Woman with curly gray hair and glasses smiling while sitting at a table with others during a meeting, with a large window showing greenery outside.

I am an experienced and senior academic specialising in the social and ethical aspects of health and medicine. I am an Emeritus Professor at Lancaster University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I am the lead for the small research group, Adopters Advocacy, which I founded in July 2023. I have also held an honorary position at Imperial College London.

My work spans advocacy, research, education, and community engagement relating to adoptive families. medical and clinical ethics, research ethics and integrity, medical education and professionalism, and donation ethics.

I bring extensive experience of working globally across universities, the NHS, professional bodies, Royal Colleges, charities and other organisations, translating academic expertise into practical advice. When collaborating with health, social care, and education professionals, my aim is to ensure that, together, we make a positive difference to the individuals and communities they serve.

I have advised Regional Adoption Agencies on how to best support their adoptive dads, which has enable them to draft and submit a business proposal to fund a dads’ group. I have led the design and delivery of curricula and professional training, chaired and served on research ethics and integrity committees, contributed to NHS clinical ethics committees, organ donation committees, NHS ARCP panels, and advised on research governance, research misconduct and professional practice.

I have provided ethics expertise to the World Marrow Donor Association working groups, the UK Foundation Programme Office, designed and delivered laboratory ethics training for Anthony Nolan, and provided expert opinion to the Royal Australasian College of physicians.

I have received awards from Anthony Nolan in recognition of my research ethics, donation ethics and laboratory ethics expertise to support the work they do in cell and gene therapy. I have also received the British Citizen Award for my contribution to clinical ethics committees during COVID. My design and delivery of a suite of inter professional ethics learning, as well as clinical ethics teaching have both been acknowledged as outstanding and received institutional awards.

I have conducted research on behalf of Anthony Nolan and National Gamete Donation Trust and shared my findings in commissioned reports. My research is referenced in policy documents internationally including General Medical Council. I have been invited to present by artists, Anthony Nolan, Royal Colleges, UK Clinical Ethics Network, UK Foundation Programme Office, and NHS England.

Professor Laura Machin

My Experience

  • I established Adopters Advocacy in July 2023. I lead a small research group consisting of senior and early career academics, and existing and future medical and clinical psychology practitioners.

    Our research broadly focuses on adopters’ mental health and their support needs, with the ambition of bringing the voices of adopters who are seldom and rarely heard into the fore.

    We work with adopters and prospective adopters to identify aspects of the adoption experience that can be considered taboo or attract stigma and other negative emotions. We adopt a creative approach when undertaking research to enable adopters to talk about the ‘hard stuff’ – the things that are hard to hear and hard to say.

    Through research, we aim to bring about positive and evidence-based change to adoption policy and practice that is beneficial for all involved.

    I have presented at the Cascade’s Annual Adoption Lecture in Cardiff, participated in panel debates, podcasts and media interviews and investigations. I publish frequently in the area.

    I have advised Regional Adoption Agencies and schools on how best to support adopters and their children.

  • In my collaboration with Anthony Nolan, I have chaired and served as a member of the Institutional Review Board and have also been a member of the Proportionate Review Board. I review research proposals and applications from external researchers seeking to use donated material in research, including high-risk and complex applications as well as those requiring a rapid response.

    I have sat on and chaired the Faculty of Health and Medicine Research Ethics Committee at Lancaster University, in addition to serving on Lancaster University and NHS research ethics committees. This experience has included supporting the development of faculty research ethics committees across the University, including designing and delivering development away days.

    I have also acted as both a member and chair in research misconduct investigations involving students and academic staff. Alongside this work, I have delivered specialist training in research ethics, including insider research, and deceased publishing ethics for other institutions.

    I was an associate editor of the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics for 8 years.

  • I have extensive experience in clinical ethics, with a particular focus on supporting healthcare professionals to navigate ethical challenges in everyday clinical practice. I have been a member of both the Clinical Ethics Committee and Organ Donation Committee at Morecambe Bay Hospital Trust, and I have contributed expert opinion to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians’ first Clinical Ethics Position Statement. I have also been an active member of the clinical ethics committee and rapid review team at Lancashire and South Cumbria Mental Health Foundation Trust during covid pandemic.

    I have developed and delivered clinical ethics education for doctors, including a UK Foundation Programme Office webinar on everyday ethical decision-making for foundation doctors, and founded the All Things Ethics! regional journal club for medical students and foundation doctors.

    A significant strand of my work has involved translating clinical ethics into practical education and professional development. I have led multiple regional projects for NHS England North West to develop and strengthen training for foundation doctors, including the design, implementation and evaluation of a two-year regional training programme for academic foundation doctors. I have also reviewed teaching provision and policies across the North West Foundation School and developed regional approaches to ethics training to support foundation doctors in meeting the requirements of the UK Foundation Programme.

    My work also includes leading a regional review of Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) processes across 21 NHS trusts, identifying areas of good practice, vulnerability and inconsistency, and developing support mechanisms to strengthen standards across the region.

    I have designed and facilitated interprofessional ethics education across multiple disciplines and institutions, supporting healthcare and university colleagues to embed ethics into professional education and practice.

  • As part of my ongoing collaboration with Anthony Nolan, I have designed, delivered and evaluated laboratory ethics training on multiple occasions.

    I have also acted as an invited member on a number of World Marrow Donation Association committees, contributing to topics such as reporting unexpected genetic findings to stem cell donors, devising the WMDA ethics and values framework, reporting genetic findings to stem cell donors, and stem cell donor remuneration.

    I founded the British Sociological Association Deconstructing Donation Study Group, organising conferences in the UK and overseas.

  • I have extensive experience in medical education, professionalism and postgraduate training, working across undergraduate and postgraduate medicine, the NHS and professional bodies. For ten years, I led the Professional Practice, Values and Ethics (PPVE) curriculum theme for a five-year undergraduate medical degree, with responsibility for the design and delivery of teaching in ethics and professionalism and ensuring compliance with GMC standards.

    I have designed, led and delivered innovative, award-winning programmes of interprofessional ethics education spanning multiple disciplines and institutions. My postgraduate education work has included leading the design, implementation and evaluation of a two-year regional training programme for academic foundation doctors across NHS England North West.

    More recently, I led a regional project examining how to standardise ARCP policy, processes and practice across 21 NHS trusts. This involved conducting a needs analysis of clinical and educational supervisors, undertaking stakeholder interviews, reviewing ARCP standard operating procedures, and leading a working group to design, deliver and evaluate new training for clinical and educational supervisors. I have also collaborated on the design and development of a regional induction handbook for Foundation Programme Directors.

    Alongside this work, I have experience as an NHS ARCP Lay Member for two trusts and as a Fitness to Practise panel member for clinical psychology. I have also served as a member and trustee of the Institute of Medical Ethics Education Committee, contributing my expertise to medical ethics education and professional development.