Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Invertebrate Palaeobiology

Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Invertebrate Palaeobiology

Department of Earth Sciences, South Parks Road, Oxford

Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Invertebrate Palaeobiology

Fixed term for 1 year from start date, starting as soon as possible

The post holder will be a member of a research group with responsibility for carrying out research on the visual properties and evolution of eyes in trilobites as part of a project titled “Windows to the past: functional evolution of vision in trilobites” funded by the Human Frontiers Science Program. The researcher will work under the direction of Associate Professor Luke Parry as part of a wider international team including Dr.

Lauren Sumner-Rooney (University of Bristol) and Gil Ju Lee (Pusan National University). The post holder provides guidance to less experienced members of the research group, including research assistants, technicians, and PhD and project students.

The researcher will develop landmarking approaches to capture key morphological parameters of trilobite eyes, such as area, shape, curvature, and predicted field of view. These data will be used to interrogate how investment in vision and eye morphology varied across the diversity of fossil trilobites through time and how this variation is related to mode of life, ecology, environmental preferences, and speciation/extinction rates.

For species where eyes are preserved in individuals of different ages, the researcher will investigate functional trade-offs in eyes (i.e. allometry) throughout ontogeny.

The post holder will Hold, or be close to completion of a relevant PhD/DPhil, together with relevant experience and Possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to work within established research programmes. Experience of researching the morphology and/or evolution of visual systems and arthropod eyes is a desirable.

For further details of the role please see the job description.

The Final date to receive applications is midday on Friday 11 September 2026.

Applications are particularly welcome from women and black and ethnic minority candidates, who are under-represented in research posts in the Department.