Dr Gabrielle Samuel
BScHons(I) Biochemistry, MA (Bioethics), PhD (Genetics), PhD (Medical Sociology)
Visiting Scholar
Sociologist and bioethicist
Visiting scholar
Dr Gabrielle (Gabby) Samuel is a lecturer in Environmental Justice and Health at King's College London, UK. She is a visiting scholar in the CELS-Oxford research group.
Her main research interests relate to the ethical, social and regulatory issues associated with data-driven technologies used in health research. Her research draws mainly on qualitative methods, and explores ethical and social issues spanning a range of innovative biotechnologies, including biobanking, genomics, forensic/health genetic technologies, and AI health technologies. She has a particular interest in the environmental impacts of big data and AI technologies, as they pertain to health research.
She has a particular interest in the environmental impacts associated with health research and care and has written extensively on this topic.
Gabby completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the University of Birmingham, her PhD in Genetics at the University of Adelaide, and a two-year genetics post-doctoral position at the University of Sydney (Australia), before retraining as a social scientist, firstly undertaking an MA in Bioethics and then a second PhD, in biomedical ethics, via exploring the ethical and social issues surrounding the use of fMRI for severely brain-injured individuals.
Gabby acts as Associate Editor for both the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics and the Humanities & Social Sciences Communications journal. She is co-Director of SHADE - a research group and network at the intersection of Sustainability, Health, AI, Digital technologies, and the Environment. She is a member of the Digital Environmental Sustainability Ethics and Clinical Ethics and Law in Society research groups at Oxford University, and co-Chairs the international Digital Health and Climate Crisis group. She’s a member of the UK Biobank Ethics Advisory Committee. She is a frequent contributor to national and international roundtables, workshops and policy discussions in the area of bioethics, technology, health and the environment.
Key publications
Bringing ethics into governance: the case of the UK COVID-19 contact tracing app.
Journal article
Samuel G. and Lucivero F., (2022), International journal of health governance, 27, 180 - 193
Normative positions towards COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: findings from a large-scale qualitative study in nine European countries
Journal article
Lucivero F. et al, (2022), Critical Public Health, 32, 5 - 18
Ecologies of Public Trust: The NHS COVID-19 Contact Tracing App.
Journal article
Samuel G. et al, (2021), Journal of bioethical inquiry, 18, 595 - 608
Boundaries Between Research Ethics and Ethical Research Use in Artificial Intelligence Health Research.
Journal article
Samuel G. et al, (2021), Journal of empirical research on human research ethics : JERHRE, 16, 325 - 337
Ethics review of big data research: What should stay and what should be reformed?
Journal article
Ferretti A. et al, (2021), BMC medical ethics, 22
For what it's worth. Unearthing the values embedded in digital phenotyping for mental health
Journal article
Birk R. et al, (2021), BIG DATA & SOCIETY, 8
Defining ethical standards for the application of digital tools to population health research.
Journal article
Samuel G. and Derrick G., (2020), Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 98, 239 - 244
Forensic DNA phenotyping in Europe: views "on the ground" from those who have a professional stake in the technology
Journal article
Samuel G. and Prainsack B., (2019), NEW GENETICS AND SOCIETY, 38, 119 - 141
Public trust and 'ethics review' as a commodity: the case of Genomics England Limited and the UK's 100,000 genomes project.
Journal article
Samuel GN. and Farsides B., (2018), Medicine, health care, and philosophy, 21, 159 - 168
From "a Fair Game" to "a Form of Covert Research": Research Ethics Committee Members' Differing Notions of Consent and Potential Risk to Participants Within Social Media Research.
Journal article
Hibbin RA. et al, (2018), Journal of empirical research on human research ethics : JERHRE, 13, 149 - 159
Genomics England's implementation of its public engagement strategy: Blurred boundaries between engagement for the United Kingdom's 100,000 Genomes project and the need for public support.
Journal article
Samuel GN. and Farsides B., (2018), Public understanding of science (Bristol, England), 27, 352 - 364
Recent publications
Digital health systems and inequities: exploring climate and environmental impacts.
Journal article
Hammond N. et al, (2026), Oxf Open Digit Health, 4
Co-learning in crisis: A comparative analysis of digital preparedness during COVID-19 in Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Journal article
Roberts S. et al, (2025), Global public health, 20
cademic-Industry Collaborations and Genomic Databases: a "Tyranny of the Minority"?
Journal article
de Groot N. et al, (2025), The American journal of bioethics : AJOB, 25, 46 - 49
Learning as a missing component of digital health, environment and climate change.
Journal article
Orton M. et al, (2025), NPJ digital medicine, 8
Can care ethics help healthcare systems address their environmental harms? Findings from focus groups with members of the UK public
Journal article
Samuel G. et al, (2025), Social Science & Medicine, 376, 118113 - 118113