Lisette ten Haaf is Assistant Professor in legal theory as the Utrecht University. She teaches and coördinates Foundations of Law and Law and Human Biotechnology. She also supervises thesis in the field of legal theory and biolaw. Lisette is also the bachelor coördinator of the department of Law.

Lisette's research is focused on the legal position of unborn life. Her doctoral thesis deals with the question of how the unconceived, future child can be conceptualised in law, and in particular within the regulation of reproduction and human biotechnology. The research explores how the future child is conceptualised in the regulation of reproduction in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. Her thesis offers a critique on the current conceptualisation of the future child as a subject of interests (and in particular an interest in its own non-existence) and offers an alternative approach based on Hans Jonas's philosophy of responsibility. For her doctoral thesis ten Haaf was awarded the Goudsmit Award 2025 by the Dutch Society for Health Law.

Recent research activities address not only the unconceived, future child but also the conceived unborn child and unborn life in general. Her research focusus on how new appearances of unborn human life challenge existing legal frameworks. In this context, Lisette has published on a wide variety of topics, including compulsory contraception, mitochondrial replacement treatments and prenatal child protection measures.