Nunnelley brings to the classroom timely, real-world insight into the legal and ethical questions shaping the future of healthcare. Her research agenda takes up questions about legal capacity and decision-making rights in healthcare, as well as the regulatory and rights-based implications of rapidly emerging developments in health-AI.
“I am thrilled to be joining uOttawa's Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, with its collegiality and exceptional scholarly expertise,” she says. “I look forward to learning from and with my new colleagues, the excellent staff, and uOttawa’s engaged student body."
Having recently taught Health Artificial Intelligence and the Law during the January intensive term, Nunnelley helped students develop a critical lens on how law can respond to innovation while safeguarding values such as informed consent, non-discrimination, and accountability.
Prior to becoming a faculty member at uOttawa, Nunnelley was an Assistant Professor at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law. She also is no stranger to the University of Ottawa, having previously held the role of Associate Director of the uOttawa Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics (CHLPE).
In that role, she brought together interdisciplinary researchers to tackle complex health policy problems, supported knowledge translation to bring research to policymakers and the public, and contributed innovative health law education for students and professionals.
“Having had the privilege of working with CHLPE, I know the tremendous value of its work in bringing together cross-disciplinary researchers for collaboration and knowledge exchange,” she says. “I look forward to many new partnerships, knowing that my work in health and mental health law, and in the regulation of health AI, aligns well with the deep expertise in health law and technology regulation at uOttawa."
Nunnelley is part of several research teams and initiatives focused on the legal implications of health AI. Supported by a 2023-2024 AMS Fellowship in Compassion and Artificial Intelligence, she is investigating the implications of mental health AI for rights such as informed consent and non-discrimination. She has also been part of a research project funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Machine MD: How Should we Regulate AI in Healthcare, conducting research and convening cross-disciplinary case studies on specific health-AI technologies and their regulatory requirements. Nunnelley’s interest in real-world legal change also includes contributions to law reform efforts, such as her work on a Law Commission of Ontario project focused on legal capacity, decision-making, and guardianship.
Nunnelley expressed enthusiasm about working with students in the period ahead: “I look forward to exploring complex legal questions together—in the classroom, through research collaborations, and in experiential learning settings—as we tackle challenging legal problems such as those at the intersections of health law, technology, and regulation." She added that she has "already had the pleasure of teaching and working with students at uOttawa's Faculty of Law” and is “consistently impressed by their curiosity and engagement.”
Professor Nunnelley earned her SJD from the University of Toronto, supported by major academic awards including a Vanier Canada Scholarship, a CIHR Fellowship in Health Law, Ethics and Policy, and a Lupina Fellowship in Comparative Health & Society. She received her LLM from Yale University as a Fulbright Scholar.
She also brings extensive legal practice experience, having been counsel with the Constitutional Law Branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, where she argued cases before every level of court in Ontario, including the Supreme Court of Canada. She also served as counsel to a major public inquiry (the “Gomery Inquiry” into the so-called Sponsorship scandal), worked as a litigator at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, and clerked for the Honourable Mr. Justice Charles Gonthier at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Professor Nunnelley’s arrival strengthens the Common Law Section’s leadership in forward-looking areas of legal education and research, particularly in health policy, rights-based law reform, and the governance of artificial intelligence in healthcare.