DPhil in Medical Law: Q and A with Dr Jesse Wall

DPhil in Medical Law: Dr Jesse Wall 

Why did you choose Oxford? 

I had a specific scholarship opportunity. 

What was the title of your DPhil research and what was your research about?

Being & Owning: The Body, Bodily Material, and the Law. It was about opposing the recognition of property rights in bodily material. 

Who was your supervisor?

Jonathan Herring. 

When was your research submitted?  

2012.

How did you think of your DPhil research topic? 

Mostly through taking the Medical Law and Ethics paper in the BCL.  

How has your DPhil research continued to feature in your current research interests and projects?

I remain interested in how the law protects that choices that we make with regards to our bodies. I remain interested in identifying the limits to the application of property law. And I remain interested in whether (and how) legal theory and philosophy can guide and inform legal doctrine. I now get to write about all these interesting things. 

How has your DPhil has helped you in your career? 

It has provided a firm foundation in research methodology in law and legal theory that has enabled research is range of new and interest fields. 

Do you have any advice that you would like to offer?

The secret to success is having a really wonderful supervisor. Which won’t be hard to find in the Oxford Family and Medical Law Research Group.