The Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology (USZ/UZH) is seeking a PhD candidate for the SNSF Ambizione-funded project “Transmission Dynamics, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Novel Treatment Strategies for Gonorrhea in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.” The PhD candidate will be supervised by Dr. Nanina Anderegg and Prof. Roger Kouyos, and will join the structured EBPhD program at the Life Science Zurich Graduate School.

About the project:
Neisseria gonorrhoeae has become resistant to all previously used antibiotics, leaving ceftriaxone as the last remaining treatment option. The spread of ceftriaxone resistance has raised global concerns about untreatable gonorrhea. For the first time in decades, a new antibiotic – zoliflodacin – offers hope and is expected to be introduced soon, with Thailand and South Africa among the first rollout countries.

The best strategy for introducing zoliflodacin is, however, unknown and further complicated by limited data on gonorrhea and antimicrobial resistance. This project aims to synthesize existing evidence, build country-specific mathematical models of gonorrhea transmission and resistance evolution, and identify optimal rollout strategies. The PhD student will focus on developing the transmission model for Thailand, incorporating surveillance and health system data, and will collaborate closely with another PhD student working on the South African model.

Your responsibilities:
Process and analyze epidemiological and surveillance data from Thailand
Develop a mathematical model of gonorrhea transmission and resistance evolution
Evaluate zoliflodacin introduction strategies and their public health impact
Collaborate with international partners and contribute to publications and conferences
Fulfill curriculum and teaching requirements as part of the EBPhD program
Your profile
Master's degree in (Bio-)Statistics, Data Science, Epidemiology, Mathematics, Computational Biology, or a related field
Experience with data analyses and software, preferably R
Strong interest in infectious disease epidemiology and mathematical modelling
Excellent English skills; knowledge of Thai is an asset but not required
Ability to work both independently and in a collaborative, interdisciplinary team
Information on your application:
The PhD student will enroll into the Epidemiology & Biostatistics PhD program of the Life Science Zurich Graduate School (https://www.epibiostat-phd.uzh.ch/en.html)
Please apply trough the online application system: https://www.lifescience-graduateschool.uzh.ch/en/application.html
We take gender balance and diversity seriously in our hiring decisions.
Application deadline: 1 November 2025