Xavier Symons is a bioethicist and is Director of the Plunkett Centre for Ethics at the Australian Catholic University. His research interests include ethical issues at the beginning and end of life, conscientious objection, ethical issues in aged care, and the philosophy of wellbeing. He has been a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard and holds degrees from the University of Sydney, the University of Oxford, and the Australian Catholic University.