The Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering and META are seeking applications for a junior postdoctoral position at Politecnico di Milano on the project “Epistemic, social, and ethical dimensions of the transition from animal-based approaches in biomedicine”. The successful candidate will be part of an interdisciplinary collaboration between philosophy of science and biomedical engineering at Politecnico di Milano. The deadline for submitting is 12 January 2026 at 12.00pm CET, see details in the official call.
Project Focus and Responsibilities
The transition from animal to New Approach Methods (NAMs) raises several issues and implications at the research, social, economic and ethical level. On the one hand, there seem to be broad ethical dispositions to reduce the numbers of animals used in biomedical research and drug development and push to replace animal experimentation with new technologies. On the other hand, animal-based research is the dominant paradigm in biomedicine and various obstacles and sources of inertia for the adoption of non-animal models have been identified by philosophers of science and science scholars – obstacles in biomedical research as well as wider society, which need to be addressed with an interdisciplinary approach.
In this direction, as part of a collaboration between biomedical engineering and philosophy of science, we seek applications for a junior postdoctoral position to study the epistemic, social, and ethical dimensions of this transition. As a part of this project, the postdoc will be embedded in a bioengineering lab and the consortium of a recently EU-funded project, which are at the forefront of research and industrial endeavours of the transition from animal-based biomedicine. This collaboration and position are thus a key opportunity to study the integration and acceptability of NAMs in the making at the centre of action, with key stakeholders among researchers, clinicians, policymakers, as well as the general public.
Expected work will make use of methodologies mixing empirical data collection and conceptual analysis (philosophy of science in practice) to conduct interviews and surveys aimed at capturing perceptions, concerns, and motivations of diverse audiences (researchers, industry, regulators, clinicians, lay experts). On this basis, the postdoc will be expected to write and publish journal articles, present their work at conferences, and organise workshops and events on NAMs. The successful candidate will work with Stefano Canali and Marco Rasponi at the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering and participate in the philosophical and social scientific activities of META.
Profile
The applicant must have a master’s degree in philosophy of science or STS acquired in the last six years and clear interests to work in an interdisciplinary context. Candidates with relevant expertise in philosophy of biology and medicine, animal models and non-animal methods, empirical methods in philosophy of science in practice will be given special consideration. The position does not involve teaching duties, but teaching in English may be possible and would entitle to additional compensation (knowledge of Italian is not required). The candidate will be expected to reside in (or be within commuting distance of) Milan by the start of the contract.
Contract and Application Procedure
The contract will be structured in contractual terms of 12 months for up to 3 years (12+12+12), with 33,999.96 gross salary per year. Full details about the contract and application procedure are available in the official call in English and Italian.
The application deadline is 12 January 2026 at 12.00pm CET with a (negotiable) starting date on 16 February 2026. In order to apply candidates will need to download the Expression of interest form available in the official call and fill in the form. They will need to the submit the Expression of interest form, their CV, and a valid ID via email to the address incarichidiricerca-deib@polimi.it, with the object Direct Call procedure for Research Fellowships, procedure code 2025_IDRD_DEIB_29.
Politecnico di Milano guarantees equal gender opportunities in recruitment and career. Applications by non-Italian citizens and Italian nationals with international experience are encouraged to foster internationalization.
