Current PhD students
View research profiles and thesis themes for some of our PhD students in Bioethics and Medical Jurisprudence and Law.
My research examines how international law shapes self-determination in disputed and semi-peripheral regions.
Using a TWAIL and postcolonial lens, I analyse the evolution of autonomy, statehood, and governance frameworks beyond traditional decolonisation models
My research examines cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the GCC region from a competition law perspective.
It evaluates whether the current national regimes sufficiently address transactions with cross-border effects, or whether a unified regional framework is needed to ensure consistent oversight and safeguard competition. The research examines enforcement gaps, jurisdictional challenges, and the potential value of a regional competition authority. Using the EU and COMESA as models of unification and harmonisation, while the GCC represents cooperation, I analyse which approach best suits the Gulf context while balancing legal certainty, coherent procedures, and respect for state sovereignty to propose a practical and regionally grounded framework for reviewing cross-border mergers in the GCC.
Vulnerabilities that criminals exploit are increasing as fintech develops further, which in turn raises some questions about the adequacy of current regulatory practices. The thesis examines how cybercrime can be controlled in the fintech sector, and focuses particularly on whether cybersecurity regulation suggests effective solutions.
The research evaluates the anticipated benefits and limitations of government intervention through obligatory cybersecurity regulations. Through a detailed analysis of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom regulatory models and fintech-associated risks, the thesis aims to determine whether stringent, standardised rules can meaningfully reduce cyberattacks or whether a shift toward alternative, more adaptive approaches is required.
My research investigates how historical socio-environmental pressures in Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador have created conditions for the emergence of an innovative constitutionalism that diverges from the liberal tradition and redefines the parameters of implementation of the sustainable development agenda and the protection of the Amazon rainforest.
It explores how transnational norms and activist judiciaries have developed an environmental governance that articulates inclusion, responsiveness, and accountability in a way that challenges democratic-constitutional models.
I am a part-time PhD student and consultant anaesthetist. My research interests are intensive care decision-making and virtue ethics. I am the PI of the study 'Intensive Care Decision-Making, Survival and Dying Well' (ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT06027684), a mixed methods study with people who have been patients on ICUs.
I am researching the legal and ethical aspects of healthcare resource allocation.
Andrew’s research considers the impact of the Equality Act 2010 on healthcare commissioning decisions in the UK and the way these differ across the four nations.
Taking the funding of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (a highly effective HIV prevention drug) as a case study, he is using a range of broadly Foucauldian scholarship on biopower and governmentality to analyse the effects of different actors in this area, as well as by conducting interviews with medical professionals, lawyers, sexual health commissioners, academics and activists. These interviews have included key figures relating to the litigation between the National AIDS Trust and the government in 2016 concerning the refusal to fund PrEP.
My research is examining to what extent institutional power exacerbates the sexual vulnerabilities of people with intellectual disabilities in England and Wales.
It examines how people with intellectual disabilities have been historically incarcerated and substitute to institutional control, deep diving into how these controls may have evolved and persisted into modern day care settings.
I am interested in international arbitration, foreign investment protection, and international investment law. Prior to beginning my PhD program, I worked as an associate and legal consultant in a number of international law firms and quasi-state companies in Kazakhstan.
Currently, I am conducting research as part of my PhD dissertation on the evolution of legal mechanisms and guarantees within Kazakhstani investment legislation that have influenced the formation of its national FDI regime.
In particular, in my research, I reveal a research paradox that manifests in the institutional and structural imbalances of the national FDI regime in Kazakhstan, which has been formed over more than 30 years at three levels: Level 1 - International (Investment contracts, BITs, RIAs, MIAs), Level 2 - Domestic (legislation, reforms, policies), Level 3 - Implementation (Arbitration awards, court cases, policy outcomes and conceptual gaps).
Since the last century, trusts have spread beyond common law borders. Latin America, rooted by the civil law tradition, has not been absent from this trend. ‘Fideicomiso' is the legal mechanism used to implement trusts in Latin American jurisdictions.
My research critically examines the incorporation of ‘fideicomisos' in Latin America, taking English law and mixed jurisdictions as points of reference. Thus, besides studying the traditional topics, I aim to delve into some less explored subjects in this area such as third parties’ protection, the role of judges and legal remedies for beneficiaries.
