Students

‍E-mail: tbasa085@uottawa.ca

Ph.D. Project Title: Towards the Legal Conceptualization of Advanced Prostheses by Using Proximity-to-Person as the Benchmark

Tugba Basaran Akmazoglu is a Ph.D. candidate in Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, under the supervision of Prof. Jennifer A Chandler. Her research focuses on the legal regulation of human-technology interaction and symbiosis, and the changing boundaries of human body along with the merger of progressively evolving smart prostheses with the human body. Her dissertation project is informed by the spatio-legal lens, the personhood theory of property, and philosophy of technology, centered on human-technology co-constitution.

Tugba holds a law degree (LL.B.) from the University of Ankara Faculty of Law. She received her LL.M. degrees at K.U Leuven (with specialization in European Union Law and as a recipient of the Jean Monnet Fellowship of the European Commission), and at the University of Oslo and Leibniz University of Hannover (double degree LL.M. within the framework of the European Legal Informatics Study Program in IT Law) and wrote her thesis on the regulation of civil law liability of autonomous service robots.

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Honours Thesis Title - Lived Experiences of Brain-Computer Interface Users: Determining Gaps in Research Ethics

Rama El Hakim completed her honours thesis in 2024 with Prof J. Chandler. Her work addressed the experiences of some of the few people who have participated in trials of implanted electrodes for brain computer interfaces.

Shreya Nair is a visiting Fulbright Scholar. She is a recent graduate of Harvard College (A.B. in Government and Molecular & Cellular Biology, 2024). She is enthusiastic about the intersection between biology, ethics, and the law -- and as such, is incredibly excited to be joining Prof. Chandler's team! Previously, she has worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (on maternal mortality & vaccination), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (on the health benefits of green spaces), the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State (on science diplomacy), and the offices of Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey and Assistant Speaker of the House Katherine Clark. In her free time, she loves watching opera and finding cute cafes.

Diana M. Urian is an M.Sc. student in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, working under the supervision of Prof. Jennifer A. Chandler. Her current research explores the intersection of neuroscience and real-world applications, emphasizing the ethical and legal implications of privacy issues in emerging neurotechnology. Diana holds a B.Sc. in Neuroscience with an Honours Specialization from Western University's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, where she focused on cognitive assessment tools for dementia care. She aspires to pursue a career in healthcare law, contributing to policy development and legal education.

Kellie Weisse is a 2L student at the University of Ottawa, working under Professor Jennifer Chandler as a Research Assistant. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto in neuroscience, molecular genetics, and bioethics. She enjoys working at the intersection of science, ethics, and the law.