Research Interests

I am open to PhD applications in the following areas: 

• Health and human rights
• Science, technology and human rights, in particular questions concerning law's capacity to regulate the life sciences
• Human rights method
• Human rights more broadly
• Health law and ethics
• Global health law

Make a PhD enquiry

Public outreach & key achievements

• Chairperson, European Master’s in Human Rights and Democratisation, part of the Global Campus of Human Rights
• Member, Moral and Ethical Advisory Group, Department of Health and Social Care, London
• Member, HSC Clinical Ethics Forum, Northern Ireland
• Co editor, Hart Publishing book series on Law and Health
• Editorial board, Human Rights Law Review
• Co editor in chief, GC Human Rights Preparedness
• Founder and director, Health & Human Rights Unit
• Experienced mentor to postdoctoral research fellows funded by the Leverhulme Trust, the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council and the EU’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie scheme

Research students

PhD area	The obstinate jury: A comparative study of mock rape trial juries
Name	Rosie Cowan
PhD area	Genetic ownership: A critical analysis of key legal, social and bioethical debates concerning genetic ownership and the rights of the individual with implications for the criminal justice system
Name	Gillian Craig
PhD area	The treatment of female 'terrorist' fighters in international law
Name	Sylvia Farkasovska

Alumni: Where are they now

PhD area	A Sociological Study of the Relationship between Christian Religious Peacebuilding and Transformation in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Name	Dr Leah Treanor
Years of study	PhD awarded 2020
Current Position	Barrister-at-Law, The Bar of Northern Ireland
Quote	“Her recognition that a supervisor’s role is as much about career progression as academic guidance meant that I benefited from a well-rounded PhD experience.”
PhD area	Ensuring human rights and investment in conflict areas: Implications for Afghanistan
Name	Dr Daria Davitti
Years of study	PhD awarded 2014
Current Position	Research Fellow, Lund University, Sweden; Assistant Professor and Head of the Forced Migration Unit, School of Law, University of Nottingham
Quote	“She set an example of the type of academic that I aspire to become: rigorous and creative, whilst at the same time open, supportive and understanding.”
PhD area	The removal of donor anonymity in the UK: The silencing of claims by would-be parents
Name	Dr Ilke Turkmendag
Years of study	PhD awarded 2009
Current Position	Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Newcastle, UK
Quote	“During a sabbatical visit to Yale, I met another visiting scholar and we ended up discussing our experiences with our PhD supervisors. I told her that I partly owe my academic career to Thérèse: not only did she guide me intellectually during my PhD, helping me to cross the disciplinary boundaries which my thesis required, she also supported me during my postdoc years—in my grant applications, publications and career choices. This scholar had heard about an excellent PhD supervisor from a friend of hers who had studied in the UK, and it turned out to be the same person: Thérèse. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Thérèse has an international reputation for supervision and mentoring!”

Discover More

• Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• School of Law
• Health and Human Rights Unit
• Human Rights Centre

Get ahead: tips on how to prepare your application to study for a PhD at QUB Law

Read our guidance on the steps in our PhD applications process and how to present your research proposal.

Interested in a postdoctoral fellowship at QUB Law?

If you have already completed a PhD or are about to do so, and you are looking for a mentor for a postdoctoral fellowship in one of my areas of expertise, please get in touch via email. The School of Law has a strong track record in supporting able candidates who are working towards fellowship applications to funders such as the British Academy, EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie scheme, ESRC NINE and the Leverhulme Trust.