Dr Juliette Schuurmans MSc, BSc

Joint PhD student in Clinical Ethics and Law

Dr Juliette Schuurmans is a joint PhD student in the Clinical Ethics and Law (CELS) research group within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton and the ELSI research group at the University Medical Centre in Groningen, the Netherlands.

Juliette graduated in medicine from the graduate entry medical programme (SUMMA) of the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

For her PhD research, Juliette is exploring the ethical issues of new technological developments in reproductive genomic medicine and the implications these have for clinical practice.

Her research focuses on a genetic screening test that identifies whether couples who are planning a pregnancy are at increased risk of having a child with a severe genetic condition (called expanded carrier screening). She is particularly interested in the issues around disclosing ‘couple results’. Her research takes place in two different health care settings: general practice and the fertility clinic.

In the Netherlands, she conducted a pilot implementation study in the general population. In Southampton, Juliette is exploring the views and experiences of health care professionals and couples on expanded carrier screening in the fertility setting. She uses a qualitative approach and has conducted multiple focus groups and interviews.

BSc life sciences University College Utrecht, the Netherlands 2007

MSc clinical medicine and clinical research (SUMMA) University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands, 2014