Postdoctoral Research Associate

A Mathematical Epidemiology/Infectious Disease Modeling position is available in the Mitreva Lab (https://mitrevalab.wustl.edu) at the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine and McDonnell Genome Institute at Washington University School of Medicine. The candidate will join an established and successful research group focused on integrating ‘multi-omics’ approaches aimed at understanding diseases at a systems biology level. The position requires working collaboratively with a team of experimental and computational biologists to integrate genetic and genomic data with mathematical modeling to better understand the transmission dynamics of parasitic infections and the evolutionary and genetic processes that shape their epidemiology.
The postdoctoral fellow will contribute to NIH funded projects aimed at developing and applying molecular genetic approaches to distinguish the causes of infection resurgence and persistence (e.g., recrudescence, new infection, poor drug response, parasite migration). The primary focus will be on integrating genetic data into epidemiological models of lymphatic filariasis to estimate the likelihood and pace of resurgence and to support surveillance and programmatic decision-making. The candidate will lead the mathematical modeling of lymphatic filariasis transmission and will have opportunities to travel and present at national and international conferences.

Publications reflecting the research portfolio of Mitreva Lab:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=mitreva+m+or+mitreva-dautova+m&sort=date&size=20

Preferred Qualifications

• Outstanding drive, eagerness, scientific imagination, and self-motivation
• Experience in statistical and population genetics is particularly encouraged
• Familiarity with mathematical transmission models for neglected tropical diseases, including those for lymphatic filariasis (e.g., TRANSFIL, EPIFIL, GEOFIL)
• Proficient in R and familiarity with other programming languages (Python, Java, C++)
• Comfortable working on UNIX/Linux platform

Requested Qualification
• Graduate degree (Ph.D.) in mathematical epidemiology or a related field
• Solid background in mathematical and statistical modelling in infectious diseases

Washington University School of Medicine (https://medicine.wustl.edu) is one of the two main campuses of Washington University in St. Louis (https://wustl.edu), a private research university founded in 1853. Dr. Mitreva is faculty at the Department of Internal medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases (https://infectiousdiseases.wustl.edu/) and her lab is housed in the McDonnell Genome Institute (https://genome.wustl.edu/) which has been at the forefront of genome research since its inception in 1993. We are a world-leader in genomics research as it applies to the study of model organisms and human biology, infections, genetic diseases, and the field of personalized medicine. We provide a value-added biologically and clinically relevant sequence analysis, and foster public understanding of science through various educational and outreach efforts.

Interested candidates should email cover letter, curriculum vitae, summary of their research, two key first author publication and contact information for three recent references to: mmitreva@wustl.edu

Makedonka Mitreva, PhD
Gordon R. Miller Professor of Medicine
Division of Infectious diseases, Department of Internal Medicine
Director, Center for Clinical Genomics of Microbial Systems
Washington University School of Medicine
4444 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108