Our Team
We are a team of academics and researchers from six different disciplines: design, English literature, law, linguistics, philosophy, and psychology. We are interested in developing new interdisciplinary ways of working to explore the conceptual and ethical issues that will emerge as a result of technological advances in human reproductive technologies.
Principal Investigator
Professor Stephen Wilkinson, Lancaster University
I am a bioethicist, with specific interests in reproductive technologies and in the commodification of the human body.
Co-Investigators
Dr Kirsty Dunn, Lancaster University
I am a developmental psychologist with an interest in the investigation of cognitive development in utero and throughout the first year of life.
Professor Sara Fovargue, University of Sheffield
I am an academic lawyer specialising in issues relating to health law and ethics, including reproduction and reproductive biotechnologies, and the impact of such biotechnologies on legal constructions of families.
Professor Sharon Ruston, Lancaster University
My research focuses on late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century literature and its relationships with science and medicine.
Professor Elena Semino, Lancaster University
I am an applied linguist and discourse analyst, with interests in health and science communication.
Professor Emmanuel Tsekleves, Lancaster University
I am an interdisciplinary design researcher with an interest in addressing human and planetary health through creative methods such as speculative design.
Dr Nicola Williams, Lancaster University
I am a philosopher and bioethicist with research interests in the ethical, legal, and policy questions raised by technological advances in medicine.
Research Associates
Dr Andrew Darby, Lancaster University
I am a design researcher with a particular interest in speculative design and participation.
Dr Georgia Walton, Lancaster University
My research looks at American literature and culture from the nineteenth century to the contemporary with a particular focus on spatial theory and queer futurity.
Research Collaborators
Visiting Researcher
Dr Alexandra Krendel, University of Southampton
I am an applied linguist who uses corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis to investigate online communication.
Visiting Researcher
Dr Laura O’Donovan, University of Sheffield
I am an academic lawyer who does research in healthcare law and bioethics with a particular interest in reproduction, the regulation of the family, reproductive ethics and organ donation.
Research Support
Project Coordinator
Katherine Young, Lancaster University
I am an experienced administrator focusing on event organisation and relationship management.
Partnership and Communications Manager
Zindzi Cresswell, Lancaster University
I am an experienced business development and engagement specialist. I help people find opportunities, develop ideas, and make connections that improve project outcomes.
Previous Team Members
Partnership and Communications Manager
Dr Zoe Bolton, Lancaster University
Research Associate
Dr Cronan Cronshaw, Lancaster University