Neuroscience Ethics and Society Team  (NEUROSEC)

We are a uniquely interdisciplinary team, working at the intersection of neuroscience, mental health, bioethics and participatory co-design.

STUDENTS:

Jessica Lorimer, MRC-Oxford DPhil Student

Edward Jacobs, Wellcome Trust DPhil Student

Gulamabbas Lakha, DPhil Student

Briana Applewhite, ARC DPhil Student

Sarah Chen, Rhodes Scholar DPhil Student

Global Initiative in Neuropsychiatric Ethics (NeuroGenE) 

Dr Rosemary Musesengwa, Postdoctoral Researcher 

Dr Michael Wee, Postdoctoral Researcher

Oxford Wellcome Platform for Transformative Inclusive Bioethics (ANTITHESES)

Dr David Lyreskog,  Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr Hazem Jonny, EC Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr Edmond Awad, Senior Researcher; joint post with Oxford Uehiro Centre

Dr Madeleine Reineke, Postdoctoral Researcher, joint with Oxford Uehiro Centre

Billy Höhnen-Ford, Research Assistant

NIHR BRC Flourishing and Wellbeing Theme

Dr Katrin Wilhelm, Senior Researcher, Psychiatry & Geography

Dr Erdem Pulchu, Senior Researcher, Psychiatry

Dr Lalitha Iyadurai, Senior Researcher, Psychiatry

Dr Wendee Zhang, Senior Researcher, Geography

Dr Laurence Cannings, Senior Researcher, Geography

Dr Keira Chapman, Senior Researcher, English

Dr Madeline Reinecke, Postdoctoral Researcher, Psychiatry

Dr Edmond Awad, Postdoctoral Researcher

Sasha Menon, Research Assistant

Charlotte Austin, Research Assistant

Jessica Frater, Project Coordinator

Amanda Gerbasi, Communications Officer

Wellcome Trust Surprises Project

Dr Lucienne Spencer, Postdoctoral Researcher

Zeba Kokan, Research Assistant

NeurOx Young People's Advisory Group

AGILE: Is Nature a Policy Solution to Mental Health in Schools?

Dr Katrin Wilhelm, Co-PI

Jessica Lorimer, Project Manager

Dr Apostolos Tsiachristas, Associate Prof in Health Economics

Dr Saba Arshad, Postdoctoral Researcher

Sasha Menon, Research Assistant

Dr Rodger Caseby, Oxford Botanic Gardens

I hold a doctorate in human development and psychology from Harvard University, and over the past decade I have added to these foundations through extensive work in bioethics, methods innovation, and sociology. I bring this interdisciplinary perspective to my current research through an approach known as empirical ethics. At present, my team's major research projects encompass: nature-based interventions for flourishing and wellbeing; digital mental health ethics; and global mental health ethics.

Much of my work reflects a longstanding commitment to bringing the first-person experiences of children and young people into ethical evaluation, clinical decision-making and policy-making. My team has pioneered participatory methods for co-design and co-production with young people, qualitative and quantitative methods, mobile technologies and digital games. 

Current Projects

I am a co-principal investigator for the Oxford Wellcome Platform for Transformative Inclusive Bioethics (ANTITHESES), where I lead the Design Bioethics Lab on the neuroethics of new forms of collective and collaborative decision-making, including swarm and hive minds, brain-computer interfaces, and novel AI technologies. My team also contributes to work on global genomic ethics through our global mental health ethics programme. We are funded for various projects through a partnership with the Stanley Centre, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT; British Academy; Global Challenges Research Fund, Africa-Oxford Initiative, and others.

I lead the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Flourishing and Wellbeing Theme. This is a major cross-University initiative to build the evidence-base for green social prescribing in mental health. We aim to identify key mechanisms driving positive connections between mental health and nature-based interventions and experiences in young people and in older adults. Our work is founded on the principle that 'flourishing' connotes good for the individual and good for the planet. Further work on nature-based programmes for mental health and wellbeing in UK schools is supported by a NERC Agile Initiative grant in partnership with the UK Department for Education: AGILE: Is Nature a Policy Solution to Mental Health in Schools?

I am a co-investigator on a Wellcome Discovery Award (PI Prof Argyris Stringaris, UCL) where my role is to investigate the ethics of 'surprises' (or expectancy violations) in therapies targeting severe social anxiety. Wellcome Trust Surprises Project

Past projects include: A Senior Investigator Award from the Wellcome Trust for a project entitled: Becoming Good: Early Intervention and Moral Development in Child Psychiatry, 2015-2020. This project follows on from a Wellcome Trust University Award for VOICES: Voices on Identity, Childhood, Ethics & Stimulants: Children join the debate.  We have added significantly to innovative methods in working with young people. A Wellcome Trust Enrichment Award enabled us to create a bioethics game on mental health digital phenotyping: www.tracingtomorrow.org

I led the UK Ethics Accelerator for Pandemic Emergencies, funded by the UKRI Covid-19 Rapid Response Call, involving 5 UK institutions and 9 leading UK bioethicists as Co-Directors, along with 6 postdoctoral fellows and the Nuffield Council of Bioethics as a key partner. A project funded by the Duke of Westminster Foundation for a trial of a peer-support intervention for mental health and wellbeing, aimed at the challenges faced by adolescents during the epidemic crisis. 

RESEARCH, TRAINING AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH 

All postdoctoral projects need to be fully funded, either through advertised posts, or through external fellowships. I am only able to support external postdocs whose projects are closely linked to our active funded research.

SUPERVISION

As of 2025, I have limited space for MSc and DPhil (PhD) supervision, but I welcome proposals. Please send a cv and a draft proposal including background, research questions/hypotheses, methodology, proposed analysis plan, and anticipated outcomes.  Please also include a writing sample (preferably a first authored publication). All projects will need to have an empirical basis (we use both quantitative and qualitative methods). DPhil candidates are expected to have a good background in bioethics or critical social science. Approaches from scientists and medics are very welcome.

• Ethical and/or social dimensions of child mental health, particularly ADHD, Autism and Psychosis
• Social and/or ethical dimensions of neuroscience technology innovation, including AI
• Patient engagement/involvement in the context of science, industry, health, society, including co-design and co-production methodologies
• Global mental health ethics