Assistant Professorship in Legal Questions Pertaining to Reproduction and Human Genetics (URPP Human Reproduction Reloaded)

Faculty of Law
Assistant Professorship in Legal Questions Pertaining to Reproduction and Human Genetics (URPP Human Reproduction Reloaded)
The University of Zurich is seeking applications for an
Assistant Professorship in Legal Questions Pertaining to Reproduction and Human Genetics (URPP Human Reproduction Reloaded)
to take effect from the beginning of the 2022 Fall Semester (1 August 2022), or by arrangement.
The University Research Priority Program (URPP) Human Reproduction Reloaded aims to examine the legal, philosophical, medical, and sociological dimensions of human reproduction and places a particular focus on reproductive medicine, including human genetics. The program also monitors the possible uses of CRISPR 'genetic scissors' in a high-risk project. Two assistant professorships are planned for the duration of the project, one of which in sub-project 1 at the Faculty of Law, dedicated to the normativity of human reproduction and researches the way biological realities and historical, philosophical, and legal concepts interact with one another. The project also examines their gender-theoretical implications.
We are looking for someone who, building on a qualification in law, has interdisciplinary skills, specifically in the field of reproductive medicine and genetics, possibly as well in fields such as history, ethics, gender studies or philosophy. The qualification should be reflected in an outstanding dissertation and additional publications. The dissertation should address an area of law applicable to issues of reproductive medicine and human genetics, such as medical, family, property, or private law.
In addition to the URPP and the Faculty of Law, the assistant professorship will also be affiliated with the MERH Centre, which addresses fundamental issues of medical law. Therefore, the ideal focus would be on medical law, particularly pertaining to re-productive medicine and human genetics. A qualification in private law would be considered, but also one in public, commercial, and possibly criminal law. The reason for this is that the dimensions of human reproduction and genetics researched in the URPP raise legal questions of different denominations, which are not fully reflected in the existing legal curriculum. This particularly applies to the monitoring of the high-risk CRISPR project.
The assistant professorship is designed as a qualification position and includes tasks in research, teaching and the administration of the URPP. Its aim is to provide the appointed candidate with further qualifications to be able to obtain a professorship and thus – generally speaking – carry out a habilitation at the Faculty of Law. The application must therefore be accompanied by a project proposal which demonstrates that the candidate has an express interest and ability to research in depth the legal issues addressed by the URPP and develop new approaches to solving urgent legal issues in human reproduction and human genetics. The possibility of a permanent position will be examined as part of the appointment procedure with the involvement of the specialist groups concerned.
Candidates with a non-Swiss and/or foreign language background must be willing to acquire German language skills. Good knowledge of other languages, particularly English, which is intended to be the second working language of the URPP, is desirable and may replace German language skills for an initial period.
The University of Zurich strives to increase the representation of women in research and teaching, and therefore specifically welcomes applications from these candidates.

Further information relating to this job profile can be found here .
Please submit your application documents as specified in the job profile by
30 March 2022 online . You may be requested to submit hard-copy documents separately at a later point.
As responsible member of the appointment committee, Professor Ulrike Babusiaux, is available to answer any questions and provide further information.
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