Edwina Light

Dr. Edwina Light holds dual academic roles as an Honorary Associate in the School of Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Sydney Health Ethics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. Her work bridges biomedical ethics, mental health policy, and historical trauma studies.

Research Interests: Dr. Light focuses on the intersection of ethics and mental health systems, including community treatment orders (CTOs), voluntary assisted dying laws, and the ethical implications of historical medical atrocities like the Nazi 'euthanasia' program. She also investigates global biobanking ethics and Indigenous perspectives in biomedical research.

Current Projects:

• Factors Affecting Community Treatment Orders Research Study (FACTORS), led by Prof. Lisa Brophy.
• Analysis of Psychiatry under National Socialism.
• Voluntary assisted dying law implementation in NSW.

Key Contributions: Her 2019 book The First into the Dark examines Nazi persecution of the disabled, while recent work addresses clinician perspectives on assisted dying and jurisdictional CTO disparities. She has published widely in journals like BMC Medical Ethics and American Journal of Bioethics.

Affiliations:

• Visiting Fellow at Sydney Jewish Museum (2015–present).
• Member of the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law (AABHL).

Labs/Teams: Active in Sydney Health Ethics, contributing to interdisciplinary bioethics research.