Dr Laura Machin

PhD Supervision Interests

I am happy to accept PhD proposals relating to the social and ethical aspects of any of the following:

- reproductive medicine
- blood, tissue, gamete, organ donation & transplantation
- medical self-discharge

My Role

I am a Lecturer in Medical Ethics at Lancaster Medical School. Part of my role is to lecture medical students and conduct research. I also sit on the Faculty of Health and Medicine Research Ethics Committee.

Profile

I am a strong qualitative researcher who enjoys all aspects of the research process. I have experience of collecting and managing large qualitative data sets and conducting applied research on an international scale.

I have social science training, with an interest in ethics as applied to medicine and medical settings. I tend to draw upon literature from a wide range of disciplines, including medical sociology, bioethics and social policy.

 

Current Research

Kindly funded by the National Gamete Donation Trust (£6,427) Collaborator Kriss Fearon (NGDT Trustee) Began June 2011. Expected to finish July 2012.

The aim of the study is to find information about the following:
?The practical and emotional aspects of becoming a donor
?Donors' experience of the process of donation (and how it could be improved)
?Motivating factors: why people donated or chose not to donate

The National Gamete Donation Trust is targeting UK donors both pre and post 2005, and people who have enquired about becoming donors, but did not go ahead.

The research findings will be used to validate or refute anecdotal data about the donor experience and to generate recommendations for improvements in clinic donor care.

The project is due for completion June 2012, when a final report will be delivered to the Trust. It is anticipated that the results of the research will be disseminated through a range of activities, including conferences, publications and a dedicated workshop.

Research Grants

Kindly funded by an Early Career Small Grants Scheme, Lancaster University (£4,950) Collaborator Dr David Warriner, Specialist Registrar, University of Sheffield. Begin Sept 2012 for 18 months.

This pilot project will address the following research questions:
1)How do self-dischargers, health professionals and hospital management understand and make sense of the concept of self-discharge, self-dischargers, and the self-discharge process?
2)What ethical principles are apparent in self-dischargers', health professionals' and hospital management' discussions of self-discharge?

Key stakeholders in self-discharge will be approached to be participants in the pilot project: self-dischargers, healthcare professionals, and hospital management.

Current Teaching

Lancaster Medical School:

I lecture to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year medical students on topics ranging from the ethical issues relating to reprodutive medicine, mental health, compulsory treatment and decisional capacity, introduction to health care ethics, and human rights.

I act as convenor on the following Special Study Modules:
- 'The Social and Ethical Context of Reproductive Medicine'
- 'Deconstructing Donation'
- The Making of a 'Good' Doctor

I am also a Problem-Based Learning Tutor

 

Centre for Medical Law and Bioethics, Lancaster University:

I teach on the MA/LLM Medical Law and Bioethics

 

External Roles

I am Co-Convenor for the British Sociological Association Human Reproduction Study Group

I am a member of the UHMBT Organ Donation Committee

I am a member of the Lancashire Practical Ethics Committee

• The Centre for Bioethics and Medical Law was officially opened in March 2007

  22/11/2007
  The Centre promotes high quality interdisciplinary research in bioethics and medical law across a number of disciplines within the University with a clear unifying focus upon the legal and medical dim ... Read more»

• lunchtime talk to 6th form med soc

  Laura Machin (Speaker) 14/11/2012
  Activity: Schools engagement
  Read more»

• Lancaster University and Hospitals Seminar Series

  Laura Machin (Organiser)
  Activity: Public lecture/debate/seminar
  Read more»

• 'House' and pizza night

  Laura Machin (Organiser) 28/11/2012
  Activity: Public lecture/debate/seminar
  Read more»

• Medical Ethics Debating Series

  Laura Machin (Organiser)
  Activity: Public lecture/debate/seminar
  Read more»

• The notion of compromise in umbilical cord clamping and collection

  Laura Machin (Speaker)
  Activity: Invited talk
  Read more»

• The current state of cord blood collection, banking and transplantation in the UK

  Laura Machin (Speaker)
  Activity: Invited talk
  Read more»