Current PhD students
Hugh Brosnahan
Ghost in the machine: The hidden costs of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare.
While new technologies promise to enhance efficiency, they risk diminishing the human dimensions of medical practice, reducing physicians from expert practitioners to mere operators within a technocratic system. By situating current technologies within broader epistemological and historical currents, my research investigates the dangers of subordinating medical and ethical judgment to machine-mediated systems, underscoring the need for a more balanced integration of technology that not only preserves but fosters the essential qualities of human care.
Alex Gilbert
Investigating the social and emotional factors of sport-related concussion reporting.
Concussion remains a considerable issue for risk managers in sport, as does the tendency for many athletes to underreport symptoms of a suspected head injury. My research aims to provide a novel understanding of the social and emotional factors influencing an athlete’s decision not to disclose symptoms of concussion, and to investigate athlete perceptions of repetitive head knocks as a potential cumulative risk. These findings are a crucial step towards better understanding athlete behaviour and the ethical obligations faced by sporting bodies in managing concussion risk.
Joey Mackle
What does “ageing well” mean in the digital age?
This research investigates what it means to age well in an increasingly digital world, focusing on how digital assistive technologies can support older adults. As ageing populations grow, digital tools and smart devices promise to enhance independence and ease pressure on caregivers and health systems, though concerns about privacy, trust, and ethical design limit their adoption. This project examines how ethical considerations can be meaningfully integrated the design and development of a specific AI-driven cognitive health platform, while addressing several philosophical and practical challenges that arise.
Hamish Osborne
Optimised cardiac screening in elite New Zealand basketballers.
As the team doctor for the New Zealand national basketball team, my PhD research focuses on optimizing cardiac screening. Sudden cardiac death occurs in 1 in 5000 elite male basketball players annually, yet little screening is done in New Zealand. To improve screening, we need to first understand what is normal, especially for the Māori and Pacific players who make up 80% of the team.
Max Victor Gray Lough
Responding to the desire to die: Assisted dying or suicide prevention?
Why do we prevent some suicides while helping others to die? With assisted dying spreading around the world, questions about how society and medical professionals should respond to the desire to die are gaining moral and social urgency. Drawing on conceptual analysis and empirical evidence, this project examines distinctions between suicide and assisted dying, and the diverse experiences and motivations of those who pursue them. It develops an account of assisted dying that balances compassion for unbearable suffering with a steadfast commitment to suicide prevention.
Emma Westwood
Empowering choice: Overcoming bioethical barriers in the National Bowel Screening Program to promote informed decisions and equitable access for Māori, Pacific and underserved communities in Ōtepoti.
Despite the proven benefits of early detection through the National Bowel Screening Programme (NBSP), Māori and Pacific peoples remain significantly underrepresented in participation rates. This PhD research explores the bioethical, cultural, and communication-related barriers that contribute to this inequity in Ōtepoti, with a focus on informed consent, accessibility, and culturally safe engagement.
Completed PhD students
2026
- Pete Burt – Physician integrity when faced with ethically challenging situations in the sporting environment
- Danica Davies – Panoptic pain, complicity, and resistance in women's experiences in the persistent pain clinic
- Doàn Thanh Håi – Ethical and legal preparation for the next pandemic
- Denzel Wing Kit Chung – What are Ethnic Chinese experiences of Mental Health Services in Aotearoa, New Zealand
- Janine Winters – Doctor's reflections on providing medically assisted dying in Canada
2025
- Emma Anderson – The politisation and securitisation of Public Health
- Asher Soryl – Establishing welfare biology: Creating a new research discipline for studying the welfare of sentient beings