The Department of Social Anthropology, with funding provided by the UKRI/MRC is participating in the project titled Developing Effective Rodent Control Strategies to Reduce Disease Risk in Ecologically and Culturally Diverse Rural Landscapes.  

The aim of the project is to reduce the risk from rodent-borne infections (RBI) and improve health and well-being by increasing the capacity to develop rodent-control measures that are sustainable and resilient given local ecological, epidemiological, agricultural and socio-cultural contexts. The project will focus on three zoonoses with contrasting epidemiological cycles, plague, leptospirosis and rickettsioses, and work with rural communities in Tanzania and Madagascar.  The project will exploit high quality existing ecological data and conduct new experimental studies, integrating these with state-of-the-art statistical and modelling approaches, as well as ethnographic and social science studies, in order to inform the co-development of effective rodent management strategies with communities and stakeholders. Community co-development and engagement will take place from the start of the project, with community representatives involved in decision making processes, in the implementation and collection of data and interpreting impact. As part of this project, The University of St Andrews is recruiting a postdoctoral Research Fellow who will work independently and in collaboration with the Co-Investigator of the project at St Andrews, Dr Christos Lynteris, who is leading on social anthropology issues within the project.  

The post will be held for 32 months, starting 4 May 2021 to 31 December 2023.  

The Research Fellow will employ ethnographic, interview and survey methods at selected field-sites in rural Tanzania with the aim of deepening our understanding of human-rodent interactions and the underlying conceptual and practical inhibitors to rodent control and the prevention of disease transmission from rodents. The Research Fellow will also examine how socio-cultural structures such as farmers’ groups in rural Tanzania may facilitate community participation in rodent control. Insights gained will inform the co-development of community-led control trials, during which the project will evaluate changes in practices and health and well-being and identify drivers of community-led innovation in rodent control. The Research Fellow will be expected to collaborate closely with all project partners, including in Madagascar where similar social anthropological work will be conducted by a local team. Such collaboration will include the co-development of similar methodological approaches in the two countries and contributions to training and exchange programs for researchers and PhD students.  

Applicants must hold a good first degree and have been awarded or be close to be awarded a PhD in anthropology. Applicants who can demonstrate experience in a) medical anthropological research on animal-borne diseases; and/or b) anthropological research on epidemic control; and/or c) anthropological research on animal-human relations, are encouraged to apply regardless of regional research experience.  

Applicants must submit a letter of support and a writing sample in support of their application. This can be any published work up to 10,000 words or a thesis chapter.  

Further information and informal enquiries may be directed to Dr Christos Lynteris, email: cl12@st-andrews.ac.uk.  

Applications are particularly welcome from women, people from the Black, Asian, Minority or Ethnic (BAME) community and other protected characteristics who are under-represented in academic posts at the University.    

The University of St Andrews is committed to equality for all, demonstrated though our working on diversity awards (ECU Athena SWAN/Race Charters; Carer Positive; LGBT Charter and Stonewall).  More details can be found at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/diversityawards/.  

Closing Date: 5 March 2021                                                   

Please quote ref: AR2496NB     

Further Particulars: AR2496NB FPs.doc


School of Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies
Salary: £33,797- £36,914 per annum 
Start Date: 4 May 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter
Fixed Term: 32 Months