Dr Marietjie Botes

Dr. Marietjie Botes is a legal scholar with a specialisation in neurolaw, neuroethics, and data governance. With over 20 years of experience as a practicing attorney in health law and biotechnology, she brings a uniquely interdisciplinary approach to the legal and ethical challenges posed by emerging neurotechnologies. Her research focuses on the implications of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), neurodata, and AI-driven neurotechnologies for fundamental rights such as mental privacy, cognitive liberty, identity, and autonomy.

Dr. Botes holds BProc, LLB, LLM (Intellectual Property Law), and LLD (Biotechnology Law) degrees. She is currently based at the Pestilli Neuroscience Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, where she contributes to the BRIDGE (Brain Research International Data Governance & Exchange) Project. Her work investigates regulatory and ethical frameworks for the protection and equitable governance of brain data.

She has published widely on the intersection of law, neuroscience, and ethics, and serves as co-editor for the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience special issue on Legal and Ethical Reforms for Neurotechnological Advancement in the Global South. Dr. Botes also co-edited the Digital Ethics special issue in the Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Journal (Springer Nature).

Dr. Botes is an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and the Association for Responsible Research and Innovation in Genome Editing (ARRIGE) and serves as South Africa’s representative in the African Bioethics Network. She is a regular contributor to national policy debates and public scholarship in neurolaw, using innovative tools like comics to engage the public on ethical issues in neuroscience.

Her current work aims to inform regulatory reform and rights-based protections in an era of neurotechnological transformation.