Submitted: 12/02/2025
Submitted By: Ashleigh Wiseman
Department: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
Institution: University of Cambridge
Job type: Postdoc
Apply by: 01/12/2026
Application Email:
Application URL: https://www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/research-associateassistant-in-human-evolutionary-anatomy-fixed-term-jc48080

The funds for this post are available for 36 months in the first instance.

The post holder will work as part of the ERC Starting Grant project STEPS: Biomechanical simulations of hominin locomotion across complex terrains led by Principal Investigator Dr Ashleigh Wiseman (University of Cambridge). STEPS is a five year (2025-2030) interdisciplinary project combining human evolution, evolutionary biomechanics, and comparative anatomy to address the selective pressures that produced the human-like body plan. STEPS aims to understand how differences in anatomy influenced locomotor strategies and efficiency in human evolution. The project will combine experimental studies of human movement with computational models to explore how body form and environmental challenges shaped the evolution of bipedalism.

The core team (the PI, two post-doctoral researchers, and the project coordinator) will be based in central Cambridge at the Henry Wellcome Building, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. The team will work closely with a number of collaborators based in the UK and internationally. The role focuses on comparative osteology and 3D anatomy, with the post holder responsible for collecting and analysing fossil and primate scan data, analysing postcranial variation, and contributing to the creation of musculoskeletal models.

This is an exciting opportunity to join an interdisciplinary research team investigating human and hominin locomotion. The post holder will be exposed to a wide variety of research materials, methods, and approaches in a multinational environment. We are seeking a rigorous, creative, and collaborative researcher who is eager to contribute to, and benefit from, our range of expertise.

The post holder will work across multiple locations, with the primary base at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, and will participate in research trips and experimental data collection abroad as required. Willingness to participate in research trips to the US, Kenya and South Africa is essential. The ability to work effectively as part of a diverse, interdisciplinary team, sharing ideas and data, is essential.

Starting date: 16 March 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The funds for this post are available for 36 months.

Please refer to the Further Particulars for more information regarding the position.