Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Medicine without Doctors)

Grade UE07: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum

College/School/Department

Full-time or Part-time: hours per week (Select as appropriate)

Fixed-term: 60 months (January 2026 - 31st December 2030)

 

 

The Opportunity:

You will join the Wellcome-funded research project, ‘Medicine without Doctors: Reimagining Care and Voice through Play’, which examines the changing landscape of medical authority, voice and care.  You will be responsible for developing your own 5-year project on the Physician Associate case study, aligning with the Medicine without Doctors wider vision and combining methodological approaches from medical sociology, medical anthropology, STS, and history, to study the emergence and standardisation of the role of the Physician Associate in the UK national health service.

 

Medicine without Doctors is a six-year Wellcome-funded project exploring the changing authority of medical practices in the UK through four case studies: LGBTQ+ health, Autonomous Systems, abortion care, and the physician associate. The project is underpinned by two theoretical pillars: the sociology of care and the philosophy of voice. It 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 excited to develop and draw on play methodologies collaboratively. Through play we seek to advance all aspects of the project creatively and will engage entrenched issues with new perspectives and approaches. 

 

This full time (35 hours per week) post is fixed term for 60 months from January 2026 to 31 December 2030, and is based on-campus. 

 

 

Your skills and attributes for success:

• A PhD awarded in a relevant discipline e.g. social sciences, history, science and technology studies, anthropology, or other discipline with a strong background in conducting qualitative research and engaging with law and policy
• Knowledge and understanding of current issues in medicine and health systems
• Experience of designing and conducting empirical research including organising, conducting, collecting, managing and analysing data from interviews, focus groups, surveys, or other forms of data collection.
• Experience of working independently and collaboratively with others to deliver projects
• Ability to work in a compassionate and socially responsible manner

 

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

 

Application Information

As part of your application, please submit a CV and covering letter that addresses your suitability for the role, as well as a one-page description of a research project you would like to pursue in this role.

 

Informal questions about this post can be directed to the Hiring Manger, Dr Lukas Engelmann, Co-Investigator, via email at Lukas.Engelmann@ed.ac.uk    

 

External applicants, please refer to the guidance in ‘How to Join Us’ to support your application process. 

 

For current employees interested in applying for this role, please apply as an internal applicant through the People & Money Current Jobs app. 

 

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 application is 22nd September 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 typically be held 2-3 weeks after the closing date.

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