Dr Maeghan Toews
Lecturer
Adelaide Law School
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
I am a Lecturer at the University of Adelaide Law School where I teach Tort Law and Medical Law and Ethics.
I entered academia as a full-time researcher, having worked at the prestigious Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta from 2013 to 2016 on a wide range of health law projects pertaining to precision medicine, rare diseases, research ethics, non-invasive prenatal testing, regenerative medicine, biobanking, and genetics and genomics. I completed a 2-year, $150,000 research fellowship examining legal and ethical issues associated with organ donation and transplantation, which has become a central focus of my work. Following the Fellowship, I commenced my doctorate (completed Dec 2023), examining the regulation of human biomaterials and the struggle between institutional and individual control. This entailed a deep examination of statutory frameworks, property theory and case law, and privacy torts and statutes. My work is inherently interdisciplinary and international in scope, with collaborations with clinicians, ethicists, social scientists, and patient partners from all corners of the globe.
Prior to entering the field of health law, I graduated cum laude from the esteemed Advanced Master's Programme in Public International Law from Leiden University in the Netherlands, where I specialised in Peace, Justice and Development and completed my dissertation examining the interoperability provision in the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Prior to that, I spent several years in private legal practice as a commercial litigator after completing my Juris Doctor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, and my Bachelor of Arts at the University of Western Ontario.
- My Research
- Career
- Publications
- Grants and Funding
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Professional Activities
- Contact
My research interests are in the fields of health and medical law, with a focus on the legal and ethical regulation of human biomaterials. My work is inherently multi-disciplinary, involving collaborations with scientists, clinicians, bioethicists, and communications scholars. I have been involved in a wide range of projects on topics such as precision medicine, rare diseases, research ethics, non-invasive prenatal testing, regenerative medicine, biobanking, and genetics and genomics. I completed a 2-year research fellowship examining legal and ethical issues associated with organ donation and transplantation, which has become a central focus of my work. My work encompasses a range of methodologies, including traditional doctrinal legal scholarship, media studies, public surveys, and consensus-building.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2017 - ongoing Lecturer University of Adelaide 2013 - 2016 Research Associate University of Alberta 2011 - 2012 Litigation Associate McLennan Ross LLP 2009 - 2011 Litigation Associate McCarthy Tetrault LLP -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2024 Distinction Fellow Higher Education Academy United Kingdom - 2022 Teaching Award Law School Dean's Excellence Award, Learning and Teaching (Early Career) University of Adelaide, Law School Australia - 2021 Teaching Award Faculty of Professions Executive Dean Award, First-Year Curriculum University of Adelaide Australia - 2018 Scholarship Viscount Bennett Scholarship Law Society of Alberta Canada $10,000 -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2024 University of Alberta Canada PhD 2013 Leiden University Netherlands LLM (Adv) 2009 University of Toronto Canada JD 2006 University of Western Ontario Canada BA -
Certifications
Date Title Institution name Country 2010 Admitted to the Bar Law Society of Alberta - 2009 Certificate of Transnational Legal Studies Center for Transnational Legal Studies UK -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2024 Cavazzoni, E., Toews, M., & Opdam, H. I. (2024). Feasibility of organ donation following voluntary assisted dying in Australia: lessons from international practice. Medical Journal of Australia, 220(3), 164.
2023 Toews, M., Chandler, J. A., Pope, T., Pape, R., Weiss, M., & Sandiumenge, A. (2023). Legislation and Policy Recommendations on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation From an International Consensus Forum.. Transplantation direct, 9(5), E1395.
Scopus10 WoS1 Europe PMC42019 Smith, G., Gujari, D., Russell, O., Palmer, L., Toews, M., Wong, G., . . . Coates, P. T. (2019). International travel by Australians for overseas transplantation. Medical Journal of Australia, 211(10), 460.
Scopus1 Europe PMC12019 Marcon, A. R., Caulfield, T., & Toews, M. (2019). Public Solicitation and The Canadian Media: Two Cases of Living Liver Donation, Two Different Stories.. Transplant Direct, 5(12), e508.
