Heather Draper, PhD

Professor, Social Science and Systems in Health, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick

Research Interests: Bioethics, and in particular ethics in relation to tissue and organs transplantation and organ replacement therapies, social robotics, military medical ethics, public health ethics, research ethics and human reproduction and parenting. Member of Social Science and Systems in Health.

Biography: Heather Draper joined the University of Warwick in 2017, taking up the newly established Chair of Bioethics in Warwick Medical School. Heather studied Theology before completing her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Manchester but has chosen to develop her bioethics career within medical schools rather than remaining in Philosophy. Her research therefore strives to bridge the distinctive research cultures of medicine and applied philosophy. As a bioethicist she frequently engages in inter- and multi- disciplinary research, including working with health technology developers. Since 2004, she has introduced methods from social science into her research, blending the results of data collection with ethical analysis in a methodology increasingly referred to as 'empirical ethics'. Heather has served on several national policy bodies (UK Donation Ethics Committee, Human Genetics Commission (co opted), Unrelated Live Transplantation Regulatory Authority) as well as being active in clinical and research ethics locally. She is an ethics consultant for the Royal College of Defence Medicine and member of the Defence Medical Service Ethics Committee. Heather is also a member NHS BT's Deceased Donor Family Tissue Advisory Group, on the Advisory Board of the NGO 'End Organ Pillaging' and is a Fellow of the GE2P2 Global Foundation.