Job Purpose

To make a leading contribution to the ERC-funded project MORTALMED (Mortal Medicine: The Social Life of a Death-Inducing Pharmaceutical), working with Dr Marcos Freire de Andrade Neves and the wider MORTALMED research team. The successful candidate will join an internationally oriented and collaborative project that traces the circulation of sodium pentobarbital across transnational networks and local fields of use. MORTALMED examines how the drug moves through legal, medical, commercial, and political settings, focusing especially on assisted dying procedures in Switzerland, lethal injection protocols in the United States, and veterinary markets in Mexico. Through this focus, the project explores how death is organised, authorised, contested, and mediated through pharmaceuticals, institutions, legal frameworks, and everyday practices.

The postholder will conduct ethnographic research in Mexico, contributing to the project’s Mexico-based subproject on the formal and informal networks through which sodium pentobarbital is accessed, sold, regulated, and transported. The subproject focuses especially on Mexico’s role in the transnational circulation of pentobarbital, where the drug is legally available through veterinary markets while also becoming implicated in cross-border assisted dying practices. Through fieldwork in Mexico, the postholder will examine how these overlapping uses are shaped by pharmaceutical regulation, commercial practice, legal uncertainty, and the everyday practices through which people encounter, handle, sell, prescribe, discuss, or seek access to the drug.

Pentobarbital will be approached both as an object of research and as a methodological entry point. The successful candidate will be expected to use ethnographic methods, including participant observation, interviews, and documentary, media, or archival analysis where appropriate, to follow the drug into the wider social worlds it helps to reveal. Applications are also welcome from candidates interested in developing further methodological and creative ways of engaging with pentobarbital, including chemoethnography, assemblage ethnography, archival work, or experimental approaches to tracing pharmaceutical circulation, regulation, and use.

The successful candidate will be expected to undertake fieldwork, analyse and interpret research material, contribute to academic publications and other project outputs, and support the conceptual development of MORTALMED.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1.  Take a leading role in the planning and conduct of assigned research individually or jointly in accordance with the project deliverables and MORTALMED’s research strategy.

2.  Conduct ethnographic and interdisciplinary research for the Mexico-based subproject, including fieldwork preparation, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, in line with the project’s ethical approvals and research aims.

3.  Document research output including analysis and interpretation of all data, maintaining records and databases, drafting progress reports and papers as appropriate.

4.  Contribute to the formulation, drafting, and submission of academic publications arising from the project, both independently and in collaboration with the PI and wider MORTALMED team.

5.  Survey the research literature and environment, understand the research challenges associated with the wider MORTALMED project & specific subproject, and develop/implement a suitable research strategy to conduct ethnographic research on the circulation and local uses of sodium pentobarbital.

6.  Contribute to the development and maintenance of project data, fieldwork records, bibliographic resources, and other research materials, ensuring that these are organised, secure, and managed in accordance with ethical and institutional requirements.

7.  Presentation of work at international and national conferences, at internal and external seminars, colloquia and workshops to develop and enhance our research and/or impact profile.

8.  Contribute to the development of collaborations with academic partners, research participants, relevant organisations, and wider publics, where appropriate to the project and in consultation with the PI.

9.  Participate actively in MORTALMED team meetings, workshops, and project activities.

10.  Perform administrative tasks related to the activities of the research group and School, including budgets/expenditure.

11.  Keep up to date with current knowledge and recent advances in the field/discipline.

12.  Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by your line manager and the Head of School.

13.  Contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with University strategy.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills & Experience

Knowledge & Qualifications

Essential:

A1 Normally Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 12 (PhD) plus track record of emerging independence within a research/professional environment or alternatively possess professional qualifications and experience equivalent to PhD level plus the requisite experience. Preferably a PhD in Social or Cultural Anthropology, Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, History, Socio-Legal Studies, or another relevant discipline, plus a track record of emerging independence within a research or professional environment.

A2 A well-developed working knowledge of qualitative and ethnographic research methods relevant to the project, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, qualitative data analysis, and, where appropriate, archival, documentary, media, legal, or discourse analysis.

Skills

Essential:

C1 A comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of current issues and future directions in one or more fields relevant to MORTALMED, including medical anthropology, the anthropology of pharmaceuticals, Science and Technology Studies, political and legal anthropology, death and dying studies, Latin American studies, or related areas.

C2 Spanish-language skills, sufficient to conduct fieldwork in Mexico.

C3 Effective organisational skills, including the ability to manage time, prioritise tasks, maintain research records, and deliver research, teaching, and administrative responsibilities.

C4 Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a research team.

C5 Commitment to responsible research practice, including ethical data management, appropriate forms of open research, and careful handling of sensitive research material.

Experience

Essential:

E1 Experience of conducting, or preparing to conduct, ethnographic or qualitative research in complex, sensitive, or ethically demanding settings.

E2 Experience of contributing to research publications, project outputs, or other forms of academic research development.

Desirable:

F1 Experience of, or interest in, conducting ethnographic or qualitative research in Mexico or Latin America.

F2 Experience with creative or interdisciplinary methodologies relevant to MORTALMED, such as chemoethnography.

F3 Experience of participating in activities that translate research into public engagement, impact, or wider social benefit.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £41,064 - £46,049 per annum.

This post is full time (35 hours per week), and has funding for up to 4 years in the first instance.  Relocation assistance will be provided where appropriate.

The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.  If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.

Closing Date:  6 September 2026 at 23:45