Staff
The academic staff responsible for teaching in the Sydney Bioethics Program come from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds and are all research-active.
The core staff are:
- Dr Rob Irvine
- Dr Chris Jordens
- A/Prof Ian Kerridge
- Dr Catherine Mills
- Dr Michael Robertson
- A/Prof Cameron Stewart
Dr Rob Irvine
Rob Irvine is an Associate of the Centre for Values, Ethics and Law in Medicine (VELIM). He has primary responsibility for the Core Concepts in Bioethics unit (BETH 2000). He is an Honorary Professorial Fellow, Centre for the Study of Ethics in Medicine and Society, Department of Medicine, Monash University.
Rob has interests in the sociology of and sociology in bioethics and professional ethics, systems of professional governance, and social, moral and political issues that surround human-animal relations. Recent research and publications have focussed upon the ethics of inter-disciplinary teamwork, and the social and ethical implications of telemedicine.
Rob has an honours degree in sociology and a PhD in sociology from the University of Edinburgh. His thesis was in medical sociology. He has taught sociology and ethics at the University of Newcastle and the Community Health and Research Training Unit (CHRTU), University of Western Australia. Before joining the CHRTU he was a Research Fellow at the Abt. Für Mediziniche Soziologie, Albert Ludwigs’ Universität, Freiburg im Breisgau.
Email:
Dr Chris Jordens
Chris Jordens is a part-time lecturer at the Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine (VELIM). He has been involved in the development of the new bioethics program since 2003, and has primary responsibility for the Biomedicine and Society unit (BETH 5103).
Chris has broad-ranging interests in social and ethical issues relating to health and medicine, and he specialises in qualitative and linguistic methods of inquiry. Recent research interests include, direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs, advance care planning and patient experience of bone marrow transplantation and advanced ovarian cancer. As well as working at VELIM, Chris works part time as Clinical Research Fellow in an NHMRC Centre for Clinical Research Excellence that focuses on infection control and bioethical issues in haematological malignancies.
Chris has an honours degree in philosophy, a masters degree in public health, and a PhD which forms part of VELIM's ongoing research program. He has taught quantitative research methods to students in the Faculty of Medicine and at Yooroang Garang Centre for Indigenous Health Studies, and he has also taught in the Master of Professional Communications program in the English Department. He has worked as an interdisciplinary researcher at VELIM since 1997, and is currently co-editor of the new Journal of Bioethical Inquiry.
Email:
Phone: +61 2 9036 3406
Associate Professor Ian Kerridge
Ian Kerridge is Associate Professor in Bioethics and Director of the Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine (VELIM) within the Faculty of Medicine. He also works as a Staff Specialist Haematologist/Bone Marrow Transplant physician at Westmead Hospital, Sydney. He is primarily responsible for Ethics and Public Health (BETH 5203), Human and Animal Research Ethics (BETH5202) and Clinical Ethics (BETH5204) including the Professional Development Program. He also takes classes in a number of the other units of study including Core Concepts in Bioethics, Ethics and Mental Health, and Introduction to Ethical Reasoning.
Ian's research interests include the philosophy of science and medicine, moral reasoning, end-of-life issues, transplantation, stem cells, decision-making, clinical ethics, complementary medicine, the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the healthcare professions, and the use of literature and narrative as a means for exploring ethics and the experience of health and illness.
Ian trained in medicine at the University of Newcastle, transplantation at the Royal Free and University College Hospitals in London, and philosophy and ethics at the Universities of Sydney, Newcastle and Cambridge. He is widely published in ethics and is the author of 3 textbooks and over 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Email:
Phone: +61 2 9036 405
Dr Catherine Mills
Catherine Mills is Sesqui Lecturer in Bioethics (Senior Lecturer) at VELiM and the Unit for the History and Philosophy of Science. Her main research interests lie in the areas of biopolitics and bioethics, especially in relation to reproductive technologies such as IVF and PGD. She is particularly interested in ideas of subjectivity and normalcy. She has previously published The Philosophy of Agamben (Acumen, 2008) and is currently completing a manuscript on reproductive ethics. She has also published numerous articles in feminist theory, bioethics and political theory.
She is the Coordinator of the Sydney Bioethics Program and is also primarily responsible for BETH5101 Introduction to Ethical Reasoning and BETH5102 Ethics and Biotechnology: Genes and Stem Cells.
Email:
Phone: +61 2 9036 3409
Dr Michael Robertson
Michael Robertson is a Senior Research Fellow at VELiM and a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Psychological Medicine. He is currently leading grant funded research in the areas of Values Based Medical practice and clinical decision making in questions of involuntary psychiatric treatment. He is the coordinator of BETH 5205 Ethics and Mental Health. He is the Deputy Editor of Australasian Psychiatry and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry.
Michael has published in the area of psychiatric ethics, psychiatry and popular culture, psychological trauma, the philosophy of psychiatry and psychotherapy. He provides regular commentary to the popular media on questions of psychiatry, society and ethical questions.
Email:
Phone: +61 2 9515 8165
Associate Professor Cameron Stewart
Cameron Stewart is an Associate Professor in Law at Sydney Law School and Associate Professor at the Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine at the University of Sydney. He has degrees in economics, law and jurisprudence. He has worked in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and has practiced commercial law at Phillips Fox Lawyers. He is the Secretary and Acting President of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Health Law and Ethics, (anzihle.org).
Cameron has a doctorate from the University of Sydney on end of life decision-making, which is his main area of research. Cameron is also interested in the history of Australian property law. He has worked on a number of projects for NSW Health, the Office of the Public Guardian, the NSW Public Trustee and the NSW Guardianship Tribunal. He has also consulted for organisations such as Alzheimer’s Australia.
On a personal note, Cameron used to fancy himself as a cartoonist. He rarely picks up the ink brush these days but is still an avid collector of comic art (particularly the works of Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Mike Sekowsky, George Perez, Wally Wood and Jack Kirby). In a prior life Cameron also sung in a garage band but these days is much too embarrassed to talk about it. He also pretends to be able to play rugby union but is as tough as a wet paper bag.
Email:
Guest lecturers
Guest lecturers are experts in the field of bioethics and biographical details will be provided with unit of study materials each semester.
Guest lecturers include:
- A/Prof Kristine Barlow Stewart
- Dr Stacy Carter
- Prof Simon Chapman
- Ms Katherine Cummings
- Mr Chris Degeling
- Dr Liz Ellis
- Dr Tony Eyers
- Prof Lyn Gilbert
- Dr Claire Hooker
- Dr Wendy Hu
- A/Prof David Isaacs
- Dr Henry Kilham
- Dr Wendy Lipworth
- Dr Rob Loblay
- Ms Tamra Lysaght
- A/Prof Paul Macneil
- A/Prof Juliet Richters
- Prof Margaret Rose
- Prof Glenn Salkeld
- Dr Peter Saul
- Dr Michael Selgelid
- Dr David Smith
- Ms Moira Stephens
- Ms Kim Strong