Jacob Shelley

Education

  • SJD (University of Toronto)
  • LLB, LLM (University of Alberta)
  • MTS (Conrad Grebel University College)

Graduate Program Supervision

  • Health and Rehabilitation Sciences MSc | PhD
  • Master's of Laws LLM
  • Master's of Public Health MPH
  • Health Information Science MSc | PhD

Research In Profile

Professor Jacob Shelley holds a joint appointment with the Faculty of Law and the School of Health Studies in the Faculty of Health Sciences, has a cross appointment to the Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health, and is Associate Faculty with the Rotman Institute of Philosophy. Jacob is a co-director of the Health Ethics, Law & Policy (HELP) Lab at Western. He has a doctorate in law (SJD) from the University of Toronto, where he was a Vanier Fellow with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

His doctoral thesis, under the supervision of Trudo Lemmens, examined the use of private law in obesity prevention, specifically looking at the use of product liability law to require food manufacturers to warn consumers about the dangers inherent in their food products. He obtained his LLB (2007) and LLM (2009) from the University of Alberta, and he has a MTS from Conrad Grebel University College (2006). His primary area of interest is the proper limits and role of law in promoting public health and preventing chronic disease. In addition, he is generally interested in issues that arise at the interface of law, health science, and ethics.

Featured Publications and Projects

Books

  • J.J. Shelley, T. Sheldon & T. Bailey, “Introduction to the Fourth Edition” in T. Bailey, T. Sheldon & J.J. Shelley, eds., Public Health Law & Policy in Canada, 4th ed (Markham, ON: LexisNexis, 2019).
  • N.M. Ries & J.J. Shelley, “Legal Foundations of Public Health in Canada” in T. Bailey, T. Sheldon & J.J. Shelley, eds., Public Health Law & Policy in Canada, 4th ed (Markham, ON: LexisNexis, 2019).
  • B. von Tigerstrom & N.M. Ries & J.J. Shelley, “Law and the Promotion of Healthy, Nutrition and Physical Activity” in T. Bailey, T. Sheldon & J.J. Shelley, eds., Public Health Law & Policy in Canada, 4th ed (Markham, ON: LexisNexis, 2019)

Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals

  • J.J. Shelley, “A Future for Obesity Litigation in Canada? A Reflection on the Duty to Warn After Létourneau” (2018) McGill Journal of Law and Medicine, forthcoming.
  • J. Horne, J. Gilliland, J. Madill & J.J. Shelley, “A critical examination of legal and ethical considerations for nutrigenetic testing with recommendations for improving regulation in Canada: From science to consumer” (2019) Journal of Law and the Biosciences, doi:10.1093/jlb/lsaa003, in press.
  • C.Y. Wang, R.R. Zheng, Z.A. Doerrer, A.O. Kurta, J.J. Shelley & E.C. Siegfried, “Healthcare Regulation, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Access to Medicine: Our Experience with Dupilumab for Children” (2019) Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2020.01.019.
  • P. Tucker, M. Driediger, L.M. Vanderloo, S.M. Burke, J.D. Irwin, A. Johnson, J.J. Shelley & B.W. Timmons, “Exploring the Feasibility and Efficacy of a Childcare PhysicaL ActivitY (PLAY) Policy: Rationale and Protocol for a Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial” (2019)16 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 4400, doi: 10.3390/ijerph16224400.

Visit Google Scholar for a comprehensive list of publications.

Featured Graduate Student Projects

Visit Scholarship@Western for a list of completed student theses and dissertations in the repository.

Graduate Student Opportunities

Please contact professor Shelley at jshelle6@uwo.ca for information.

Additional Information

Academic Appointments and Research Affiliations

Awards

  • Western’s Leadership in Wellness Award of Recognition, Western Wellness Education Centre (2018)
  • Faculty of Health Sciences Teaching Award (2017)
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (2012-2015)
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Doctoral Award – Training in Health Law, Ethics & Policy Fellowship (2012-2014)
  • Lupina Senior Doctoral Fellowship – Comparative Program on Health and Society, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto (2011-2012)
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Doctoral Award – Training in Health Law, Ethics & Policy Fellowship (2010-2012)
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Training in Health Law, Ethics & Policy Fellowship (2007-2008)

Professional Activities

  • Expert member, Adhoc Committee of ParticipACTION, Children’s Physical Activity and the Family Unit
  • Board of Directors, Obesity Canada
  • Public Policy Committee, Canadian Public Health Association
  • Board of Directors, Ontario Public Health Association
  • Prevention Policy Steering Committee, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer