Staff profile

Qianyu Wang, also known as Miranda, is currently a full-time PhD candidate at Durham Law School. She holds a first-class honours LLB degree from Durham University (2022), where she received the Norton Rose Fulbright prize, the Slaughter and May prize, and the Jason Sugarman QC prize. She discovered her research interests through taking the modules ‘Law and Medicine’ and ‘Contemporary Issues in Biolaw’. Her undergraduate dissertation delved further into these fields, exploring the ethical and legal implications of CRISPR germline genome editing technology on human reproduction.

Following her undergraduate studies, Miranda pursued an MPhil in Criminology at the University of Cambridge (2023), further enriching her social science background. Her master’s research focused on neurocriminology and feminist criminology, with a special emphasis on female offending and the gendered brain. Her MPhil thesis, investigating maternal infanticide’s cultural, legal, and medical discourse, received high distinction and is currently held at the Cambridge Institute of Criminology Radzinowicz Library.

Current Research

Under the supervision of Dr. David Lawrence and Professor Shaun Pattinson, Miranda’s PhD thesis centres on the emerging field of neurolaw and neuroethics. Her research explores the legal and ethical perspectives on neuroscientific evidence in the criminal justice system, comprising two primary inquires:

1.    Analysis of various forms of neuroscientific evidence within criminal proceedings, exploring the intersection between law, neuroscience, and criminal behaviours. Undertaking a comparative approach, she provides deeper insights into how justice systems should respond to neuro evidence.

2.    Engagement with fundamental rights discussions surrounding neuro evidence, addressing potential ethical and legal concerns regarding individual rights.

Miranda’s overarching goal is to contribute to a scientifically grounded and rights-oriented understanding of neuro evidence’s implications, therefore offer practice-oriented guidelines for the equitable incorporation of neuroscience into the criminal justice system.

Research Interests

Biolaw and Bioethics

Feminist Criminology and Legal Studies

Decolonising the Law

Publications

Book Chapter

Wieczorek, I., Wang, Q. (2023). Teaching EU Law Outside the EU: An Explorative Analysis of Eight Case Studies in Asia. In: Stoicheva, M., Sreejith, S.G., Gupta, I. (eds) Relevance of European Studies in Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7786-4_7

Conference

Wieczorek I. and Wang, M.Q., ‘Teaching EU Law outside the EU’ in EU law courses in the UK post-Brexit: Learning from EU law colleagues based in other non-EU states and seeking UK solutions (University of Reading, July 2022)