Senior Research Associate: Understanding the Evolution of Castes

The role

A Senior Research Associate position is available in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol. Working across Africa, you will investigate the evolution of behavioural castes in the social insects (‘queens’ and ‘workers’). You will run field experiments with social wasps in three African countries: Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa. You will join an international team of postdocs, PhD students, local field assistants, and combine a diverse range of techniques – including behavioural experiments in the field, CT scanning, and bioinformatics.

This position is funded by a NERC-NSF Pushing the Frontiers grant to Dr Patrick Kennedy (University of Bristol, UK) and Professor Dustin Rubenstein (Columbia University, USA).

Lab website: tinyurl.com/SocialStrategyLab

What will you be doing?

You will work in Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa to understand how the evolution of castes is shaped by climate. You will conduct field sampling across environmental gradients, and analyse diverse datasets including transcriptomes, behavioural footage, and CT scans. We anticipate the Senior Research Associate being first author on resulting papers.

You should apply if

You are a biologist with good all-round skills. You should be confident travelling and conducting fieldwork across remote locations, and prepared to analyse diverse data strands.

The essential requirements are:

1. Experience conducting overseas research fieldwork
2. Demonstrable capacity, enthusiasm, and commitment to spend at least 3 months a year in the field. You must be prepared to travel extensively across three African countries (Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa)
3. Ability to work as part of an international field team and collaborate closely with partners from multiple international institutions
4. High practical independence
5. Strong abilities to trouble-shoot in the field
6. Confidence driving overseas, including 4X4 vehicles
7. Excellent research record
8. PhD in a related field

The desirable requirements are:

1. Ability to speak French to a conversational level, as you will be working with Cameroonian colleagues and engaging with local communities and government officials
2. Prior experience working in an African context
3. Academic background in behavioural ecology
4. Experience working in challenging environments
5. Experience analysing bioinformatics datasets

Do you need to have a background in evolutionary biology?

Applicants with outstanding fieldwork experience coming from disciplines outside evolution, ecology, or animal behaviour (e.g., anthropology, geography, population health, conservation biology) are welcome to apply, although experience with bioinformatics datasets is an advantage. You will be expected to develop a strong grasp of social evolution and behavioural ecology, including inclusive fitness theory.

Additional information

For informal enquiries please contact Dr Patrick Kennedy, Lecturer (patrick.kennedy@bristol.ac.uk)

It is expected that this position will start as soon as possible from 1st March 2026

Contract type: Open ended (Fixed term funding until 31/05/2028)

Recruitment timeline:

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on Sunday 11th January 2026

Shortlisting is expected to take place between the 12th-16th January 2026

Interviews will take place on Wednesday 28th January 2026

Our strategy and mission

Available documents

• ACAD108408 - Senior Research Associate - Job Description .pdf
• Further Particulars_Faculty of Health & Life Sciences.pdf

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