Research Associate (Insect Behaviour)

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

The Role

Your role…
We are seeking to appoint a postdoctoral Research Associate (1 FTE for 2.5 years with a start date of 1st February 2025).

Are you interested in finding out how bee cognition is affected by different environments? Do you want to develop measures to investigate cognitive states in wild bees?

The project…
We are looking for a motivated post-doctoral Research Associate to join our research team. Our group investigates insect vision and cognition in a comparative context, focussing on praying mantises and bumblebees. This project will follow our recent work on emotion-like states in bees and their importance for understanding insect welfare (e.g. Procenko et al 2023 https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.06.561175). You will develop new methods for measuring emotion-like states in the field and use them to evaluate how wild bees cope in different environments.

You will be integrated into a vibrant research lab and will be encouraged to develop your independent research skills in a friendly and supportive environment. This project will provide you with the opportunity to develop skills in designing and running behavioural experiments, animal welfare, automated video analysis and data analysis.

We are committed to the professional career development of all team members. You will benefit from a range of excellent development opportunities including training, mentoring and institutional membership of specialist networking groups.

For more information about our team, please click here.

This role involves field experiments, and we anticipate considerable time working off the university campus. However, there will plenty of time outside of the field season for related work in the lab.

This post is fixed-term for a period of 31 months, with a start date of 1st February 2025.

Informal enquiries are very welcome- please contact Vivek Nityananda, Senior Lecturer, Newcastle University at vivek.nityananda@newcastle.ac.uk.

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/.

Find out more about our Research Institutes here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/institutes/.

Appointment is subject to Occupational Health Pre-Placement check. You will be contacted by our Occupational Health team to arrange the checks.

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles. These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

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