other countries.

But fifty years later, how well does the Act serve women today?

In the week of the Act’s fiftieth anniversary, this two-day conference will examine its impact, its shortcomings, and the extent to which its liberal proponents’ hopes have been realised.  Contributors including leading health care professionals, academics, policymakers, politicians, campaigners and service providers will address a range of important socio-legal, historical, political and clinical practice-based questions.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Universities of Bristol, Kent, and Leeds, and bpas, with generous funding from Wellcome.  It will be hosted by the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Conference: Boundaries, Bodies, Borders: The Global Exchange of Human Body Parts

5th May 2017, University of Leeds

10.00-16.30, Social Sciences Building, room 12.21-12.25

Call for abstracts

The global movement of donated human body parts (e.g., blood, embryos, organs, sperm, oocytes) have gained increasing academic attention. A large part of these accounts express concerns regarding unequal power relationships between countries and between the parties engaged in medically related relationships (recipients, medical staff and medical facilities, providers of organs, tissues or cells etc.).

We wish to invite postgraduate students and early career researchers to explore the processes of meaning making in relation to body parts exchanges, and think about the following questions:

•      how do understandings of various technical procedures, bodies and body parts, and relationships (such as exchange relationships) emerge?

•      who does participate in framing them?

•      how do these understandings direct the flows of body parts across borders?

We welcome contributions that analyse how different actors delineate the boundaries between science, ethics, law and other types of authority as part of their valuation performance, and how they manage uncertainty and risk in the process.

Abstract submission

Please send abstracts (150-250 words) to A Gruian, ssag [at] leeds.ac.uk, by 3rd April 2017

Speakers

The event will be chaired by Dr Ana Manzano (University of Leeds). Speakers:

• Prof Ruth Holliday (University of Leeds).Medical Mobilities: Economies and Ethics

• Dr Sean Columb (Liverpool Law School). Organ markets & exploitation: Assessing the impact of crime and immigration controls in the Egyptian-Sudanese context

• Dr Mark Monaghan (Loughborough University). Conceptualising Crime, Evidence, and Immorality

• Dr Greg Moorlock (University of Warwick). Beauty Contests & Directed Altruistic Donation

• Alexandra Gruian (University of Leeds). Ova Flows in Romania: Definitions, Legitimacy, Legality

Registration fees

• BSA members: £10                 Non-members: £25

• We offer 5 bursaries for postgraduate students. Fee includes lunch and refreshments

• Register here.