Postdoctoral Fellow in Ancient DNA (Upper Ganga Basin, Himalaya) at IIT Roorkee
Job Description
IIT Roorkee’s Department of Earth Sciences invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship for an ancient DNA specialist, under the mentorship of Prof. Pradeep Srivastava, on a project about late Quaternary environmental change in the Upper Ganga basin and what it meant for early human society in the Uttarakhand Himalaya.
At a glance
- Position: Post Doctoral Fellow
- Project: Late Quaternary Environmental Changes and its bearing on Early Human Society of Upper Ganga basin, Uttarakhand Himalaya
- Pay: Rs 80,000 per month (consolidated), plus a contingency grant of Rs 50,000 a year
- Duration: One year and one month only
- Apply by: 20 September 2026
- Advertisement: IITR/ESD/PDF/26-27/733, dated 8 September 2026
Ancient DNA recovered from sediments and archaeological layers can reveal which plants, animals and people lived in a place thousands of years ago, even where no bones survive. Combined with geological records of past climate, it helps researchers work out how environmental change shaped early human settlement, which is the aim of this Himalayan project.
About the ancient DNA postdoc
- Bring ancient DNA expertise to a project on late Quaternary environmental change and early human society in the Upper Ganga basin
- Process samples and analyse ancient DNA data from geological or archaeological sites (the department’s preferred experience)
Postdoctoral fellows are registered as students and can use the library, computer centre and hospital facilities. They get 2.5 days of leave per completed calendar month, with no carry-forward beyond a calendar year, and the positions are purely temporary. Either side can end the fellowship with one month’s notice.
Eligibility
- A Ph.D. awarded on a topic involving ancient DNA
- A Master’s in Bioinformatics, Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, Ancient Indian History, Geography or Geoinformatics
- Preferred: research experience processing samples and analysing ancient DNA from geological or archaeological sites in the Himalayan region of India
Screened candidates will be called for interview.
Pay and duration
- Rs 80,000 per month (consolidated) for one year and one month
- Contingency grant of Rs 50,000 a year
How to apply
Email a single PDF to pradeep@es.iitr.ac.in with a covering letter, your CV, a list of publications (highlighting the most relevant ones for this post) and a research statement on your past research and future plans in the context of this project; the research statement is mandatory. Quote the advertisement number and date and the title of the position. Applications received after the last date will not be considered.
Key dates
- Applications close: 20 September 2026
- Interview: screened candidates will be called
Please read the official IIT Roorkee advertisement (PDF) before applying, and browse more postdoctoral fellowships on ResearchJobs.in.
Hiring institution: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Official advertisement: iitr.ac.in
How to prepare for this application
- Ancient DNA workflow: be ready to explain clean-lab practice, extraction from sediments, library preparation and how you authenticate ancient sequences.
- Bioinformatics: damage patterns, contamination checks and the pipelines you have used.
- Quaternary context: read about climate and monsoon change in the Himalaya over the last few tens of thousands of years.
- Research statement: propose concrete sampling or analysis ideas that fit the Upper Ganga basin.
- Timeline: the fellowship lasts just over a year, so show how you would deliver results quickly.
About IIT Roorkee
IIT Roorkee traces its roots to Roorkee College, set up in 1847 and renamed the Thomason College of Civil Engineering in 1854. It became the country's first technical university in 1948, as the University of Roorkee, and was converted into an Indian Institute of Technology on 21 September 2001, when it was recognised as an Institution of National Importance.
