Rate My Professor Wendy Lipworth

Professor Wendy Lipworth is a prominent bioethicist affiliated with Sydney Health Ethics in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, where she is listed as a Professor and holds an Honorary Professorship. She earned her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of Science (Medicine) with First Class Honours from the University of New South Wales in 1999 and 1994, respectively. She completed a Master of Science in Bioethics in 2005 and a PhD in Bioethics in 2009 from the University of Sydney, with her doctoral thesis titled 'Rehabilitating the social in biomedical publication: embracing community and intersubjectivity in manuscript review.' Her career at the University of Sydney includes roles such as Associate Professor in Sydney Health Ethics, SOAR Fellow in the School of Public Health, and recipient of an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship in 2017 valued at $476,000 for research on ethics and evidence in health innovation. She has also received significant funding, including $799,543 for ethics and evidence in stem cell medicine in 2021, contributing to over $5 million in total grants from NHMRC, ARC, and the Medical Research Future Fund.

Lipworth's research specializes in practical bioethics at the intersection of ethics and professional practice in biomedicine, focusing on the ethics of biomedical research, clinical innovation, translation, conflicts of interest, stem cell therapies, and assisted reproductive technologies. Key publications include 'An ethics framework for big data in health and research' (Asian Bioethics Review, 2019; 160 citations), 'Dangers of neglecting non-financial conflicts of interest in health and medicine' (Journal of Medical Ethics, 2018; 78 citations), 'Tissue donation to biobanks: a review of sociological studies' (Sociology of Health & Illness, 2011; 97 citations), and recent works such as 'Addressing the consequences of the corporatisation of reproductive medicine' (Medical Law Review, 2024), 'Perspectives on non-financial conflicts of interest in health-related journals' (Accountability in Research, 2024), and 'Therapeutic misunderstandings in modern research' (Bioethics, 2023). She serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry since 2012 and President of the Australasian Association of Bioethics & Health Law since 2024. Her influence extends to developing tools like iCON for managing conflicts of interest, steering committees for the Australian Ethical Health Alliance and Brain Cancer Australia, and public engagement through events like Sydney Ideas on stem cell therapy.