Job summary:

An opportunity has arisen for a Research Assistant or Associate to work on a funded research project on the impact of climate change on malaria. The post is based in the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, within the Department for Infectious Disease Epidemiology.

The public health impact of climate change on vector borne diseases is highly unclear. Malaria remains one of the deadliest diseases and there is fear that morbidity and mortality could rise as mosquitoes and transmission thrive in warmer, wetter environments.

This post will lie within and contribute to the Vaccine Impact Modelling Consortium (VIMC)’s new research programme on the impact of climate change on vaccine-preventable diseases. VIMC is directed by Professor Caroline Trotter, with Professor Neil Ferguson as Deputy Director and Principal Investigator of its climate change research programme.

You will be able to combine experience of epidemiological data analysis and statistical inference with knowledge of the modelling of malaria transmission and climate change to address key scientific questions. The research will assess the implications of changing environments on disease burden and how this will influence optimal vaccination strategy, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.

Duties and responsibilities:

You will identify, develop and implement suitable techniques for the collation and analysis of epidemiological data for malaria. Specifically, you will develop novel mechanistic models of malaria transmission and parameterise them using historical surveillance data. You will use a variety of statistical and machine learning methods to explore the relationship between mosquito bionomics and climatic variables.

Essential requirements:

• Hold a PhD with a strong quantitative component – including biology, zoology, genetics, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, economics, mathematics, physics, statistics or a closely related discipline.
• Practical experience within a research environment and / or publication in relevant and refereed journals
• Experience in epidemiological data analysis for infectious diseases
• Experience in coding analysis pipelines
• Knowledge of statistical methods for infectious disease epidemiology
• Knowledge of R programming language
• Proven research skills
• Ability to develop and apply new concepts
• Creative approach to problem-solving
• Excellent verbal communication skills and the ability to deal with a wide range of people
• Excellent written communication skills and the ability to write clearly and succinctly for publication
• Ability to organise own work with minimal supervision and prioritise in response to deadlines
• Willingness to work as part of a team and to be open-minded and cooperative
• Flexible attitude towards work
• Discipline and regard for confidentiality and security at all times
• Willingness to undertake any necessary training for the role
• Willingness to travel both within the United Kingdom and abroad to conduct research and attend conferences

Further information:

This is a full time, fixed term appointment for 3 years.

You will initially be based at St Mary’s Campus, Paddington, before relocating to White City Campus in autumn 2023.

Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as a Research Assistant within the salary range £38,194 - £41,388 per annum.

For more information or to apply, please visit https://www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/description/MED03604/research-assistantassociate-malaria-modelling-and-epidemiology