This is a picture of me graduating from my MA in Philosophy at Dalhousie University.

*NEW* The book I co-authored with Tara Johnson has just been released!

I am currently a PhD student in Philosophy at Dalhousie University. My interests are in philosophy specializing in ethics, feminist ethics, bioethics, health care ethics and policy. I am particularly interested in social justice and the differing impact of medical policy on vulnerable groups both nationally and internationally.

I have been involved with public health education and outreach groups (such as T.E.A.C.H.) since junior high school and one of my objectives is to make ethical issues relevant and accessible to general and patient populations. My first book which I coauthored with Tara Johnson, Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia (Your Health Press; Forthcoming November 2006), continues this goal by providing patients with an accessible guide to understanding the treatment and etiology of this rare group of conditions.

I was recently awarded a Trudeau Scholarship from the Fondation Trudeau Foundation. Fifteen Trudeau Scholarships are awarded each year to students in the social sciences and humanities. I was very grateful to win such a prestigious scholarship. The Trudeau Scholarship is not simply an award of money, but it is also the creation of a community of scholars across Canada who can share in each other’s work, give each other feedback and improve each other’s work through the process.

I hold a Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a Killam Trust Predoctoral Scholarship and a Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Ethics of Health Research and Policy Doctoral Fellowship. My recent work, “Growing Concerns: Genetic Risk and Trust” won the Nathalie Des Rosiers Audacity of Imagination Award (2005) from the Law Commission of Canada. I was the first recipient of the CIHR Douglas Kinsella Doctoral Award for Research in Bioethics in 2005.

My supervisor is Dr. Susan Sherwin. My familiarity with Dr. Sherwin’s work began during my undergraduate training in bioethics and philosophy at the University of Toronto. I quickly discovered that when I was having difficulty working through a bioethical issue, I could turn to Dr. Sherwin’s writings for clarity and guidance. Dr. Sherwin’s approach to bioethics is innovative and unique: she often reframes the debate to illuminate aspects of the issue that had previously been ignored and she offers novel insights. I found her methodology exciting, challenging and inspiring. Furthermore, as a Canadian student of bioethics it was refreshing to read Dr. Sherwin’s bioethical views, which addressed particularly Canadian problems in a field that is often dominated by American perspectives.

Dr. Sherwin is devoted to her students; she acts as both a mentor and a friend. Throughout my studies Dr. Sherwin has offered help and encouragement when I needed it most. She also challenges me to work harder and to think through ethical issues with depth and rigour. I found writing my MA thesis under Dr. Sherwin’s supervision to be the most exhilarating and exigent academic experience of my career.