Funded PhD studentship in Veterinary Epidemiology / Quantitative Ecological Modelling
Interesting opportunity to explore a range of fish health and/or cultured marine eco-system health research questions using quantitative methods and mathematical modelling. A 3.5 year funded PhD position is available on the East Coast of Canada. The candidate would most likely be registered at the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC at the University of Prince Edward Island) but would have strong links to the Department of Oceanography at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The funding is made available as part of the NSERC- Cooke Industrial Research Chair in Sustainable Aquaculture programme which Prof. Jon Grant at Dalhousie is responsible for managing. More details of the programme can be found at - http://myweb.dal.ca/jgrant/index.html This studentship would focus on one (or both) of the following themes of the programme: - prevention of disease and management of fish health - marine spatial planning of aquaculture and wild fisheries In either case the core research activities would involve the use of mathematical modelling to explore key questions associated with sustainable aquaculture and would be located in the Epi-Informatics group led by Prof. Crawford Revie at AVC - https://www.islandscholar.ca/fedora/repository/ir%3Acrevie (or see his Google Scholarpage for an overview of the areas of research interest of the group -http://scholar.google.com/citations? sortby=pubdate&hl=en&user=5ErDDgQAAAAJ&view_op=list_works ). We are looking for an independent thinker who is enthusiastic to explore a range of modelling approaches and is not afraid to learn new skills or tools. Some previous experience in quantitative analysis is required (e.g. some substantive statistical modelling within a Master project) and direct experience of some mathematical modelling would be beneficial. Preference will be given to candidates with an exposure to a computer programming language (such as Java, Python or R) or those who are able to demonstrate a strong desire to acquire such. A candidate with a strong background in ecology, particularly aquatic ecology, who is keen to develop a range of quantitative skills and is not afraid to get her/his 'hands dirty' with some coding (!) could also be considered. The candidate will normally be expected to have a Masters degree in a relevant field such as applied statistics, quantitative ecology / marine biology, epidemiology, etc. The successful candidate will be located within the broader Centre for Veterinary Epidemiological Research (CVER - http://cver.upei.ca/ ) within AVC/UPEI, and as such will be exposed to a wide range of research interests, in addition to the links with Dalhousie University. Informal enquiries and/or request for more detailed information can be made to either: Crawford Revie: [email protected] Jon Grant: [email protected] Applications (in the form of a cover letter outlining the candidate's motivation, together with a CV) should be emailed to [email protected] The closing date is 10th August 2014.
