The University of Strasbourg is now accepting applications for a three-year PhD position with the international project: How did the Antibiotic Pipeline Run Dry? People, Infrastructures and Politics of Antibiotic Drug Development 1970-2010[DryAP].
The application deadline has been extended to 30 June 2021, 17:00p.m.(CEST).
Candidates will be notified timely and remote interviews will be scheduled soon. Motivated prospective candidates are encouraged to contact Dr. Vagneron to discuss the PhD project ahead of applying: fvagneron@unistra.fr
The contract will begin in September 2021.
PhD Project Description:
We are looking for a PhD candidate to study the history of antibiotic regulation at the international level between circa 1980 and 2010. Located in Strasbourg, the PhD project aims to study how the post-1945 antibiotic success story has been transformed into a narrative of innovation scarcity, orchestrated at an international stage. The PhD project will aim to understand how the narrative of a decline in innovation, research and development of new antibiotics, along with a growing concern about antimicrobial resistance, has arisen internationally. How has this narrative been played out by the many actors involved in the international regulation of medicines? How did it contribute to the adoption of industry-friendly policies from the 2000s onwards, through various incentive mechanisms facilitating the discovery of new molecules and their marketing?
More information here: https://dhvs.unistra.fr/fileadmin/uploads/websites/dhvs/Offres/Call_PhD_STRASBOURG_DryAp_2021.pdf
Overall International DryAPProject Description:
This PhD funding is part of the international Norwegian Research Council-funded project: How did the Antibiotic Pipeline run Dry? People, Infrastructures and Politics of Antibiotic Drug Development 1970-2010.DryAP is a historical project that will critically research the histories of antibiotic and drug development since about 1970, aiming to transform the notion of the empty pipeline from an often-self-serving slogan to a historical concept. DryAP, running from 2021 to 2025 is a project with partners in Denmark, France, Ireland, and Spain joining in an effort to study various dimensions of a fundamental change that took place over a generation. The research project has multiple axes (or work packages) that look at industrial laboratories, target definitions in drug development, culture collections, gender dynamics and how the empty pipeline figured in health policy debates. They will be pursued as PhD projects. (https://www.med.uio.no/helsam/english/research/projects/antibiotic-resistance-big-pharma/index.html)
Context and working conditions at the University of Strasbourg:
The PhD project will be supervised by Prof. Chistian Bonah and Dr. Frédéric Vagneron. The PhD funding is a three-year research employment with a salary (and not a scholarship) according to French standards. The PhD student will be employed by the University of Strasbourg for the duration of 36 months (1 September 2021-31 August 2024).
The PhD studentship is open to EU and non-EU candidates for three years (36 months) of full funding, renewable each year, subject to satisfactory progress. The PhD student will receive a net monthly salary of 1750euros and the standard benefits of a work contract in France (social security which includes health coverage, unemployment insurance), and a generous research and travel allowance for field work. The successful candidate will start in September 2021 (a remote start may be possible in light of the COVID-19 pandemic).
Requirements and research skills:
The candidate must be a holder of a master’s degree from an excellent university, competent in the history of medicine, history and sociology of science and technology, political science, or related discipline. The candidate must demonstrate a mastery of research techniques in social sciences: archival work, sociological interviews, the construction and analysis of quantitative data, and sound analysis of textual sources. The candidate must be able to work and write in English and have basic knowledge of French. According to the Strasbourg University’s rules, the thesis maybe written in English, French or German.
Please submit the following application materials to Dr. Tricia Koenig (tkoenig@unistra.fr):
- a cover letter describing background and interest in the proposed project (max. two-pages)
- a curriculum vitae (max. three-pages; summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
- a project description/research proposal, including a specification of research focus, methodological strategies and progress plan (maximum 3000 words)
- a letter of recommendation and two additional reference names
- writing sample (e.g.,master thesis, published paper, unpublished draft= 3pages max.)
- (if applicable) proof of English and French language competence.
- copies of educational certificates, both bachelor and masters (academic transcripts only)