Postdoctoral Scientist, Environmental and Genomic Epidemiology of Bacterial Disease

About the group
The Belman Group, led by Dr. Sophie Belman, Assistant Professor in the Public Health Modeling Unit and the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health, is researching how bacterial disease patterns are shaped by the environment (air pollution, meteorological factors, sociodemographic factors) and how underlying microbial diversity both shapes the risk from these factors, and is modified by them. Our research sits at the intersection of infectious disease epidemiology, bacterial genomics, and environmental health. We are seeking a postdoctoral scientist to join us in working towards answering these inherently interdisciplinary questions. We are looking for self-motivated scientists with a willingness and enthusiasm for learning.

The role
The postdoctoral scientist will lead and contribute to projects that combine pathogen genomic data, epidemiological surveillance data, and environmental exposure data to understand how the environment influences bacterial disease and evolution. There will be flexibility to shape projects around the candidate’s interests and expertise. Potential projects include:
• Assessing how different sources of air pollution affect the incidence of pneumococcal disease across Catalonia, Spain, integrating disease surveillance, atmospheric composition, human mobility, and microbial genomic data.
• Developing methods to identify signatures of selection in microbial populations driven by environmental pressures (for example utilizing bacterial genome-wide association studies (GWAS)).

Required qualifications
• PhD (completed or near completion) in epidemiology or pathogen genomics. Candidates with doctoral degrees in other fields such as environmental health, biostatistics, microbiology, who meet the other qualifications are welcome to apply.
• A strong record of accomplishment in at least one of the following: infectious disease epidemiology, bacterial genomics, or environmental epidemiology. This will be demonstrated by publications, training, or conference presentations.
• Proficiency in R (preferred) or Python. Excellent skills in data management and analysis, data visualization, and scientific communication.
• Experience analyzing large datasets in a command-line environment, including running jobs on high-performance computing (HPC) clusters.

Preferred qualifications
• Experience with Bayesian spatial modeling, time-series modeling, bacterial population genomics, or phylogeographic methods.
• Familiarity with environmental exposure data, such as air pollution, atmospheric composition, or meteorological data.
• Comfort working with diverse data formats (e.g., genome sequence data, geospatial files, gridded climate or atmospheric data, human mobility data).

We encourage applicants who meet the core requirements but do not have experience in every preferred area to apply. We expect candidates to bring depth and expertise in at least one field and an interest in learning the others. We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic and quick to learn, can lead projects to completion, and develop or implement new methods.

Start date, duration and salary
Ideally, the candidate would be able to start between January 4 and March 1, 2027, though earlier or later start dates may be considered. The duration for this position is 1 year with potential to renew. Starting salary for a Postdoctoral Associate is $68,500. Salary will also include competitive benefits, and support for travel to conferences will be provided. We can support visa applications through the Yale OISS (https://oiss.yale.edu/) although for some countries it may not be possible at this time. The position is in person at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.

How to apply
Please submit a CV and why you are interested in working with me and on these topics to this google form. Only the highest levels of academic excellence will be considered.