Dr Joseph Millum
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy
Biography
Dr. Millum is currently Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at St Andrews University. He also serves as a consultant to the World Health Organisation and he is the Chairperson of the International Society for Priorities in Health. Prior to arriving at St Andrews, Dr. Millum worked at the US National Institutes of Health for 15 years - in the Clinical Center Department of Bioethics and the Fogarty International Center.
Research areas
Dr. Millum's research spans various topics in bioethics and applied ethics. These include: (1) Health care priority-setting; (2) Health research priority-setting; (3) Consent; (4) The ethics of research with human participants; (5) Bioethical theory; (6) The ethics of parenthood. His books include Global Justice and Bioethics (2012), The Moral Foundations of Parenthood (2018), Global Health Priority-Setting: Beyond Cost-Effectiveness (2020), and A Theory of Bioethics (2021). Full texts of Dr. Millum's articles are available at josephmillum.com.
Selected publications
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Health professionals should be involved in setting research priorities
Millum, J. & Pierson, L., 14 Oct 2025, In: BMJ (Clinical research ed.). 391, p. r2151Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
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Open access
No right to an open future
Millum, J., 12 Jan 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Applied Philosophy. Early View, 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Parenthood and Procreation
Millum, J. & Brake, E., 27 Oct 2025, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary
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Open access
The ability to value: an additional criterion for decision-making capacity
Harcarik, L., Kim, S. Y. H. & Millum, J., 1 Mar 2025, In: Bioethics. 39, 3, p. 288-295 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Understanding and consent: the case for minimalism
Millum, J., 7 Jul 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: American Journal of Bioethics. 25, 7, p. 139-140Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
What features should an effective system for declaring and managing conflicts of interest in healthcare have? An adapted Delphi study of key stakeholders in the UK
McCartney, M., Metsis, K., Orr, K., Millum, J., Wilkes, A. & Sullivan, F., 18 Sept 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: BMJ Open. 15, 9, p. 1-9 9 p., e103058.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Ethics and health research priority setting: a narrative review
Millum, J., 9 Jul 2024, In: Wellcome Open Research. 9, 20 p., 203.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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Open access
Lying to our children
Millum, J., 5 Nov 2024, In: Journal of Practical Ethics. 11, 2, p. 73-93 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Why you shouldn’t lie to your children about Father Christmas, according to philosophers
Millum, J., 4 Dec 2024, The Conversation.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
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Open access
Should health research funding be proportional to the burden of disease?
Millum, J., 1 Feb 2023, In: Politics, Philosophy & Economics. 22, 1, p. 76-99 24 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review