Scopus2 WoS1 Europe PMC12018 Ogbogu, U., Zarzeczny, A., Baltz, J., Bedford, P., Du, J., Hyun, I., . . . Toews, M. (2018). Research on human embryos and reproductive materials: Revisiting canadian law and policy. Healthcare Policy, 13(3), 10-19.
Scopus8 Europe PMC12017 Toews, M., Giancaspro, M., Richards, B., & Ferrari, P. (2017). Kidney paired donation and the "valuable consideration" problem: The experiences of Australia, Canada, and the United States. Transplantation, 101(9), 1996-2002.
Scopus8 WoS4 Europe PMC32017 Gill, J., Tinckam, K., Fortin, M., Rose, C., Shick-Makaroff, K., Young, K., . . . Gill, J. (2017). Reciprocity to Increase Participation of Compatible Living Donor and Recipient Pairs in Kidney Paired Donation. American Journal of Transplantation, 17(7), 1723-1728.
Scopus13 WoS6 Europe PMC62017 Wright, A. J., Rose, C., Toews, M., Paquet, M., Corsilli, D., Le Cailhier, J. -F., & Gill, J. S. (2017). An Exception to the Rule or a Rule for the Exception? The Potential of Using HIV-Positive Donors in Canada. Transplantation, 101(4), 671-674.
Scopus5 WoS3 Europe PMC12017 Anthony, S., Toews, M., Caulfield, T., & Wright, L. (2017). Family veto in organ donation in Canada: framing within English-language newspaper articles. CMAJ open, 5(4), E768-E772.
Scopus5 Europe PMC52017 Toews, M. (2017). Increasing Organ Donation Rates: What's Legal & What's Not?. Law Society of SA Bulletin, 39(11), 18-19. 2016 Toews, M., & Caulfield, T. (2016). Evaluating the "family veto" of consent for organ donation. CMAJ, 188(17-18), E436-E437.
Scopus22 WoS18 Europe PMC132016 Caulfield, T., & Toews, M. (2016). Rare diseases and resource allocation policy: the role of Canadian legal and ethical norms. UBC Law Review, 49(2), 789-816. 2016 Rachul, C., Toews, M., & Caulfield, T. (2016). Controversies with Kalydeco: newspaper coverage in Canada and the United States of the cystic fibrosis "Wonder Drug". Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, 15(5), 624-629.
Scopus13 WoS8 Europe PMC82016 Caulfield, T., Borry, P., Toews, M., Elger, B., Greely, H., & McGuire, A. (2016). Marginally scientific? Genetic testing of children and adolescents for lifestyle and health promotion. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 2(3), 627-644.
Scopus15 WoS12 Europe PMC62015 Toews, M. (2015). Commercialization of Human Genetic Research. eLS, 1-6.
2015 Toews, M., Zoeller, S., & Du, L. (2015). Inter-jurisdictional Comparison of Professional Regulations as a Tool to Address the Provision of Unproven Stem Cell Interventions. Health Law Review, 22(3), 14. 2015 Caulfield, T., Kamenova, K., Ogbogu, U., Zarzeczny, A., Baltz, J., Benjaminy, S., . . . Toews, M. (2015). Research Ethics and Stem Cells: Is it Time to Re-think Current Approaches to Oversight?. EMBO Reports, 16(1), 2-6.
Scopus19 WoS13 Europe PMC132014 Toews, M., & Caulfield, T. (2014). Physician Liability and Non-invasive Prenatal Testing. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada, 36(10), 907-914.
Scopus12 WoS13 Europe PMC52014 Ogbogu, U., Toews, M., Ollenberger, A., Borry, P., Nobile, H., Bergmann, M., & Caulfield, T. (2014). Newspaper coverage of biobanks. PeerJ, 2(1), 500-1-500-14.
