NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program

Part-Time Assistant Research Scientist

NYU Wildlife Inclusive Local Development Lab, Wild Animal Welfare Program, Environmental Studies, Arts & Science

Application Deadline: December 19, 2025

Start Date: January 20, 2026 or sooner

Pay: $20-$30/hour

Hours: 5-10 hours per week for 16 weeks

Location: New York University, New York, NY

Supervisor: Dr. Mal Graham in the Dept. of Environmental Studies

The NYU Wildlife Inclusive Local Development (WILD) Lab is seeking 2-3 Part-Time Assistant Research Scientists to contribute to multiple research projects focused on urban wild animal welfare. The WILD Lab is an applied research and outreach initiative dedicated to advancing the welfare of wild animals in urban environments. Our work aims to understand how urban infrastructure, land use, and development practices affect the lived experiences of wild animals in cities—and how local governments and communities can respond.

New York City is home to millions of humans—and countless wild animals. Its unique infrastructure and ecology make it a perfect laboratory for studying the effects of local development practices on wild animals. Using NYC's buildings and urban spaces as a case study, the WILD Lab conducts rigorous, impact-oriented scientific and policy research to understand and improve the welfare of wild animals locally.

Through place-based research and engagement with stakeholders from multiple sectors, we aim to identify and build support for interventions that have the potential to provide benefits to all New Yorkers. By generating new knowledge, supporting evidence-based policymaking, and engaging diverse stakeholders, the WILD Lab seeks to catalyze positive change and create more equitable and sustainable cities for all stakeholders, including nonhuman animals.

Responsibilities: 

Part-Time Assistant Research Scientists will have the opportunity to contribute to one or more ongoing projects relevant to urban wild animal welfare, including the following. Applicants should select 1-3 projects they would like to focus on before applying.

• Bird-window collision research: contributing to a living literature review, pilot video documentation of sublethal collisions, and NYC-wide mortality estimation using existing monitoring data

• Rodent fertility control analysis: surveying and evaluating methods across urban, agricultural, household, and conservation contexts

• Behavioral time budget studies: analyzing nest cam footage and direct observations to quantify positive and negative welfare states in urban versus non-urban birds and insects

• Conservation messaging research: comparing welfare-focused, environmental, and conservation messaging approaches for motivating wild animal stewardship behaviors

• Disease treatment optimization: conducting literature reviews to identify interventions that maximize welfare benefits while minimizing negative ecological externalities

• Wild animal welfare field assessment: interviewing experts and synthesizing literature to report on the current state of wild animal welfare research

Position expectations:

• Assist with data collection and management tasks, including collision monitoring, video analysis, and database maintenance

• Help with systematic literature searches and organize references

• Support field observations, data entry, and organization

• Contribute to administrative tasks supporting ongoing research projects:

• Conduct comprehensive literature reviews and synthesis

• Code and analyze qualitative and quantitative data

• Conduct expert interviews and synthesize findings

• Write sections of academic papers under supervision

• Support manuscript preparation for publication

Required qualifications

• Must be based in the NYC area and able to meet in person

• Strong organizational and time management skills

• Ability to work independently and meet deadlines

• Proficiency with GSuite (Google Docs, Sheets, Drive)

• Interest in animal welfare, urban ecology, or conservation

• Bachelor's degree

Preferred Qualifications/Skills

• Coursework in ecology, wildlife biology, animal behavior, or related fields

• Familiarity with systematic literature review methods

• Experience reading and analyzing academic literature

• Experience with academic writing

Application Instructions

Please apply via Handshake (current NYU students) or Interfolio (all other applicants) with the following documentation:

• Your CV

• A short statement (800 words max) describing: (1) your interest in urban wild animal welfare, (2) which project(s) interest you most and why, and (3) your relevant experience with research, writing, or data management

Selected candidates will be invited to complete a brief screen-recorded task relevant to their project interests (e.g., coding video footage, extracting data from literature, or developing interview questions) and an interview. Only individuals who submit their application via Handshake or Interfolio will be considered for this role.

Contact Audrey Becker (audrey.lynn.becker@nyu.edu) with any questions.

In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the hourly pay range for this position is $20-$30/hour. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) the specific grant funding and the terms of the research grant when extending an offer.

Call for Expressions of Interest: NYU Wild Animal Welfare Summit

Deadline: March 1, 2025 (followed by rolling submissions)

Event: July 10-11, 2025

Location: New York University, New York, NY

The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is hosting a two-day wild animal welfare summit on July 10-11, 2025. The aim of this event is to connect scholars with an interest in this topic, particularly scholars across a variety of fields and career stages.

The first day of the summit will feature lightning talks and discussion sessions. The second day will feature breakout sessions for workshopping collaborative project ideas. Both days will also include vegan meals and plenty of networking opportunities.

We welcome expressions of interest from scholars in all fields in the humanities and sciences (including law and policy). Please note that limited travel support is available for early-career scholars, i.e., scholars within five years of their terminal degree.

If you have interest in attending this summit, please send the below materials to Audrey Becker at audrey.lynn.becker@nyu.edu. We guarantee full consideration of all submissions received by March 1, 2025. We will also consider submissions received after that date on a rolling basis.

Please include in your expression of interest:

1. A CV or resume.

2. A statement of interest with three elements:

   1. A short summary of your current research, your expected future research, and how your research relates to wild animal welfare. (500 words max.)

   2. (Optional) If you have ideas for collaborative research projects that you might like to discuss at this summit, please describe them. (250 words max.)

   3. (Optional) If you might like to give a lightning talk about your current or future research, please suggest a topic or set of topics. (250 words max.)

