Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Mathematical Modelling
Department of Zoology, Mansfield Road, Oxford
Grade 7: £32,817 - £34,804 p.a.
We are seeking a 3-year, full-time Postdoctoral Research Assistant to work as a member of the One Health Poultry Hub funded by the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund. This post is part of a very large interdisciplinary and inter-institutional project involving biological and social sciences, aiming to explore the impact of the intensification of chicken production on the risk of zoonotic diseases in India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The post involves developing mathematical models to investigate the transmission and evolutionary dynamics of avian influenza, food-borne bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes along the networks through which chickens are raised, distributed and consumed. Models will be data-driven: including production, distribution and consumption network configurations, and pathogen population genetics in chickens, humans and within the network.

Candidates will hold a PhD (or be near to completion) in a relevant subject or equivalent experience, and a postgraduate degree in biostatistics, mathematics, statistics, computing, mathematical biology or a related subject. Experience with statistical/programming computer languages and with mathematical modelling of infectious diseases is required.

The successful candidate will be expected to submit publications to scientific journals, attend and present at conferences, contribute to research degree student supervision, and engage with other researchers from biological and social science disciplines.

They will be based at the University of Oxford (Department of Zoology) under the supervision of Professor Sunetra Gupta and Dr Jose Lourenco. Work will be in close collaboration with Dr Guillaume Fournie from the University of London (Royal Veterinary College) and Professor Tony Barnett from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

All applications need to be made online by 12.00 noon on Friday 25 October 2019.