Heather Gowans

Dr Heather Gowans is a Researcher in Law at the Centre for Health Law and Emerging Technologies (HeLEX) at the University of Oxford.  Her work focuses largely on legal and regulatory issues concerning data protection, confidentiality and privacy.

Prior to joining the centre in 2008, Heather qualified and practised law as a barrister after obtaining a DPhil at Oxford. In her academic capacity, she has provided legal support to the ESRC-funded Administrative Data Liaison Service (ADLS) and the Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN) in relation to UK data protection legislation and the legal powers and implications of sharing data. She is currently providing legal support to the IMI funded DIRECT project (DIabetes REsearCh on patient straTification consortium). Heather also remains actively involved in a collaborative publications team within HeLEX.