Scopus9 WoS10 Europe PMC52014 Zarzeczny, A., Caulfield, T., Ogbogu, U., Bell, P., Crooks, V., Kamenova, K., . . . Zoeller, S. (2014). Professional regulation: a potentially valuable tool in responding to “stem cell tourism”. Stem Cell Reports, 3(3), 379-384.
Scopus30 WoS25 Europe PMC12 -
Book Chapters
Year Citation 2024 Toews, M. (2024). Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation. In B. White, F. McDonald, L. Willmott, & S. -N. Then (Eds.), Health Law in Australia (4th ed., pp. 833-868). Pyrmont NSW: Thomson Reuters. 2018 Toews, M. (2018). Organ and Tissue Donation. In B. White, F. McDonald, & L. Willmott (Eds.), HEALTH LAW IN AUSTRALIA. (3rd ed., pp. 773-808). -
Conference Items
Year Citation 2017 Toews, M. (2017). Overcoming the ‘Valuable Consideration’ Problem in Kidney Paired Donation: The Experiences in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Poster session presented at the meeting of Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) Annual Meeting. Brisbane, Australia. 2016 Toews, M., Caulfield, T., Anthony, S., & Wright, L. (2016). Understanding the Concerns Underlying Family Override of Consent for Deceased Donation: Newspaper Representations in the United States. Poster session presented at the meeting of American Society of Transplantation’s Cutting Edge of Transplantation Conference. Phoenix, Arizona, USA. 2015 Caulfield, T., Borry, P., Toews, M., Elger, B., Greely, H., & McGuire, A. (2015). Marginally Scientific? Genetic Testing of Children and Adolescents for Lifestyle and Health Promotion. Poster session presented at the meeting of CIHR, Canadian GE3LS and Health Services and Policy Research Conference. Vancouver, Canada. 2014 Toews, M., Zoeller, S., Du, L., & Zarzeczny, A. (2014). Inter-jurisdictional Comparison of Professional Regulatory Frameworks as a Tool to Address ‘Stem Cell Tourism. Poster session presented at the meeting of The Stem Cell Network’s Till & McCulloch Meeting. Ottawa, ON, Canada.
- 2024: $4992 - M Toews, The Future of Biobanking in South Australia: Exploring the Promise and Pitfalls of Digital Technologies (internal funding, ABLE Faculty, University of Adelaide)
- 2023: $1800 - M Toews, Clarifying the Scope of Decision-making Authority for Deceased Tissue Donation in the Evolving Field of End-of-Life Law (internal funding, ABLE Faculty, University of Adelaide)
- 20214-2016: $150,000 CAD - M Toews, Legal and Policy Strategies to Optimize Organ Donation in Alberta (James Kreppner Fellowship, Canadian Blood Services)
I teach a range of compulsory and elective courses and have extensive experience in curriculum design and delivery, having coordinated many courses at the Adelaide Law School. Given the size of my first-year Tort Law course (300+ students), I am also an experienced team leader, and pride myself on managing courses effectively and fostering a collegial teaching environment. My success has been recognised in the following achievements:
- Awarded status as Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2024)
- Recipient of the Law School Dean's Excellence Award, Learning and Teaching (Early Career) (2022)
- Recipient of the Faculty of Professions Executive Dean Award, First-Year Curriculum - Tort Law Teaching Team (2021)
The following chart summarises my teaching experience at the University of Adelaide:
Subject |
Role |
Years |
Tort Law (LAW 1507)
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Course Coord./Lecturer/Seminar Leader |
2019-present |
Lecturer/Seminar Leader | 2018 | |
Seminar Leader | 2017 | |
Medical Law & Ethics (LAW 2516)
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Course Coord./Lecturer/Seminar Leader |
2021 (summer); 2022 (summer & Tri 3); 2023 (summer & Tri 3); 2024 (summer) |
Lecturer/Seminar Leader | 2017 & 2018 | |
Law and the Body (LAW2574)
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Course Coord./Lecturer/Seminar Leader |
2021 |
Medical Professional & Personal Development (MEDIC ST 1103B)
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Seminar Co-Leader |
2021 |
Evidence & Advocacy (LAW 3502)
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Lecturer & Seminar Leader |
