The Institute of Social Sciences at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Lausanne offers a PhD position in Social Studies of Science and Medicine. The starting date of employment is November 1, 2018, the contract duration is 48 months (1 year, renewable 1×3 years), the engagement rate is 100%.
This PhD position is available within the framework of the project “Development of Personalized Health in Switzerland” (DoPHiS), funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The interdisciplinary project DoPHiS brings together sociologists, anthropologists, bioethicists, biolaw scholars, healthcare policy scholars, information systems and actuarial scientists. The PhD student will join this dynamic and heterogeneous group of researchers based at different Swiss universities (University of Lausanne; University of Geneva; University of Neuchatel), and participate with his/her own research to the achievement of the overall project goal to describe the different processes of alignment (epistemic, moral, institutional, policy-related, etc.) that are required for a functioning societal circulation of Personalized Health (PH) in Switzerland. The PhD student will work closely with other project members, be expected to develop his/her own ideas and communicate results (orally and in writing) internally to the project, nationally and internationally.
The major research focus of the PhD project will be on the reconfigurations of disease, illness, treatment and healthcare engendered by the production of “personalization” in technoscientific practices specific to the domain of oncology. In particular, the goal of the project is to study: (a) the reconfigurations of nosologies and treatment strategies for cancer following recent developments in precision oncology; (b) the alignment of professionals’ work, biomedical technologies, regulatory norms, organizational practices and treatment strategies in an immunology unit. The PhD student will be in residence at the DoPHIS research group based at UNIL, and work in close collaboration with Francesco Panese (project leader, Professor of Social Studies of Science and Medicine).
Your qualifications: The applicant has successfully completed a Master’s degree in science studies and/or sociology of health and/or medicine, as well as related disciplines and domains. Considering the expected fieldwork in the domain of oncology, and related areas in biomedicine and bioinformatics, a familiarity with biomedical sources, as well as a developed skill set in social studies of science and medicine are advantageous assets for candidates. Applicants should be fluent in French and proficient in English.
The application deadline is August 15, 2018.
For further information, check the full job posting.