Postdoctoral Research Associate Fellowship Position

There is a critical need for new global health planning in malaria – a disease that kills 600,000 individuals every year. Over the past five years, the emergence of new artemisinin-resistant malaria strains in Africa means that drug-resistance mitigation plans are urgently needed on the continent. Using the newest developments in computational epidemiology, our research group is currently assisting five national malaria control programs in Africa in designing these drug-resistance response strategies. Please apply to this post if you would like to be part of this effort.

The Boni Lab, based at the Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine (IGEM) in the Department of Biology at Temple University’s College of Science & Technology, is looking to hire one or two highly-motivated individuals with interest in addressing the need for global health planning for the recent malaria emergence as Postdoctoral Research Associate. These positions will be available starting Autumn and Winter 2024. The successful candidates will perform research in collaboration with the Boni Lab focused on mathematical modeling of response strategies to the current urgent problem in Africa of responding to the recent (2020-2021) emergence of artemisinin resistance on the continent.

The Boni Lab uses the newest developments in computational epidemiology to assist five national malaria control programs in Africa with designing drug-resistance response strategies to combat the rise of new artemisinin-resistant malaria strains.
Currently, the Boni Lab is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and is collaborating and partnering with various global agencies such as Applied Malaria Modeling Network, Oxford University, Imperial College, IS Global, Swiss Tropical Public Health, World Health Organization, Rwanda Biomedical Centre, national malaria programs of Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Burkina Faso, Medicines for Malaria Venture, and JHPIEGO (at Johns Hopkins).

The Postdoctoral Research Associate, will play a critical role in our research team’s malaria epidemiological modeling, perform computational and mathematical modeling, assemble and analyze national and global health data, build and visualize additional models to make near-term and long-term forecasts. Perform other duties as assigned.

Successful candidates will know or be able to learn how to:
• Perform research in malaria individual-based modeling
• Perform research in malaria epidemiology
• Use geospatial software like arcGIS to assemble malaria prevalence/incidence data
• Learn a C++ software development process for large complex projects
• Understand the needs and requirements of national malaria control programs in malaria-endemic countries

Candidates are required to have a Ph.D. in a relevant field (such as computer science or computational epidemiology) and a strong interest in malaria research. Experience in C++ is recommended.

Candidates are encouraged to apply if they are interested in developing applied epidemiological skills through the use of computation, simulation, and new software development, and if they have a keen interest in emergency-level global health response for one of the developing world's most pressing current health problems.

Candidates should submit a cover letter describing their research experience and how these experiences relate to the position, a CV, and contact information for two references. For informal inquiries, please email Maciej Boni, Professor at mboni@temple.edu. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position(s) are filled.

This is a limited-term appointment funded for one year from date of hire, with excellent possibility of extension.

Temple University is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of its forms. We embrace individual uniqueness, foster a culture of inclusion and excellence that supports both broad and specific diversity initiatives, leverage the educational and institutional benefits of diversity, and engage all individuals to help them thrive.

Links to relevant lab research interests are shown below
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02551-w
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39914-3
https://twitter.com/maciekboni/status/1687289671724777472
https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0002200
http://mol.ax/pdf/boni22.pdf

Temple University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all in every aspect of its operations, including employment, service, and educational programs. The University has pledged not to discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, marital status, national origin or ethnic origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or veteran status.