2019 |
Seminar Leader | 2017-2018 |
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Other Supervision Activities
Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name 2023 - 2023 Principal Supervisor Legal Impossibility or Public Policy?: Revisiting the Validity of Wrongful Life Claims in Light of Australia’s Legal and Policy Developments Following Harriton v Stephens The University of Adelaide - Honours - Monique Blight 2023 - 2023 Principal Supervisor A Doctor's Duty to Follow-up in Australia: A Review of the Law and Impact of a Duty to Follow-up Risk Factors on Modern Medical Practice The University of Adelaide - Other - Zoe Tammita 2022 - 2022 Principal Supervisor Liability for the Publication of Third-Party Material: Confusion in the Context of Social Media and the Internet University of Adelaide - Honours - Lachlan Dorey 2022 - 2022 Principal Supervisor The Need for Greater Regulation of Genetic Databases in Australia The University of Adelaide - Honours - Claudia Floreani
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Board Memberships
Date Role Board name Institution name Country 2024 - ongoing Vice-Chair Student Misconduct Tribunal The University of Adelaide Australia 2014 - 2016 Board Member Biomedical Research Ethics Board University of Alberta Canada 2014 - 2015 Board Member Advisory Board for Organ Donation after Cardio-circulatory Death of Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit University of Alberta Hospital - -
Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2024 - ongoing Member Southern Adelaide Clinical Human Research Ethics Committee Southern Adelaide Local Health Network Australia 2024 - ongoing Member Wellbeing Champions Network University of Adelaide Australia 2024 - ongoing Member Student Staff Liaison Committee University of Adelaide, Law School Australia 2024 - ongoing Member People and Culture Committee (ABLE Faculty) University of Adelaide Australia 2023 - 2024 Member Learning and Teaching Committee University of Adelaide, Law School Australia 2021 - 2021 Member Academic Programs Committee University of Adelaide, Law School Australia 2018 - 2021 Member Lex Salus University of Adelaide, Law School Australia 2017 - 2018 Member Academic Programs Committee University of Adelaide, Law School Australia 2015 - 2016 Board Member Clinical Ethics Committee University of Alberta Hospital Canada -
Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2024 - ongoing Member Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program Canada 2024 - ongoing Member Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand Australia 2024 - ongoing Member Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law Australia 2024 - ongoing Member The Transplantation Society Canada 2009 - ongoing Member Law Society of Alberta Canada -
Offices Held
Date Office Name Institution Country 2023 - 2024 Academic Integrity Officer University of Adelaide Australia 2022 - 2023 Dissertation Coordinator University of Adelaide, Law School Australia -
Presentation
Date Topic Presented at Institution Country 2023 - 2023 Evaluating the Strength of Australian Donation and Transplantation Law against International Legal Norms Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting TSANZ Australia 2021 - 2021 Regulating Biomaterials in the Age of Datafied Bodies: Reforming the Discourse Australasian Association of Bioethics & Health Law Annual Conference AABHL Australia 2021 - 2021 Legal Foundations: Recommendations for Donation & Transplantation Legislation International Donation and Transplantation Legislative Policy Forum Transplant Quebec Canada 2021 - 2021 Media Representations of Public Solicitation for Organ Donors Key Policy Issues in Organ Donation & Transplantation University of Ottawa Canada 2019 - 2019 Law of the Body: A New Body of Law? Ethics and Technology Studies Research Circle University of Macau China 2018 - 2018 The Law of Buying, Selling, and Trafficking Human Organs Australian Medical Students Society EdForum: Organ Trafficking: Would You Sell Your Kidney? University of Adelaide Australia 2017 - 2017 Organ Donation in the Public Eye: Donor Solicitation