Postdoctoral Research Fellow

The Law School within The University of Edinburgh is looking for a Postdoctoral Fellow to work on the Wellcome funded Discovery Award Medicine without Doctors.

Medicine without Doctors is a six-year Wellcome-funded project exploring the changing authority of medical practices through four case studies: LGBTQ+ health, artificial intelligence, abortion care and the physician associate. The project is underpinned by two theoretical pillars: the sociology of care and the philosophy of voice. To do this work, the project brings together a multidisciplinary and sector-spanning team of investigators, from philosophy, socio-legal studies, STS, history, sociology and design, with the aim of creating new, interdisciplinary knowledge.  In this project, we are also excited to develop and draw on play methodologies collaboratively.  

Alongside the line manager (Dr. Ganguli-Mitra), the postholder will develop a project related to epistemic and structural injustice in abortion care, informed by intersectional and transnational feminist approaches, as well as relevant data from practice, governance and activism in relation to care in abortion. The postholder will assist Dr. Ganguli-Mitra in developing initial ideas and avenues with a view to shaping the planned empirical work related to abortion care and epistemic injustice. This project will also need to align with the Medicine without Doctors wider vision, including a focus on project themes care and voice, and creative methodologies.

Informal enquires may be directed to [email protected] 

More information about Medicine with Doctors can be found here.

This post might require Level 2 Disclosure as the project progresses but the candidate will receive support processing it if required.

This post is fixed-term (for 60 months) and full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to flexible working patterns.  We are also open to considering reasonable requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working.  

The salary for this post is at Grade UE07: £41,064 – 48,822 per annum. Appointment will be made within the first 3 points of the scale.

Your skills and attributes for success: 

• PhD (or close to submission) in Philosophy, Applied Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Ethics, Bioethics, Feminist Theory, Law or a relevant discipline.
• Prior research experience e.g., as a research assistant or associate (this can include time spent on the PhD).
• Experience in conducting desk-based research and philosophical analysis in a relevant topic.
• Knowledge of the ethical and legal issues arising in the context of abortion as health care.
• Knowledge of feminist, transnational and intersectional approaches to abortion and reproductive and sexual health.

Click to view a copy of the full job description (opens new browser tab).

Please ensure you include the following documents in your application:

- a CV;

- a covering letter with a supporting statement with details of how you meet the knowledge, skills and experience required for this post;

As a valued member of our team you can expect: 

• A competitive salary.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work. 
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, competitive pension schemes, staff discounts, and family-friendly initiatives. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page(opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits. 

Championing equality, diversity and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality. 

Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages(opens new browser tab).

The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role.  This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant. 

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 2 October 2025.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone. 

Interviews will be held in December 2025.