Matt James likes thinking about the future and helping others to consider what it means to be human considering the challenges and opportunities new technologies present.
He has a background in bioethics and public policy having worked within Westminster and Whitehall for over 10 years. He was previously a parliamentary researcher for a shadow minister for International Affairs before working as a senior researcher for several Westminster based think tanks focusing on the ethical and social implications surrounding advances in health and emerging technologies. This has involved him authoring numerous original reports on various health policy issues, writing a variety of thought leader and opinion pieces on the impact of new emerging technologies and responding with written evidence to various parliamentary consultations and inquiries. Professor James has also helped organize and chair a variety of public symposia which have brought together key stakeholders to discuss the impact of new technologies both in the UK (Houses of Parliament, Royal Society of Medicine, Royal Society of Chemistry and the British Museum among others) and in the US (Washington DC).
He is Associate Professor in Bioethics and Medical Law at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. As part of this role, he is Course Lead for MA Bioethics and Medical Law program and PGR Lead within the Institute of Theology & Liberal Arts. He is also Director of the Centre for Bioethics and Emerging Technologies (CBET), one of St Mary’s 12 research centers and Managing Editor of the peer review journal, The New Bioethics.
Professor James holds a BA (Hons) degree in History and Sociology from Queen’s University Belfast and MA Bioethics and Medical Law from St Mary’s University, Twickenham. In 2017, he completed his MA Academic Practice, allowing him to engage in one of his other research interests: teaching and learning within higher education.
