Postdoctoral researcher studying human mobility and infectious disease spread

UTU; Turku; Híbrido; EUR 38.000 - 44.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

The University of Turku invites applications for a contract-based, fixed-term postdoctoral researcher position in the Department of Biology from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028. The successful candidate will join the Human Diversity Centre of Excellence and work with LummaaLab to study past human contacts, migrations and disease spread using national Finnish data and historical networks.

A PhD in evolutionary biology/ecology, demography, geography or computer sciences is required, with strong

Formación

• PhD in evolutionary biology/ecology, demography, geography, computer sciences or similar field.
• Strong data management and quantitative analysis skills.
• Fluent oral and written English.

Responsabilidades

• Unravel how ecological and social factors impacted past human contacts and migrations.
• Collaborate with LummaaLab and international Human Diversity teams.
• Oversee production and curation of new datasets.

Conocimientos

Data management

Quantitative methods

English communication

Educación

Doctoral degree

Herramientas

R

Python

ArcGIS/QGIS

Descripción del empleo

The Faculty of Science at the University of Turku invites applications for contract-based, fixed term postdoctoral researcher position at the Department of Biology from 1.1.2027 to 31.12.2028. Employment starts on 1.1.2027 or as agreed.

The position is part of Human Diversity Centre of Excellence research consortium, funded by the Research Council of Finland. We combine world-leading research in Evolutionary Language Sciences, Archaeogenomics, Evolutionary Demography and Digital Linguistics / Natural Language Processing to reveal how contacts have shaped human diversity, and how they will continue to shape future generations. The central questions of the consortium include how human contacts, past environments and communication networks influence material and immaterial culture, genes, disease burden, evolutionary fitness of people, and languages and their use. Human Diversity brings together research teams across different faculties who study these themes from complementary perspectives, construct diverse digital datasets and develop technologies for documenting and analyzing such data. Such unique collaboration and data infrastructure enable a holistic understanding of how past human and cultural diversity have evolved, transformed, and created the diversity we see now, and how ongoing migrations and communication networks are likely to affect them both in the physical and digital world.

Job description

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to unravel how ecological and social factors have impacted past human contacts such as migration rates between local communities, and how they in turn influence the spread of infectious diseases. For these questions, we use unique national-level digitalized data on all Finnish migrations and death causes during the 19th century, as well as digitalized road networks, waterways and travel routes at the time.

The postdoctoral researcher will work under the supervision of Professor Virpi Lummaa within LummaaLab, but is also expected to closely collaborate with other research groups in Human Diversity. The postdoc will use and combine the diverse datasets collected by the Human Diversity teams and oversee the production and curation of new datasets.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for a candidate with a doctoral degree in evolutionary biology/ecology, demography, geography, computer sciences or similar applied relevant field (completed before the application period ends). The candidate should have a scientific and professional background that aligns with the following specific qualifications:

• skills in data management and quantitative methods (for example statistical software R or Python and spatial software ARCGIS/QGIS), and experience in using large datasets, and combining data sources;
• Experience in publishing research articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals;
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English.

We seek a highly motivated, enthusiastic and committed candidate. The applicant must show good interpersonal skills and be willing to work in close collaboration with the project PI and other members of the international Human Diversity team, as well as have the ability to work independently.

We value collegiality and promote equality, diversity, and inclusivity. We encourage all qualified applicants with different backgrounds to apply for our open positions.

Benefits

We offer you responsible and interesting tasks and the opportunity to develop your professional skills in a versatile operating environment. You get a professional and inspiring team to support your work. We take care of your well-being at work and the functionality of your everyday life, e.g. with the help of flexible working hours and our well-being services.

Please read more about University of Turku as an employer from our Come work with us! pages.

The European Commission has awarded the University of Turku the right to use the HR Excellence in Research quality label. The label is a token of the University's commitment to continuous development of the position and working conditions of researchers according to the guidelines set forth in the European Charter for Researchers.

The university offers good support and orientation for international hires. Please learn more about the Finnish culture and relocation to Finland:

• City of Turku
• Welcome visitor
• International House of Turku
• Working culture:infoFinland.fi
• This is Finland
• Careers in Southwest Finland
• Finland - a superpower of education and innovations | University of Turku (utu.fi)

The University of Turku is among the top of the world’s universities in most rankings and among the best universities in the world in certain fields. Read more about University of Turku in international university rankings.

The University of Turku has several high-quality research infrastructures required for cutting-edge research. Learn more about the roadmap of research infrastructures and how the research infrastructure and expert teams offer tailored solutions for businesses and organizations.

Salaryand trial period

The salary is determined in accordance with the university salary system for teaching and research personnel. The job requirement level of the position is 5 – 6 (3366,36 – 3925,63€). In addition, a salary component based on personal work performance is paid. Salary, based on previous experience and skills, is approximately 3700 -4300 euros/month at the beginning of the assignment.

The position has a trial period of six months.

Further information

For further information about the position, please contact:Professor Virpi Lummaa, virpi.lummaa(at)utu.fi

With questions about the application process, please contact: HR-specialist Kaisa Ketomäki, kaisa.ketomaki(at)utu.fi