Research Fellow (Centre for Biomedical Ethics)

Job Description

We are looking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS).

The Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE) was established in September 2006 in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine through a generous gift by the Chen Su Lan Trust. CBmE, directed by Prof Julian Savulescu, is a thriving centre for learning, teaching and research relating to ethical and legal aspects of healthcare and biomedical sciences.  We are responsible for the development and delivery of the Health Ethics, Law and Professionalism programme through all five years of the undergraduate medical curriculum in addition to the postgraduate and continuing professional education courses in bioethics. You can find out more about CBmE here: https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/cbme/. The goal of the new Director is to make CBmE a world leading Centre of medical ethics with a vibrant culture and strong international, particularly Asian, presence.

We are looking to appoint an experienced and enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher to join our team. The successful candidate will carry out research under the supervision of Associate Professor Brian Earp, in addition to some general project management and administrative support for his work at CBmE, notably for the Centre’s moral psychology and experimental bioethics lab.

A/Prof Earp’s work brings philosophers together with psychologists to conduct experimental studies in moral psychology and bioethics, contributing to substantive normative and philosophical debates in ethics. Specifically, the lab investigates the contributing factors and psychological processes that shape:

• Moral intuitions, judgments and reasoning
• Moral agency, moral action and moral motivation
• The structure and application of (bio)ethical concepts

Specific research topics and themes include:

• Human-AI relationships
• Artificial intelligence, privacy, and consciousness
• Credit and blame for AI-generated content
• Personalised large language models and the ethics of “digital doppelgangers”
• Impartial beneficence and effective altruism
• The moral psychology of relationships and special obligations
• Personal identity, dementia, and consent

• Sex, gender, identity, and bodily integrity
• Medicalization; treatment vs. enhancement
• Moral enhancement; relationship enhancement
• Love and transformative experience
• Ethics of psychedelic-assisted therapies
• Children’s rights

​​​​​​​The Fellow will form an active part of a vibrant Centre and while the main focus is research, the Fellow will play a vital role in CBmE’s other activities, which include teaching, graduate supervision, support for CBmE courses, outreach and public engagement.

Job Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of the candidate are:

• Work with the PI to identify and analyse appropriate topics for analysis
• Collaborative research will include the provision of research assistance for the Supervisor

• Undertake comprehensive and systematic literature reviews

• Produce as lead author at least four jointly authored publications each year; this should be high-quality research relevant to the goals and proposed outcomes. All co-authorship will comply with the definition of author and co-author as defined by the journal in question and best practice in publication as detailed in guidelines issued by, for example, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/)
• Assist with applying for ethics approval and preparing relevant reports to the Institutional Review Board and funding agencies, as required.
• Contribute to and lead (where appropriate) conceptual research, manuscript development, writing, editing and publication submission. 

• Present work for feedback and dissemination at workshops or conferences locally and/or internationally
• From time to time present papers at Centre seminars, national conferences or public meetings to disseminate research findings

• Assist with the planning and organisation of workshops, conferences and other events

• Contribute to public engagement, policy and outreach work, including by writing occasional blog posts, preparing material for websites, etc.

• Support funder relations as requested by the Supervisor, including the preparation of reports
• Fully participate in the academic activities of CBmE, such as attending regular seminars and invited lectures, supporting arrangements for those and the organisation of other events

• Perform occasional duties as requested by the Supervisor such as administration, graduate supervision and teaching, at the overall discretion of the Supervisor

Criteria

The Research Fellow may carry out a limited amount of independent research at the discretion of the Supervisor, on themes of interest to the Project, and subject to satisfactory progress with collaborative research.

The position is a 3-year full-time appointment at the academic rank of Research Fellow. An option to renew the appointment for another 2 years will depend on performance and continued funding. There is the possibility to move to a tenure track depending on performance. Start date is flexible but the successful candidate should ideally commence no later than 01 January 2025. Applicants will be evaluated based on the following selection criteria:

Essential Criteria

• Hold, or be close to completion of, the degree of PhD (or equivalent qualification) in philosophy, experimental psychology, experimental philosophy, empirical or applied bioethics, or another area closely related from an internationally reputable university.
• Proven excellent research skills and ability to draft creative, well-argued manuscripts in a timely manner.
• An outstanding research record appropriate to the present stage of career, with evidence of potential for producing distinguished research.
• Ability to quickly assimilate information and produce accurate summaries of information reviewed, and to critically appraise scientific (empirical) literature.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills; excellent English writing skills.
• Excellent organisation and time-management skills
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a collaborative research team, ideally across disciplines

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge in experimental design, computer and study programming, statistical analysis (e.g., knowledge of Qualtrics, R, with strong statistical theory).

• Proven track record of publication in the field of bioethics
• Experience in integrating empirical research findings with ethical analyses
• Interest and experience in public/media engagement (e.g., editing videos or podcast material)
• Experience of writing or contributing to successful grant applications.
• Experience of liaising with funding bodies
• Fluent Malay or Mandarin as the researchers are involved in interpreting the survey results, which may be in languages other than English.

Application

NUS offers highly competitive remuneration packages. The successful applicant will be offered an annual salary plus benefits commensurate with his or her experience and expertise and will have access to travel support to disseminate research outcomes at international academic conferences. Please submit your application containing the following:

• A cover letter with statements that address each of the selection criteria above
• Curriculum vitae with contact details of three referees
• A writing sample (sole authored peer-reviewed publication strongly preferred)
• Current and expected salary

More Information

Location: Kent Ridge Campus

Organization: Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

Department : Dean-Med-Centre for Biomedical Ethics

Employee Referral Eligible: No

Job requisition ID : 26349