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Contact Details

Phone
64 3 479 7365
Email
gareth.jones@otago.ac.nz
Position
Emeritus Professor
Department
Department of Anatomy
Qualifications
CNZM Bsc(Hons) MB BS(Lond) DSc(W Aust) MD(Otago) FRSB FAS
Research summary
Research uses of human tissue – ethical analyses

Research

Research interests include human anatomy and ethics, including uses of human cadavers and tissues; neuroethics, including neuroimaging and dementia; stem cell technology, including induced pluripotent stem cells; artificial reproductive technologies, including developmental issues; enhancement and therapy; bioethics and theology.

Professor Jones has had a long involvement in anatomy. Until recent times little attention was given to any ethical dimensions surrounding the acquisition of bodies, such as the use of unclaimed bodies and bodies of the mentally ill. More recently there has been intense interest in retention of body parts, and this raises tensions between issues of informed consent and the availability of material for research. The extensive use of plastinated human material in teaching and research also raises difficult ethical questions, especially in terms of large public exhibitions of plastinated cadavers. Other questions of interest concern definitions of brain death and the status of the human embryo, the moral status of the blastocyst. Questions such as these can only be addressed by reference to the human body, in embryological, neurobiological and cell biological terms.

Publications

Southorn, M., Halcrow, S. E., Lončar, S. R., Sudron, E. L., Smith, C., & Jones, D. G. (2024). Forgotten children: The fetal and infant skeletal remains of the W. D. Trotter Anatomy Museum, New Zealand. Bioarchaeology International. Advance online publication. doi: 10.5744/bi.2023.0004 Journal - Research Article

Jones, G. (2024). Christian professor of anatomy speaks out about Olympic female boxers: 'A non-binary reality'. Christian Daily: Asia, Aug 19. Retrieved from https://www.christiandaily.com/opinion/christian-professor-of-anatomy-speaks-out-about-female-boxers.html Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Jones, G. (2024). Human bodies and ethical practice. Otago Daily Times, (20 September). Retrieved from https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/human-bodies-and-ethical-practice Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Jones, D. G. (2024). Finding an ethical framework for public dissections: The consent–context duality. Anatomical Sciences Education. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1002/ase.2516 Journal - Research Other

Jones, G. (2024). Change management meets biomedicine. Otago Daily Times, (11 June). Retrieved from https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/change-management-meets-biomedicine Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

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