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Rate My Professor Josephine Johnston

University of Otago

Ratings & reviews

5.04/23/2026

Knowledgeable and truly inspiring educator.

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About Josephine

Josephine Johnston, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Bioethics at the University of Otago's Division of Health Sciences, is a leading scholar in bioethics. Trained as a lawyer in New Zealand, she holds a BA LLB (Hons) and a Master of Bioethics and Health Law (MBHL) from the University of Otago. Her research examines ethical, legal, and policy dimensions of emerging technologies in medicine and science, with particular emphasis on human reproduction, genetics, psychiatry, and neuroscience. Johnston practiced law in New Zealand and Germany before dedicating twenty years to grant-funded bioethics research in North America. She held positions at prestigious institutions including The Hastings Center (serving as Director of Research from 2012 to 2022), Dalhousie University, the University of Minnesota, and Columbia University, where she taught bioethics and health law.