PhD, Postdoctoral, Visiting student fellowships 1512 views

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev offers fellowships to PhD, postdoctoral students and visiting research students and scholars to participate in the project at the Jacques Loeb Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences.

About the project:

Project: Intellectual history and epistemology of modern structural and informational biology

Project goals:

• To trace the changing epistemologies in selected areas of informational and structural biology from the 19th century to the present and the way these have been affected by novel ideas, technologies, and practices. This includes the molecular biology of complex characteristics such as development or developmental diseases. Among the pertinent philosophical theories we examine are those of Bacon, Whewell, Popper, Polanyi, and Kuhn.
• To elucidate how the recent availability of big data and new computational methods that impact many areas of biology are (i) changing research practices, often increasing the efficiency and scope of research; (ii) challenging traditional epistemologies and basic assumptions concerning scientific truth, mistaken conclusions, and fraud.

Starting Date: October 2018

Duration: up to 2 years

Requirements:

• Applicant must have expertise in philosophy, biology, and/or the history of science.
• Selected candidates are expected to participate in the activities of the Centre including seminars and conferences.

Applications:

Applicants must provide the following (in English):

• CV
• Research proposal (optional)
• Two letters of reference (PhD and post-doc students only)
• Masters’ or PhD thesis and/or any publication(s)