Ph.D. Opportunity in Medical Anthropology

Topic: "Are the dead a danger to the living? Potential contagion and health risks posed by the deceased among populations living near cemeteries in the northern zone of Abidjan. Biomedical and Public Health Analysis."

The Public Health Doctoral School at Paris-Saclay University is offering a doctoral position in Medical Anthropology in the Anthropology, Archaeology, and Biology Laboratory, under the supervision of Philippe CHARLIER.  

Profile: An anthropologist skilled in in-situ data collection (surveys, geobiological samples), managing the scientific analysis of samples, and analyzing data from field anthropology and geo-biological examinations. 

Objective: To determine the actual biological risk to residents and workers living near traditional cemeteries in Senegal (graves in open ground without burial vaults, burials without coffins or preservation measures, in shrouds), and to identify potential measures for improvement in the event of a genuine public health risk, primarily of an infectious nature)
This is a genuine public health issue: significant population pressure is forcing people to live ever closer to cemeteries, with risks—whether real or imagined (this will be one of the focuses of this thesis)—primarily related to infectious diseases: the role of decomposition and putrefaction processes in the contamination of water and soil will be directly assessed. 

Application deadline: November 30, 2026 (at 11:59 p.m.)
Start of the dissertation: December 1, 2026