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Professor Loane Skene

Academic Profile
Profile Publications Research Activities
Faculty of Law, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

Research interests: Medical Law, Ethics, Reproductive Technology, Genetics, Euthanasia

Loane Skene came to the University of Melbourne in 1992 after working as a solicitor in Melbourne and England; and a policy adviser in Canada and Melbourne (10 years with the Victorian Law Reform Commission). She specialises in Health and Medical Law and is a Professor of Law in the Faculty of Law and an Adjunct Professor of Law in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. She is the author of two books: Law and Medical Practice: Rights, Duties, Claims and Defences, (1st ed, Butterworths, 1998; 2nd ed, Lexis-Nexis, 2004); and You, Your Doctor and the Law (OUP, 1990). She has also published numerous chapters in book and articles in Australian and overseas legal, medical and scientific journals.

Loane has served on many federal and state policy committees, especially in relation to the legal regulation of genetic testing. Her research interests also include the legal regulation of genetic testing, assisted reproductive technology and euthanasia. She is Deputy Director of the Centre for Law and Genetics at the University of Tasmania and the University of Melbourne; Program Director, Medical Ethics, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), Charles Sturt University and The University of Melbourne, and Board member, Australian and New Zealand Institute of Health, Law and Ethics (ANZIHLE), formerly the Australian Institute of Health ,Law and Ethics (AIHLE).


Areas of Expertise:

Teaching:
The Melbourne LLB:
  • Health and Medical Law (2009)
  • The Melbourne Law Masters:
  • Law and Human Genetics (2009)


  • Current Research Interests

     

    • Medical law and ethics
    • Legal Regulation of Human Embryo Cloning and Stem Cell Research
    • Use of Animal Eggs and Human Animal Hybrids or Chimeras in Human Stem Cell and Fertility Research
    • Donation of Oocytes for Human Stem Cell and Fertility Research
    • Decision Making Procedures by Law Reform and other Consultative Bodies
    • Communication with Family Members after Diagnosis of a Genetic Condition
    • Proprietary Rights in Excised Human Bodily Material
    • Research in other Countries: Ethics and Law
    • End of life decision making: Disputes between Patients, Family and Health Professionals about the Treatment to be Provided
    • Health Informatics: Data Linkage and the Law
    • University of Melbourne's Find an Expert
    • University of Melbourne e-Prints Repository (UMER). For free access to selected articles by Professor Loane Skene, search for 'Skene, L' in the author section of the advanced search function.  
    • Australian Life Scientist, 'The ins and outs of therapeutic cloning', 13 June 2007
    • Melbourne University Upclose Podcast Episode 4 (2006) Stem Cell Research. Professor Loane Skene and Professor Peter Rathjen discuss the debate on stem cell research with Jacky Angus
    • Sydney Morning Herald, 'Five myths of therapeutic cloning', Ian Kerridge, Peter Schofield and Loane Skene, 27 November, 2006
    • Sunday Profile, ABC Radio National, Professor Loane Skene, 27 August 2006
    • World Today, ABC Local Radio, 'Government MPs debate stem cell research', 8 August 2006
    • Faculty of Law 2005 Research Report. Profile of Professor Loane Skene on page 42. 

     


    Memberships and Affiliations

    Board member, Australian Institute of Health, Law & Ethics

    Member, Australian Bioethics Association

    Member, Medico-Legal Society of Victoria

    Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Medical Ethics (UK)


    Other

    Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club


    Loane Skene


    Curriculum Vitae (.doc)
     
    Phone:
    +61 3 834 44858
     
    Fax:
    +61 3 9347 2392
     
    Email:
    Loane Skene
     
    Room:
    0926