Dr. Sheetal Soni is the Deputy Academic Leader for Teaching and Learning in Pietermaritzburg, and a lecturer in the field of Bioethics, International Law and Intellectual Property Law.
She holds LLB, LLM and PhD degrees and is an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa. Her research interests are reproductive technology and preimplantation testing of early embryos. She has done consultancy work for the HIV/AIDS Vaccines Ethics Group (HAVEG), the AIDS and Rights Alliance of South Africa (ARASA), and the National Department of Health. She is also a collaborator on projects with Next BioSciences, the UKZN African Health Flagship and on the South African site of the Sustainable & Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS) project.
She is currently assisting with the drafting of Clinical Guidelines for the provision of Genetic Services, and serves on an expert panel of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa, which is undertaking a study of the ethical, legal and social implications of gene therapy. She is an active member of the Association for Responsible Research in Genome Editing (ARRIGE); the South African Society of Human Genetics; and the Human Cell Atlas. She is also the South African Ambassador to the Association of Ethics and Integrity (Association Ethique & Intégrité), and has been interviewed by the media on legal and ethical issues related to her research.
