Academic biography

Fiachra obtained a BA in Philosophy and English from University College Dublin. Following this, he completed a Masters in Film Studies in UCD. After working in an academic publishing company, he obtained his doctorate from the school of Politics, International Studies, and Philosophy Queens University Belfast in 2009. He wrote his thesis on the patenting of biotechnological products (GM crops) in order to analyse issues of justice in relation to patenting, technology, international trade, and the environment. He has been lecturing History of Ideas and Philosophy of Science in DCU. He has worked on various aspects of applied ethics, including the ethical and social implications of virtual reality and social networking in association with the EU's Reverie Project, and the ethical implications of human enhancement technologies. He is currently working as a Marie Curie ASSISTID Fellow looking at the ethics of the development, use and distribution of assistive technologies (AT) for people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder.