Postdoctoral Scholar Employee Position, Infectious Disease Epidemic Modeling

Department: Qualcomm Institute with Department of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health

Salary: Commensurate with experience

Appointment: 24 months (extendable based on mutual agreement and available funding)

Start Date: March 1, 2024

The Department of Medicine, Division Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at the University of
California San Diego (https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/medicine/divisions/idgph/Pages/default.aspx) is pleased to invite applications for a 2 year Postdoctoral Research Associate position. This position will work within a collaborative under the primary mentorship of Dr. Natasha Martin.

The research focus is to develop a framework and relevant dynamic infectious disease transmission models that enable rapid public health policy making during infectious disease outbreaks as part of the newly formed Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics “https://www.cdc.gov/forecast-outbreak-analytics/partners/insightnet/index.html”. This award is a 5-year CDC-funded program to develop an integrated reference design for public health intelligence with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Department (PI, Eliah Aronoff -Spencer). In particular, the project will involve: 1) development of models that can be rapidly deployed to inform public health decision-making by the county for infections such as SARS-COV2, hepatitis A virus, hepatitis C virus, HIV, and mpox; and 2) incorporation of innovative data sources (such as molecular sequences and wastewater samples) to improve the accuracy, precision, and utility of our models during disease outbreaks.

This highly interdisciplinary research will involve collaboration with epidemiologists, clinicians, statisticians, policymakers, and public health researchers. The postdoctoral scholar will work with various faculty PIs. Scholars will benefit from biweekly seminars and trainee sessions, journal clubs, and grant writing circles that include topics such as disease modeling, economic modeling, statistical inference for model parameters, and network analysis.

The initial appointment will be for two years, with option for renewal for up to three additional years based on performance. Applicants should have a PhD in a relevant discipline (applied mathematics, epidemiology, engineering, statistics and related fields) with experience developing and calibrating dynamic transmission models. Experience with any type of transmission modeling (compartmental deterministic or agent-based network) is welcome as our team has experience across various modeling types. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience, and include travel to conferences/collaborators. Applicants from under-represented minority populations are encouraged to apply.

To apply, please provide the below by email to lmannino@ucsd.edu:

1. Cover letter explaining the candidate's scholarly career, prospective or actual doctoral defense date, and academic interests.
2. Current curriculum vitae, including publications.
3. One writing sample
4. Two letters of recommendation

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and only complete applications will be considered. Please apply by January 31, 2024 for full consideration.

UC San Diego is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.