The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) invites applications for a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in bio-risk. CSER's approach to the study of extreme and existential risks emphasises interdisciplinarity and engagement with policy and technology communities. CSER's work on biological risks currently has three main areas of focus:
- Extreme biological risks: foresight, safety and security;
- Extreme risks from chronic disease threats; and
- 'One Health' and complex, cascading catastrophic risks.
The Research Associate will be expected to contribute to existing work strands in these areas, and will have the opportunity to develop their own lines of enquiry. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing bio-risk team at CSER, with strong prospects for future expansion.
In the bio area, the low probability, high impact risks that CSER focuses on are generally associated with advances which also have potential for great benefits. It's particularly important to understand appropriate ways of managing such risks without unnecessarily restricting benefits, which might come, for example, from new approaches to addressing pandemic threats, or novel organisms created through synthetic biology.
Supported by CSER's research team and expert advisory board, the Research Associate will produce independent and collaborative research outputs targeted at academic, government, industry and other audiences.
Applicants must have:
- A PhD in a relevant field or professional experience in a relevant area commensurate with the requirements of the role.
- Expertise relevant to the focus area.
- Evidence of ability to work in collaborative environments. Ability to engage with diverse communities of experts - including academics across disciplines, industry partners, and policymakers.
- Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills.
- Evidence of a serious research interest in the research foci of the Centre.
- The inclination and the intellectual versatility to engage with a range of 'big-picture' questions, and the ability to pursue such questions in a rigorous way, integrating findings from different academic disciplines using a variety of analytic methods.
Fixed-term: Funding for this post is available until 29 February 2020 in the first instance.