This project is a 4 year NWO-MVI funded project and involves a public-private consortium of healthcare companies, clinicians, a law firm, a patient organisation and scientists.
While expectations on the use of biomarker testing for early diagnostics, patient stratification and more personalised therapies are high and rising, not much is known yet about how healthcare professionals and patients use and value biomarker testing in ‘real life’ medical practices, and which ethical, legal and societal issues are emerging, regarding ,for example, biobank governance, liability and patient involvement.
Building upon a socio-constructivist approach to science and technology development, and empirical ethics, and using qualitative empirical research methods, this project aims to establish a socially robust use of biomarker technology. It aims to do so in the broader context of increasing datafication and use of algorithms in healthcare.

This project employs two postdocs: one with a focus on social science, primarily focusing on biomarker technology in oncology, and the other with a focus on empirical ethics, primarily focusing on biomarker technology in psychiatry. This vacancy concerns the first postion: leading the social science part of this project. The second position will be posted at a later stage.

• PhD in science and technology studies, sociology, political sciences, policy sciences, innovation studies, biomedical sciences or a related field;
• proven affinity with understanding and analysing socio-political dimensions of scientific and corporate innovation practices and decision-making processes (addressing questions such as: Which topics require public debate according to natural scientists and companies? What are enabling and constraining conditions to include needs and values of end-users in innovation pathways?;
• affinity and experience with constructive or interactive technology assessment is highly welcomed;
• proven record of scholarly output in e.g. science and technology studies, public engagement studies, sociology, innovation studies, political science or equivalent;
• proven understanding of digitisation and datafication of healthcare, governance, and biomedical innovation pathways;
• ability to work proactively and effectively in an interdisciplinary research team;
• ability to work adequately with our private and public consortium partners and set up research activities with them;
• proven ability to conduct qualitative research (e.g. skills in interviewing, focus group research, discourse analysis);
• good communication skills, excellent proficiency in spoken and written English, and preferably also in Dutch.

• employment: 0.8 - 1.0 FTE
• a maximum gross monthly salary of € 4,166 based on a 38-hour working week (salary scale 10)
• in addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• duration of the contract: three years
• you will be classified as a Postdoctoral Researcher, Level 4 in the Dutch university job-ranking system (UFO).
• you will be able to make use of our Dual Career Service where our Dual Career Officer will assist with family related support, such as child care, and help your partner prepare for the local labour market and with finding an occupation

 
The Faculty of Science is an equal opportunity employer, committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community, and as such encourages applications from women and minorities.

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Faculty of Science
The mission of ISiS is to analyse, assess and improve the societal embedding of new scientific and technological developments through research, education and outreach, to understand how society is shaping science and vice versa. This postdoc project will be part of research theme 2: responsible life sciences research. This is a postdoc project of a public-private consortium consisting of the Erasmus University Rotterdam Medical Center, Department of Moleculair Medicine, Novartis, Janssen R&D, MDX Health, Radboud Biobank, BG Lawyers and CHDR Leiden.
 
Further information on ISIS