in the Media Renal Unit Royal Adelaide Hospital Australia 2017 - 2017 Models of Consent for Deceased Donation Public Forum: Ethical Issues in Donation and Transplantation Deakin University Australia 2017 - 2017 Public Solicitation of Living Donors Ethical Issues in Donation and Transplantation – Professional Education Symposium Deakin University - 2017 - 2017 Organ Donation: Legal Controversies and Conundrums Continuing Professional Development Program University of Adelaide Law School Australia 2017 - 2017 Deceased Donation in Canada: Is it Time to move to Opt-Out Consent? Canadian National Transplant Research Program CNTRP Canada 2016 - 2016 Public Discussion of "Vital Bonds: The Nature of Things", Documentary Film Premiere Royal Alberta Museum CBC Canada 2016 - 2016 Is Family Override Illegal? Critical Care Canada Forum CCCF Canada 2016 - 2016 Family Veto of Consent for Deceased Donation: Law, Policy, and Practice Canadian Society for Transplantation/Canadian National Transplant Research Program Joint Annual Scientific Meeting CST/CNTRP Canada 2016 - 2016 Consent for Deceased Donor Intervention Research: Law and Ethics Emerging Research Methods and the Consent Challenge University of Alberta Canada 2016 - 2016 Physicians as Resource Allocators: The Legal and Ethical Norms that Impact Physician Decision-making in Canada World Association of Medical Law WAML United States 2016 - 2016 Family Override of Consent for Deceased Donation: The Law and Policy in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America Ethical, Legal, and Psychosocial Aspects of Transplantation (ELPAT), 4th Congress ELPAT Italy 2016 - 2016 Organ Donation Dilemmas: Assessing the Framework of Consent for Donation Rotary Club of Edmonton West Rotary Club Canada 2016 - 2016 Payment for Organs? Legal and Ethical Limits on Strategies to Increase Organ Donation Edmonton Nerd Nite, Telus World of Science Nerd Nite Canada 2016 - 2016 Decision-making and Deceased Donation: Whose Wishes Matter? Canadian Transplant Association CTA Canada 2015 - 2015 Consent for Deceased Donation in Canada: To Opt In or Out? Multi-Organ Transplant Group, Grand Rounds University of Dalhousie - 2015 - 2015 Donating Organs after Death: Who Decides? Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week University of Alberta Canada 2015 - 2015 Family Override: From Legal Analysis to Practice Change Deceased Donation Advisory Committee and the Donation & Transplant Administrators Advisory Committee Canadian Blood Services Canada 2015 - 2015 Family Override of Consent for Deceased Organ Donation: The Disconnect between Law and Policy Canadian Society of Transplantation Annual Scientific Meeting CST Canada 2015 - 2015 Family Override of Consent for Deceased Donation: Law, Policy and Practice Alberta Transplant Institute, Seminar Series ATI Canada 2015 - 2015 Family Override of Consent for Deceased Organ Donation Canadian National Transplant Research Program, Second Annual Scientific Meeting CNTRP Canada 2015 - 2015 Implications of Commercialization Pressure in Genomic Research Heath Research Ethics Group Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Canada 2015 - 2015 Time to Consider Financial Incentives for Deceased and Living Donation The Kidney Foundation, Transplant Summit The Kidney Foundation Canada 2015 - 2015 Genetic Research under Pressure: Implications of the Drive to Commercialize Research Findings Biological Speaker Series MacEwan University Canada 2015 - 2015 Consent for Deceased Organ Donation under Canadian Law Health Law Institute Seminar Series University of Alberta Canada 2014 - 2014 Stem Cell Science: Ethics 101 StemCellTalks The Stem Cell Network Canada 2014 - 2014 Quick Policy Fixes Canadian National Transplant Research Program, First Annual Scientific Meeting CNTRP Canada 2014 - 2014 Policy Pitfalls and NIPT: Regulation, Return of Results and Media Representations 22nd Annual Symposium: New Developments in Prenatal Diagnosis and Medical Genetics Sinai Health Canada 2014 - 2014 Patient Safety and the Law SafetyNET Annual Project Meeting SafetyNET Canada
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External Profiles