A leading international scholar of medical law and ethics, Associate Prof Colin Gavaghan, has been appointed to head the newly established Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies at the University of Otago.
Prof Gavaghan, who was previously a lecturer in medical law and ethics at the Glasgow University Law School, recently became the first director of the centre at the Otago Faculty of Law.
The new post is sponsored by the New Zealand Law Foundation.
University officials said the emerging technologies centre was the only New Zealand-based research centre devoted to examining legal, ethical and policy issues associated with new technologies.
These include biotechnology, nanotechnology, alternative bio-energy, information and communication technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence.
Otago University vice-chancellor Prof Sir David Skegg said the centre would bring legal and ethical perspectives to the evaluation of emerging technologies in an age of rapid scientific development.
Prof Gavaghan's doctorate examined the legal and ethical implications of embryo screening.
His book, Defending the Genetic Supermarket: The Law and Ethics of Selecting the Next Generation, was published last year.
He has also written many articles and chapters dealing with genetic and reproductive technologies, as well as end-of-life choices, and alcohol-related advice to pregnant women.
