Research Associate

The Department of Global Health and Social Medicine is seeking one Postdoctoral Research Associate to work with Dr. Amy Hinterberger on the Wellcome Trust Investigator Award Project ‘Biomedical Research and the Politics of the Human’.

The project analyses the social, political, practical and ethical implications of changing understandings of human research subjects in biomedical research and regenerative medicine. The project uses a qualitative approach to investigate how technological advances (such as interspecies mammalian chimera and organoids) are redrawing the limits and boundaries of the human. It proposes to identify diverse responses from a variety of actors (e.g. scientists and regulators) to what and who constitutes a human research subject, along with how humans and animals are defined and governed in biomedicine. 

The empirical research will focus on selected international sites primarily in Europe and North America. The Postdoctoral Research Associate will work with the Principal Investigator to support the achievement of project objectives.

They will be involved in refining the theoretical framework, conducting empirical research, writing and contributing to project publications, and disseminating finding to a variety of publics. There will be opportunities to develop their own interests as part of the project.

The successful candidates will be expected to have excellent knowledge of qualitative research methods, particularly ethnographic and interviewing methods, prior experience with conducting fieldwork, as well as excellent written and oral communication skills. They will also have knowledge of one or more of the following fields: science and technology studies, sociology and/or anthropology of biomedicine, animal studies, history/philosophy of science, socio-legal studies.

We are looking for highly motivated individuals who have a PhD in a relevant discipline (anthropology, sociology, STS, etc). It would be desirable for the candidate to have language fluency in German, and/or language expertise in addition to English.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to submit a writing sample and references. Interviews are envisaged to take place at end of October/early November. Please read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this post and candidate requirements.

The successful candidates will benefit from working in a supportive research environment, mentoring, career development opportunities and will be based in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine.

For further information about the Wellcome Trust project or the position, please contact Dr. Amy Hinterberger (amy.hinterberger@kcl.ac.uk)

This post will be offered for two years. This is a full-time post.

The selection process will include a presentation and panel interview. Shortlisted candidates will be required to submit a writing sample.