About
My ethos as an independent research Ethics Advisor
If a project raises sensitive issues, entails innovative methodologies, or involves complex interventions, a research Ethics Advisor can help to navigate ethical requirements. This may be particularly important for research involving fieldwork in multiple countries.
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If appointed as your advisor, I will
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Engage with and understand your project methodology
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Agree an appropriate framework for ethics advice and input
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Work with you to translate ethics requirements into practical steps
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Be a critical friend of your project
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Support you if any unexpected concerns arise
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Provide ethics reports as deliverables at key dates as required
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My main areas of ethical expertise are in social science – notably sociology, anthropology and innovative qualitative methods – and in health-related research ethics – especially for projects with a multidisciplinary approach.
Ethics advice and consultancy roles
Projects and consortia: I am – or have recently completed a role as – an independent research Ethics Advisor for several EU funded research projects and consortia, including: Sonar-Global , Sonar-Cities and Restore Vision. (Please see testimonials for details.)
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Consulting: I worked as a Consultant for the World Health Organization’s global health ethics unit between 20I7 and 2023, helping to facilitate consistent and effective approaches to research ethics review.
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Evaluating: I have worked regularly with EU research agencies over the past 15 years to evaluate scientific and ethical aspects of research proposals and projects. This has given me insight into the ethical standards and expectations for EU funded projects.
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Advising: ethics requirements often come packaged in the language of biomedical research. I have experience of working with researchers to translate these into appropriate approaches for innovative methodologies in social science research.
My qualifications and skillset
MSc Medical Anthropology (Brunel University, UK) 1994
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PhD Sociology/Science and Society (University of Nottingham, UK) 2005.
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Principal Investigator for research on blood donation, stem cell banking and frameworks of altruism, based at the University of Nottingham (UK) and University of Leicester (UK) between 2005-2013.
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Research expertise in qualitative methods, especially in-depth interviews and ethnography.
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Experience of research ethics reviews and evaluations.
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Extensive experience and training in health research ethics.