Staff profile
| Affiliation | Telephone |
|---|---|
| PhD Candidate in the Durham Law School | |
| PhD candidate in the Durham CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences) |
Biography
Qianyu Wang, who also goes by Miranda, is a full-time PhD researcher at Durham Law School, specialising in neurolaw, neuroethics, and neurocriminology. She has been awarded a postgraduate scholarship for the 2024/25 academic year by St Chad’s College. She holds a first-class honours LLB degree from Durham University (2022), where she received the Norton Rose Fulbright prize, the Slaughter and May prize, and the Jason Sugarman QC prize. She discovered her research interests through taking the modules ‘Law and Medicine’ and ‘Contemporary Issues in Biolaw’. Her undergraduate dissertation delved further into these fields, exploring the ethical and legal implications of CRISPR germline genome editing technology on human reproduction.
Following her undergraduate studies, Miranda pursued an MPhil in Criminology at the University of Cambridge (2023), further enriching her social science background. Her master’s research focused on neurocriminology and feminist criminology, with a special emphasis on female offending and the gendered brain. Her MPhil thesis, investigating maternal infanticide’s cultural, legal, and medical discourse, received high distinction and is currently held at the Cambridge Institute of Criminology Radzinowicz Library.
Current Research
Under the supervision of Dr. David Lawrence and Professor Shaun Pattinson, Miranda’s PhD thesis centres on the emerging field of neurolaw and neuroethics. Her research explores the legal and ethical perspectives on neuroscientific evidence in the criminal justice system, comprising two primary inquires:
1. Analysis of various forms of neuroscientific evidence within criminal proceedings, exploring the intersection between law, neuroscience, and criminal behaviours. Undertaking a comparative approach, she provides deeper insights into how justice systems should respond to neuro evidence.
2. Engagement with fundamental rights discussions surrounding neuro evidence, addressing potential ethical and legal concerns regarding individual rights.
Miranda’s overarching goal is to contribute to a scientifically grounded and rights-oriented understanding of neuro evidence’s implications, therefore offer practice-oriented guidelines for the equitable incorporation of neuroscience into the criminal justice system.
Research Interests
Biolaw and Bioethics
Feminist Criminology and Legal Studies
Decolonising the Law
Publications
Book Chapters
Karacay N., Lim M., Wang M., Tamer-Mohamed-Moshen-Aly M., Wieczorek I. (2024). EU Law, Decolonisation and Brexit. In Wieczorek I. (ed), Decolonising Legal Education at Durham Law School. Association of Law Teachers Online Book Series. ISBN: 978-1-7394267-1-2. Available at: https://www.lawteacher.ac.uk/_files/ugd/c553cd_7b52c2571a3d4124b1b8fb6848e83ab2.pdf
Wieczorek I., Ahmed S., Mogeni S., Sanghavi A., Stoyanov K., Wang M., Tamer-Mohamed-Moshen-Aly M. (2024). What do we mean by 'decolonising legal education in higher education’? In Wieczorek I. (ed), Decolonising Legal Education at Durham Law School. Association of Law Teachers Online Book Series. ISBN: 978-1-7394267-1-2. Available at: https://www.lawteacher.ac.uk/_files/ugd/c553cd_7b52c2571a3d4124b1b8fb6848e83ab2.pdf
Wieczorek, I., Wang, Q. (2023). Teaching EU Law Outside the EU: An Explorative Analysis of Eight Case Studies in Asia. In: Stoicheva, M., Sreejith, S.G., Gupta, I. (eds) Relevance of European Studies in Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7786-4_7
Conference
Wang, M.Q. and Lawrence D., 'Neuroethics in forensic mental health' in 'Ethical and philosophical issues in forensic mental health: How can these help inform our clinical practices?' (Forensic Research Nottingham Summer Symposium, University of Nottingham, July 2024)
Wieczorek I. and Wang, M.Q., ‘Teaching EU Law outside the EU’ in 'EU law courses in the UK post-Brexit: Learning from EU law colleagues based in other non-EU states and seeking UK solutions' (University of Reading, July 2022)