Sean Sinclair

Dr. Sean Sinclair is a Lecturer & Consultant in Applied Ethics at the IDEA Centre, University of Leeds. He combines academic research with external consulting for healthcare policy-makers and professional associations.

• PhD in Healthcare Ethics (University of Leeds)
• MSc in Philosophical Ethics (University of Edinburgh)
• Part-time BA in Philosophy (Birkbeck, University of London)

Research Interests:

• Healthcare Ethics: Specializes in the ethics of healthcare allocation, public health policy, and professional ethics CPD. Critiques utilitarian dominance in policy through concepts like fair innings, rule of rescue, and disability equity.
• Public Debate Analysis: Develops extreme charity methodology to interpret public policy debates, exposing implicit values and improving stakeholder engagement.
• Professional Ethics: Focuses on ethics training for healthcare professionals, challenging current situational judgement tests and promoting dilemma-based CPD.

Notable Contributions: 15+ peer-reviewed articles in Journal of Medical Ethics, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, and Value in Health, plus book reviews in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice.

Scientific Awards:

• Cyril Joad Prize (Birkbeck) for academic excellence

External Engagement: Combines academic work with consulting roles, emphasizing patient/public involvement in policy-making and equity-focused healthcare frameworks.