About
Professor Amel Alghrani is Professor of Law at the University of Liverpool and Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford (2024–2027). She is an internationally recognised scholar of health law, medical law and bioethics whose research examines how law responds to some of the most ethically complex issues in healthcare, reproduction, criminal justice and children’s rights.
She is a leading expert on reproductive justice and the law governing maternal care and assisted reproduction, with particular expertise in abortion, fertility treatment and emerging reproductive technologies. Her work has shaped legal and policy debates on reproductive innovation, including publishing with clinicians involved in the UK’s first uterus transplant and service on a Nuffield Council on Bioethics expert working group on stem cell-based embryo models (2024). Her scholarship has been cited by the UK Supreme Court and featured in national media, including BBC News, BBC Radio 4’s The Law Show, and the BBC Politics Show.
Her research also examines the intersection of criminal law, healthcare regulation and patient safety, including professional and institutional accountability, medical error, legal literacy in healthcare and the reliability of expert evidence in criminal proceedings. Her recent work has explored the role of expert evidence in high-profile criminal cases, including the Lucy Letby case.
More recently, Professor Alghrani has developed a significant programme of research in education law and children’s rights, focusing on children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), school exclusion and health inequalities. She was a co-investigator on an NIHR-funded interdisciplinary project examining the impact of COVID-19 on children with SEND, which received multiple national impact awards and has informed wider policy discussions on SEND reform.
Alongside her academic research, she works closely with policymakers, healthcare practitioners and national regulators to improve governance, legal literacy and patient safety.
Professor Alghrani is also an award-winning educator and experienced academic leader. She has held senior leadership roles including Associate Dean for Education, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, and is one of the founding directors of the Health Law and Regulation Unit. She previously served as Co-Editor of Medical Law International and regularly contributes to national policy and public debate on health law, reproductive justice, patient safety and children’s rights.
She welcomes opportunities for academic collaboration, policy engagement, consultancy and media commentary in her areas of expertise.
Prizes or Honours
- People's Choice ' Most Engaging Project' (Vertigo Ventures, 2023)
- Research Impact of the Year (Commended) (The University of Liverpool Staff Awards, 2023)
- Tracking Health Inequalities Award (North West Coast Research and Innovation Awards 2023, 2023)
- Lecturer of the Year (nomination) (Guild Awards, 2022)
- Faculty Learning and Teaching Award. (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Liverpool, 2018)
- Woman of the Year Finalist and Personal Recommendation Award in 'Contribution to Medicine' Category (The English Women's Awards , 2018)
- Teacher of the Year (Liverpool Guild of Students , 2015)