2 Postdoctoral Research Positions in Human Evolutionary Demography in Finland | University of Turku

The University of Turku is a world-class multidisciplinary research university which offers interesting challenges and a unique vantage point to national and international research and education.

University of Turku, Finland 1-2 Post-doc Positions in Human Evolutionary Demography The University of Turku is a world-class multidisciplinary research university which offers interesting challenges and a unique vantage point to national and international research and education. 1-2 postdoctoral positions focused on human evolutionary demography will be available in Prof. Virpi Lummaa’s research group at the Department of Biology, University of Turku, Finland. The positions are part of Prof. Lummaa’s Academy of Finland -funded project to study the evolutionary ecology of human reproductive behavior and longevity across the large demographic and social changes occurring during the past 300 years, and how natural selection has affected human populations at different periods. The group uses longitudinal demographic data from Finland and other countries spanning ~15 generations to investigate how the modern environment of contemporary human populations fuels evolution, and how the recent drastic demographic shifts to low birth and death rates have affected the opportunity for selection or specific trait selection in human populations. We also study how exposure to disease, food shortage or climatic variation is associated with reproduction and longevity. The postdoctoral researcher will have large freedom to develop this research, in collaboration with graduate students and other postdocs involved in the project. The successful candidate will have a PhD in fields such as ecology, evolutionary biology or biological anthropology. Previous experience in analysing longitudinal datasets, strong statistical skills and publication of papers in leading journals in the field is a must. The post could start in January 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter. The post is filled for one year, however thererafter a possible extension for up to four years.

The salary is in accordance with the University salary system (for teaching and research personnel) level 5, where the work specific salary component is 2852 €/month. In addition, there is a share increase based on the personal performance, which is, at most, 46.3% of the base salary depending on the previous relevant research and teaching experience of the candidate.