My research focuses on the regulation of emerging technologies in health care. Titled "Making a Case for Regulation of Emerging Technologies in Healthcare: A Focus on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data", my research explores the legal and ethical issues involved in deploying emerging technologies in healthcare.
I seek to make an argument that availability, accessibility, safety and protection should be a central goal in the regulation of these emerging technologies. To achieve this, I analyse the current regulatory approaches and frameworks to gauge their effectiveness and appropriateness in delivering this and accessible healthcare for all.
My PhD research examines the legal and policy implications of foundation AI models, particularly in the context of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and competition law.
It explores how the sufficiency of disclosure criteria under the EPC is equipped to handle complex technologies like foundation AI models and how this requirement interacts with the transparency requirements under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act and the provisions of the Digital Markets Acts, in relation to training data accessibility.
The project further investigates how limited data transparency and overlapping intellectual property protection relating to training data might result in the creation of an anticommons dilemma that could impede cumulative innovation and also suggest practical alternatives to mitigate this issue by conducting case studies on open-source foundation AI models, where comprehensive data disclosure is mandated.
My research will integrate legal analysis with empirical examination of AI patent applications that have been granted between 2015 to 2027 to assess the extent of disclosure of training data, invalidation rates, and the effectiveness of open-source frameworks as an alternative in informing the shape of innovation dynamics across Europe.
I am part of the ERC inter-disciplinary research project on remedies in comparative labour law.
I am researching Data Regulation in Free Trade Agreements through the Lens of Intellectual Property.
My research focuses on the use of transformative constitutionalism to address the continuity between colonial administrative systems and the independent state.
Upon independence, former colonies do not introduce vastly different legal systems. Therefore, utilising the case studies of India, South Africa and Colombia, my thesis argues that there are key common legal features within post-colonial societies that continue the legacy and modes of colonialism. My thesis then goes on to evaluate how and to what extent transformative constitutionalism provides a point of rupture where the constitutional order is reformed and thereby becomes better suited to the local environment and needs.
Arthur is conducting research on interstate dispute settlement in civil aviation across Africa, with a specific focus on strengthening mechanisms under the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).
His work examines how existing regional and international frameworks can be improved to address conflicts between states, enhance regulatory harmonisation, and support the liberalisation goals of SAATM. By analysing comparative global aviation dispute-resolution practices, the research aims to propose practical, legally sound models that can be adopted within Africa. Ultimately, the study seeks to advance scholarship and provide policy guidance for more predictable, efficient, and cooperative resolution of aviation-related interstate disputes.
The research examines whether a new regulatory framework could serve as an alternative jurisprudence to classical contract law for relational contracts.
Focusing on complex, long-term commercial relationships, it analyses how existing doctrinal tools fall short in addressing the intricacies of modern contracting practices. Through theoretical evaluation and detailed case law analysis, the study aims to establish criteria for recognising relational contracts, assess the legal implications of their classification, and explore how procedural governance mechanisms might support a more commercially coherent and viable regulatory framework.
My research is about copyright law and AI. And my thesis title is "Comparative analysis of originality for artworks created by artificial intelligence (AI) in China and the UK."
My research interests lie primarily in public international law, international economic law, and global trade governance.
I am particularly keen on examining the interaction between global trade governance and broader issues of justice, inclusivity, and institutional design, such as sustainable development, labour, gender, and the environment. My current PhD research focuses on the intersection of international trade and labour law, specifically investigating strategies to better enforce labour commitments within the framework of global trade governance.
My research examines the effectiveness of compulsory licensing and voluntary licensing in improving access to HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C (HCV) medicines.
It aims to determine which mechanism offers a more suitable model for developing countries considering these tools to expand treatment access. Through a comparative analysis of India, Malaysia, and Thailand, the study assesses how these licensing mechanisms influence drug pricing, availability, and health outcomes.
The study tracks drug prices, incidence, and mortality before and after licensing, while comparing compulsory licensing regimes across the selected countries to identify similarities and differences in legal design and implementation. It highlights how these licensing mechanisms interact with broader health-system factors to support equitable, rights-based access to medicines. It further analyses the role of national competition laws in addressing monopolistic behaviour, including cases where local pharmaceutical companies charge high prices and whether competition authorities intervene.