Gemma Moore
Thesis Title: An Examination of the Ethical, Legal and Policy Issues Surrounding Embryonic Stem Cell Research Policy Development in Ireland
Supervisor: Dr Anne Cleary
Biographical Note:
Advances in the biomedical field are often seen as socially, culturally and ethically contentious, which can create an unfavourable and inhospitable environment for research and development. One area which has been marked by controversy in recent years is the production and use of human embryonic stem cells (hESC). Legislation or policy to regulate embryo use and research has not been developed in Ireland. A range of perspectives exist among Irish doctors, scientists, patients and the general public regarding how hESC research should be regulated and conducted in Ireland. This research project seeks to examine the factors affecting the non-development of legislation by exploring the discourses of stakeholders involved in the area. The central research question examined in this project is: What factors impede or facilitate the emergence of policy for hESC research in Ireland?
The methodological approach for this project will be qualitative, using a variety of data collection methods including in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and documentary analysis of relevant legal documents and guidelines. The project will contribute to our knowledge of how a positive environment for science economies is cultivated within the biomedical sphere. It will add to our understanding of the issues involved in hESC research specifically and to the position of science in society more generally.
In September 2011 I spent a month researching in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (HPME) and the Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB) in the University of Toronto, Canada hosted by Professor Fiona Miller http://individual.utoronto.ca/fiona_miller/Home.html. During my visit I examined Canadian regulation of, and guidelines for, stem cell research and whether it could be used as a model for Irish development of stem cell research guidelines.
I graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a joint honours B.A. in Sociology and Economics. In August 2009 I completed a Masters of Social Science (Sociology Health and Illness) in UCD before commencing my PhD in September 2009.
UCD Teaching Profile:
2011 – Present: Occasional Lecturer SOC30080 Health, Illness and Society
2010 - Present: Tutor SOC20050 Qualitative Research Methods
2012: Tutor SOC10040 Sociology in Practice
2010: Tutor SOC10010 Foundations of Sociological Thought
Conference Presentations:
Moore, Gemma (2012) ‘Ethics in a Regulatory Void’. Presented on July 14th at the Euroscience Open Forum Roundtable: Ethics in Research – Why is it Important to me? EuroScience Open Forum 2012 held in the Convention Centre, Dublin, Ireland.
Moore, Gemma (2012) ‘What can Ireland learn from Canadian Stem Cell Research Policy?’ Paper presented on February 2nd 2012 at the Stem Cells in Ireland- Symposium, Irish Stem Cell Foundation, held in the Davenport Hotel, Dublin, Ireland.
Moore, Gemma (2011) ‘Balancing Biomedical Research and Ethics: What can Ireland Learn from Canadian Stem Cell Research Policy’. Paper presented on October 5th 2011 at the Health Care, Technology, and Place Seminar Series 2011-2012, University of Toronto, Canada.
Moore, Gemma (2011) ‘Can Potentiality and Hope Accelerate and Legitimise Scientific Research? The Case of Embryonic Stem Cell Research in Ireland’. Paper Presented at the Sociological Association of Ireland Postgraduate Conference, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland. February 2011.
Awards Obtained:
Recipient of an award from the Lord Edward Fitzgerald Memorial Fund International Scholarship 2012: the award is given to aid overseas research designed to advance the candidate’s research. A research visit has been arranged to the Innogen Centre in the University of Edinburgh in November 2012.
Recipient of The Patrick Clancy Award and Medal 2009: awarded to the student who achieves 1st Class Honours and the highest grade in the year in the Sociology Masters programme, University College Dublin.
Email: gemma.moore@ucd.ie