Please note that if you answer these optional questions, your answers can range from general (e.g., “I want to discuss how to improve wild animal welfare in urban settings”) to specific (e.g., “I want to discuss whether green corridors that prioritize connectivity for wildlife movement between intact habitats is a promising intervention for wild animals in urban settings.”)

Please also note that we might not be able to accommodate all presentation and discussion topics, and that suggesting a presentation or discussion topic does not commit you to giving that presentation or facilitating that discussion at this stage.

Topics that we see as within scope for this summit include but are not limited to:

• How can we assess wild animal welfare at individual and population levels?

• How can we make welfare comparisons within and across species?

• What are the most common causes of morbidity and mortality for wild animals, and how do they vary within and across species?

• How does the project of improving wild animal welfare interact with the project of conserving species and ecosystems? 

• What are the costs and benefits of different kinds of population control for different individuals, species, and ecosystems?

• How can we support individuals, species, and ecosystems in adapting to human-caused climate change and other such environmental changes?

• How can we support coordination and collaboration between scholars who work in animal welfare and environmental conservation, among other areas?

• How can we educate advocates, policymakers, and the general public about the relationship between human, animal, and environmental protection?

If you are interested in these or related topics, we would love to hear from you! If you have any questions, feel free to contact Audrey Becker at audrey.lynn.becker@nyu.edu.

Thank you to Animal Charity Evaluators and Open Philanthropy for your generous support of this program and event.

Call for Expressions of Interest: NYU Wild Animal Welfare Summit

Deadline: March 1, 2024 (followed by rolling submissions)

Event: June 21-22, 2024

Location: New York University, New York, NY

The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is hosting a two-day wild animal welfare summit on June 21-22, 2024. The aim of this event is to connect scholars with an interest in this topic, particularly scholars across a variety of fields and career stages.

The first day of the summit will feature lightning talks and discussion sessions. The second day will feature breakout sessions for workshopping collaborative project ideas. Both days will also include vegan meals and plenty of networking opportunities.

We welcome expressions of interest from scholars in all fields, particularly scholars who work in animal welfare or conservation science. Please note that funding for travel and hotel is available for early-career scholars, i.e., scholars within five years of their terminal degree.

If you have interest in attending this summit, please send the below materials to Program Coordinator Sofia Fogel at sofia.fogel@nyu.edu. We guarantee full consideration of all submissions received by March 1, 2024. We will also consider submissions received after that date on a rolling basis.

Please include in your expression of interest:

1. A CV or resume.

2. A statement of interest with three elements:

   1. A short summary of your current research, your expected future research, and how your research relates to wild animal welfare. (500 words max.)

   2. (Optional) If you have ideas for collaborative research projects that you might like to discuss at this summit, please describe them. (250 words max.)

   3. (Optional) If you might like to give a lightning talk about your current or future research, please suggest a topic or set of topics. (250 words max.)

Please note that if you answer questions (b) and (c), your answers can range from general (e.g., “Researching the effects of wildlife corridors on different kinds of species”) to specific (e.g., “Measuring the effects of a new wildlife corridor in Yellowstone National Park on the movement of elk populations.” Please also note that answering these questions does not commit you to discussing your ideas or presenting your work at the event.

Topics that we see as within scope for this summit include, but are not limited to:

• How can we assess wild animal welfare at individual and population levels?

• How can we make welfare comparisons within and across species?

• What are the most common causes of morbidity and mortality for wild animals, and how do they vary within and across species?

• How does the project of improving wild animal welfare interact with the project of conserving species and ecosystems? 

• What are the costs and benefits of different kinds of population control for different individuals, species, and ecosystems?

• How can we support individuals, species, and ecosystems in adapting to human-caused climate change and other such environmental changes?

• How can we support coordination and collaboration between scholars who work in animal welfare and environmental conservation, among other areas?

• How can we educate advocates, policymakers, and the general public about the relationship between human, animal, and environmental protection?

If you are interested in these or related topics, we would love to hear from you! If you have any questions, feel free to contact Program Coordinator Sofia Fogel at sofia.fogel@nyu.edu.

Thank you to Animal Charity Evaluators and Open Philanthropy for your generous support of this program and event.

Call for Papers: Award and Workshop on Wild Animal Welfare

The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is thrilled to announce that we are now accepting submissions for an award and workshop on wild animal welfare. We invite graduate students and early-career faculty or researchers in any field to submit current or recent (published 2022 or later) work on this topic. Papers do not need to be published in order to be considered. Selected authors will receive a $500 award and an all-expenses paid trip to the 2023 NYU Wild Animal Welfare Workshop, where they will be invited to present their work.

The 2023 NYU Wild Animal Welfare Workshop will be held in Fall 2023 on the NYU campus, at a date to be determined later this year. Selected authors will present their work to an audience of NYU faculty and students and other participants and attendees. There will also be a keynote address and a dinner. This workshop will be an excellent opportunity for early career scholars to discuss their research and meet other people working in this important and neglected space.

We welcome papers in any field in the humanities or sciences that can advance understanding of fundamental issues related to wild animal welfare via non-invasive research methods. Possible topics include but are not limited to:

• Research in the humanities about the moral, legal, or political standing of wild animals

• Research in the social sciences about human attitudes about, or interactions with, wild animals

• Research in the natural sciences about what wild animals are like and what they need to live well

 You will be asked for the following materials in PDF format:

- Curriculum vitae.

- Cover letter. The cover letter should be no more than 500 words, and should include a summary of your paper and of the research program of which this paper is part.

- Paper draft. This work should be current or recent (nothing published prior to 2022), no longer than 10,000 words (a self-contained excerpt is fine), and accessible for a multidisciplinary audience. 

Please contact sofia.fogel@nyu.edu with any questions about the award or workshop.