From science to healing: shaping the future of medical law and governance

Impact at a glance

Emma Cave’s contributions have driven meaningful change in public policy and professional practice across three priority areas:

• Guiding national discussions on the regulation of stem cell-based embryo models.
• Modernising professional guidance for healthcare professionals.
• Helping to hold the government to account on matters of health and social care.

Key Publications

• Read the report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics that Emma chaired on Human stem cell-based embryo models: A review of ethical and governance questions.
• Emma chaired the advisory forum for the General Medical Council. Read the GMC’s December 2024 guidance on Good Medical Practice.
• Read how Emma and colleagues from the Medical Ethics Group gave expert evidence to the Infected Blood Inquiry.

What was the problem?

As innovations such as stem cell-based embryo models emerge, they often fall outside current laws, creating gaps in oversight. Additionally, professional medical guidelines can be outdated, absent, or insufficient, highlighting the need for ethically robust, accountable frameworks that prioritise patient safety and professional integrity. Emma’s research seeks to address the ethical and regulatory challenges that arise when medical practices and technologies evolve beyond the scope of existing law and professional guidance.

How did these changes come about?

• Emma’s research and legal expertise played an integral role in the development of a staged pathway for the regulation of stem cell-based embryo models. Emma chaired a Nuffield Council on Bioethics Working Group and co-drafted a report, which developed a phased approach to governance.
• Emma has contributed to the formation of national guidance for health professionals. She has co-developed a number of professional guidelines, including chairing the General Medical Council’s advisory forum on Good Medical Practice. Since 2024, Emma has sat on the British Medical Association’s Medical Ethics Committee, which debates medical ethics issues and produces guidance for doctors.
• Since 2022, Emma has been a core member of the Health and Social Care Committee Independent Expert Panel, which scrutinises government policy and progress on key medical issues such as patient safety and sets out reports to which the government responds.
• Emma co-convened the Medical Expert Group, providing evidence to the Infected Blood Inquiry, which was much cited in the final Infected Blood Report. Emma is also a member of the ethics advisory group to the COVID-19 Every Story Matters campaign. The Covid-19 Every Story Matters Campaign is the largest public engagement exercise ever undertaken by a UK public inquiry; Emma’s work within the advisory group ensures that the highest ethical standards are maintained during the campaign.

What has happened since? 

• In May 2025 Emma presented at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) roundtable, which set out the council’s recommendations on the regulation on stem cell-based embryo models. The roundtable was attended by regulators and government ministers, who are giving them consideration.
• Influenced by Emma’s research, significant changes were made in 2024 to the General Medical Council’s professional standards for doctors, Good Medical Practice. Good Medical Practice is the core professional practice guidance by which doctors are educated, guided and held to account.
• Emma and colleague’s expert evidence which was presented during The Infected Blood Inquiry found that the infected and affected were failed repeatedly. The government response includes a full apology and a promise of redress.

What next?

• Emma’s research continues to advocate for the prioritisation of ethics integration in shaping cultural change across the NHS, enhancing accountability mechanisms, supporting staff wellbeing, and reforming outdated regulatory and legal structures.
• Emma is currently working as part of the Health and Social Care Committee’s Independent Expert Panel to complete an evaluation of Palliative Care in England. Recommendations from the Expert Panel will inform government decision making.
• Working toward wider reform of the regulation of biotechnologies, Emma is advancing her research on the regulation of stem cell-based embryo models, and contributing to a major review of the 14 day rule governing embryo culture as part of a NCoB working group.