School of Life Sciences
Location: Brayford
Salary: From £31,342 per annum
This post is fixed term for 2 years
Closing Date: Wednesday 15 July 2015
Interview Date: Thursday 06 August 2015
Reference: COS033B
Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to work full-time for 2 years on a Feline Friends Charitable funded project: ‘Visible Signs of Feline Pain’, the post is available from the 1st September 2015 (or as soon as possible thereafter). Applicants should have a doctoral degree or equivalent, preferably with experience of research or clinical practice in feline pain (candidates with a PhD pending may apply).
The Research Fellow is expected to operate with a significant degree of autonomy, with knowledge of animal behaviour and pain. The post holder may be required work with more junior researchers. A critical function is liaison with the public and stakeholders throughout the research process, including presentation of reports to the sponsor, academic communities and lay audiences.
This study has three aims:
The first aim is to develop a system to allow owners to recognise pain in cats (this work has been published in part)
The second aim is to develop a system to allow owners and/or vets to quantify pain severity in cats
The third aim is to validate the systems produced.
We are seeking a postholder to help ensure that we deliver on the latter two aims.
The project involves a multidisciplinary team including computer scientists working on automated visual detection systems. The post holder will primarily focus on the clinical and behavioural aspects of the project and its translation into practice, but will be expected to develop a working knowledge of the associated computer based element.
The post-holder will be expected to design, conduct and publish original research findings as well as lay interpretations, so excellent communication and self-management skills at all levels are essential.
The researcher will be required develop in association with the supervisory team a framework for assessing the expression of the affective components of pain in cats and validate this.
The completion of subsequent aims will demand the following skills and competencies:
Qualitative and qresearch methods,
Ethological methods, including the analysis of facial expressions in cats
Communication skills relating to the translation of science into an accessible medium for the public
Interpersonal skills to work with stakeholders at all levels
Self management, to operate in both clinical and research capacities
Informal enquiries about the post can be made to Prof Daniel Mills (email: dmills@lincoln.ac.uk).
As a member of the Athena SWAN Charter we are committed to advancing gender equality in STEM, therefore female applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.
Further details:
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.