Research Fellow

We are seeking a full-time Postdoctoral Research Fellow in mathematical modelling to investigate the impact of environment and climate change on wildlife diseases.
The post is part of the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare consortium (https://www.eupahw.eu/), an EU-funded program aimed at controlling infectious diseases of animals and promoting animal welfare. The program involves 90 entities from 24 countries (research-performing institutions, funding organizations, and ministries) including the European Food and Safety Authority and the European Medicines Agency.
The objective of this role is to improve understanding of the effect of anthropogenic changes to the environment (land use, urban heat island effects, climate change) and natural environmental features (ecological niches, animal movement) on disease spread. To achieve this goal, you will formulate and apply sophisticated mathematical models in conjunction with ecological data. The post is for a full-time researcher for 22 months, to start as soon as possible. The successful applicants will work within the Population Systems and Public Health unit at the School of Veterinary Medicine (Dr Gianni Lo Iacono) in collaboration with Prof Dan Horton and his team from the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
The research at the School of Veterinary Medicine is at the forefront of understanding and alleviating the threats that environmental and climate change pose to health in animal and human populations. In line with the One Health philosophy, our research is highly multidisciplinary and multi-institutional. APHA Virology is a multi-disciplinary department with globally recognised expertise on a wide range of viruses. The programme of work on emerging zoonotic diseases is expanding at APHA and has strong national and international dimensions, seeking to apply better solutions for hazard characterisation, threat detection, mitigation and control, and risk management to protect UK and global biosecurity.
You will be responsible for research into mathematical modelling (population dynamics, epidemiological compartmental modelling, differential equations and similar). The role will suit a highly motivated candidate who is interested in addressing real-world challenges. In particular you shall use novel rigorous approaches to investigate the links between environmental/climate chance and the disease spread in wildlife, like rabies in European bats, and the risks for public health.

You should have a relevant PhD/DPhil (or be near completion), in addition to holding a first degree in either Quantitative disciplines (physics, mathematics, engineering, computer science, and similar) or in life-science with modelling experience. Experience in programming is essential. You should have a track record of published work with experience of working well independently and also as part of a team. You will be expected to develop your solutions in one of Python, MATLAB, or R.

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