Walter M. Fontanini is a philosopher, psychologist and jurist. He is Assistant Professor at Semmelweis University, where he teaches bioethics, health law and medical ethics at the Faculty of Health Sciences and the sociology of medicine at the Doctoral School of Mental Health Sciences, and at Széchenyi István University, where he teaches health law, psychology and psychological ethics. He teaches criminal psychology at the Department of Criminal and Penitentiary Law of Pázmány Péter Catholic University, and is Visiting Professor at the University of Florence, where he lectures at the doctoral school of the Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), on neuroethics, research integrity and Good Clinical Practice.

His research lies where bioethics, mental health and the sociology of medicine meet: dignity and vulnerability in healthcare, research ethics and neuroethics, narrative approaches to illness, and psychological work in correctional settings.

Earlier and visiting academic posts include St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, LUMSA University, Rome, the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, Rome, and Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, where he was a tutor. He has taught or lectured in Rome, Oxford, Florence, Berlin, Cologne, Mexico City, Bangalore and Budapest.

Current appointments

• Semmelweis UniversityAssistant Professor · Faculty of Health Sciences and Doctoral School of Mental Health Sciences
• Széchenyi István UniversityAssistant Professor · Health law, psychology and psychological ethics
• Pázmány Péter Catholic UniversityLecturer in Criminal Psychology · Department of Criminal and Penitentiary Law, Faculty of Law (since 2023)
• University of FlorenceVisiting Professor · Doctoral school, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA) (since 2022)

Education

• PhD in Mental Health SciencesInterdisciplinary programme in sociology, Semmelweis University
• MPsychUniversity of Wolverhampton
• Postgraduate Master of Laws (PGLLM)Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest
• MPhil in Theoretical PhilosophyPontifical Gregorian University, Rome
• BSc (Hons) in EconomicsBudapest Business School

Honours

• Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian RepublicFor scientific and cultural merit
• Semmelweis 250+ Excellence AwardSemmelweis University
• Best Lecturer in Mental HealthSemmelweis PhD Symposium, 2024

Memberships and identifiers

• British Psychological SocietyGraduate Member (GMBPsS), working towards Chartered membership
• ORCID0009-0001-6680-9465
• MTMT (Hungarian Scientific Bibliography)10089330

A full academic CV is available on request: info@wfontanini.com.