The Global Disease Modelling (GDM) team are an interdisciplinary team of researchers that develop and use mathematical models to understand infectious diseases and inform public health decision-making. Led by Professor Melissa Penny, the GDM group use data analysis, modelling and simulation, to examine complex interactions between infectious diseases, individuals, and populations, medical interventions, and health systems. They use these models to understand disease progression, pathogenesis, and disease transmission, and to estimate impacts of existing and novel health interventions in individuals or at the population level, with the goal to inform decisions during product development through to implementation and policy recommendations.

We now have an exciting opportunity for a Research Officer or Senior Research Officer (level defined by experience) to support the conceptualisation, development, optimisation and application of cutting-edge mathematical and statistical methodologies to estimate health impact and understand the role of existing and novel malaria interventions to support malaria burden reduction and elimination. This role will support Research and Development (R&D), policy and implementation decisions on existing and next-generation malaria tools, their combined use, and their use-cases to reduce or eliminate disease.

In this dynamic role, you will:

• Use modelling to drive the optimisation and implementation of modelling analysis to address questions on malaria intervention impact.
• Extend and refine existing models to include new data sources and add new functionality.
• Manage your own coding, research, deliverables, and administrative activities, including small-scale project management to co-ordinate multiple aspects of the work.
• Contribute to communications with our stakeholders on new malaria interventions.

This full-time position will be based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, located within the Perth Children’s Hospital in Nedlands Western Australia and will be offered on a 2-year contract.

About You
The successful candidate will hold a PhD thesis or equivalent experience in mathematics, mathematical modelling, epidemiology, statistics, public health or a similar quantitative discipline. Along with this, you will also possess the following skills:

• Statistical/mathematical skills, especially one or more fields relevant to disease modelling (ODEs/PDEs; simulation models; Bayesian statistical modelling; Gaussian processes).
• Demonstrable ability to think abstractly about real-world systems and design mathematical/statistical models answering questions about them.
• Programming skills in at least one of R/Python, or another statistical/mathematical programming language.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team to initiate, plan and deliver research projects through from conception to publication.
• Strong interest in the epidemiology of malaria and/or other infectious (vector borne) diseases and health systems research in local and global contexts.