Research Associate

Job Purpose

To make a leading contribution to the ERC-funded project MORTALMED ( Mortal Medicine: The Social Life of a Death-Inducing Pharmaceutical ), working with Dr Marcos Freire de Andrade Neves and the wider MORTALMED research team. The successful candidate will join an internationally oriented and collaborative project that traces the circulation of sodium pentobarbital across transnational networks and local fields of use. MORTALMED examines how the drug moves through legal, medical, commercial, and political settings, focusing especially on assisted dying procedures in Switzerland, lethal injection protocols in the United States, and veterinary markets in Mexico. Through this focus, the project explores how death is organised, authorised, contested, and mediated through pharmaceuticals, institutions, legal frameworks, and everyday practices.

The postholder will conduct ethnographic research in Switzerland, contributing to the subproject Lethal Prescriptions: Sodium Pentobarbital and Assisted Dying in Switzerland. The subproject examines how pentobarbital is sourced, prescribed, obtained, stored, and used, and how access to the drug is shaped by medical assessment, organisational procedures, pharmaceutical regulation, and legal oversight. The research will follow people seeking assisted dying through assessment and preparation, examining how requests are considered, medical approval is granted, and a planned death becomes authorised. It will explore how these practices connect questions of personal agency, suffering, dignity, professional responsibility, and public legitimacy.

Pentobarbital will be approached both as an object of research and as a methodological entry point into the social, legal, medical, and ethical worlds that make assisted dying possible. The successful candidate will be expected to undertake participant observation and interviews with assisted dying organisation staff, physicians, pharmacists, and people seeking assisted dying, alongside analysis of relevant regulations, medico-legal documents, court cases, and public debates. Applications are also welcome from candidates interested in developing further methodological and creative ways of engaging with pentobarbital, such as chemoethnography or experimental approaches to tracing pharmaceutical circulation, regulation, and use.

The successful candidate will be expected to undertake fieldwork, analyse and interpret research material, contribute to academic publications and other project outputs, and support the conceptual development of MORTALMED, including its analysis of necrosocialities: the relational configurations linking people, institutions, technologies, and substances through practices of death and dying.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Take a leading role in the planning and conduct of assigned research individually or jointly in accordance with the project deliverables and MORTALMED's research strategy.

2. Conduct ethnographic and interdisciplinary research for the Switzerland-based subproject, including fieldwork preparation, participant observation, interviews, data analysis, and interpretation, in line with the project's ethical approvals and research aims.

3. Document research output including analysis and interpretation of all data, maintaining records and databases, drafting progress reports and papers as appropriate.

4. Contribute to the formulation, drafting, and submission of academic publications arising from the project, both independently and in collaboration with the PI and wider MORTALMED team.

5. Survey the research literature and environment, understand the research challenges associated with the wider MORTALMED project and the Swiss subproject, and develop and implement a suitable research strategy to examine the local circulation and use of sodium pentobarbital in assisted dying, including prescription and pharmacy supply, assessment procedures, organisational practices, and medico-legal oversight.

6. Contribute to the development and maintenance of project data, fieldwork records, bibliographic resources, and other research materials, ensuring that these are organised, secure, and managed in accordance with ethical and institutional requirements.

7. Presentation of work at international and national conferences, at internal and external seminars, colloquia and workshops to develop and enhance our research and/or impact profile.

8. Contribute to the development of collaborations with academic partners, assisted dying organisations, healthcare professionals, research participants, and wider publics, where appropriate to the project and in consultation with the PI.

9. Participate actively in MORTALMED team meetings, workshops, and project activities.

10. Perform administrative tasks related to the activities of the research group and School, including budgets/expenditure.

11. Keep up to date with current knowledge and recent advances in the field/discipline.

12. Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by your line manager and the Head of School.

13. Contribute to the enhancement of the University's international profile in line with University strategy.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge & Qualifications

Essential:

A1 Normally Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 12 (PhD) plus track record of emerging independence within a research/professional environment or alternatively possess professional qualifications and experience equivalent to PhD level plus the requisite experience. Preferably a PhD in Social or Cultural Anthropology or another relevant discipline, plus a track record of emerging independence within a research or professional environment.

Skills

Essential:

C1 A comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of current issues in one or more fields relevant to MORTALMED, including medical anthropology, the anthropology of pharmaceuticals, Science and Technology Studies, death and dying studies, end-of-life care, or related areas.

C2 A well-developed working knowledge of qualitative and ethnographic research methods relevant to the project, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, qualitative data analysis, and, where appropriate, archival, documentary, media, legal, or discourse analysis.

C3 Effective organisational skills, including the ability to manage time, prioritise tasks, maintain research records, and deliver research and administrative responsibilities.

Experience

Essential:

E1 Experience of conducting, or preparing to conduct, ethnographic or qualitative research in complex, sensitive, or ethically demanding settings.

E2 Experience of contributing to research publications, project outputs, or other forms of academic research development.

E3 Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a research team.

E4 Commitment to responsible research practice, including ethical data management, appropriate forms of open research, and careful handling of sensitive research material.

Desirable:

F1 Experience of conducting ethnographic or qualitative research on assisted dying and end-of-life care.

F2 Experience with methodological approaches relevant to MORTALMED, such as chemoethnography and visual ethnography.

F3 Experience of participating in activities that translate research into public engagement, impact, or wider social benefit.

F4 German-language skills sufficient to conduct ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and documentary research in German-speaking Switzerland.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £41,064 - £46,049 per annum.

This post is full time (35 hours per week), and has funding available for up to 4 years in the first instance. Relocation assistance will be provided where appropriate.

All applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK or be eligible to obtain permission to work in the UK.

This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route, subject to meeting the relevant Home Office requirements, including any applicable tradeable points criteria. Further information can be found on the University of Glasgow's UKVI Website .

For research and academic roles, we will also consider whether the Global Talent visa route may be available, subject to individual eligibility.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/ , benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/ .

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/ .

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.

Closing Date: 4 November 2026 at 23:45pm