Our group in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is looking for a postdoctoral fellow to work on projects related to cholera dynamics to better understand the global burden and geographic distribution of the disease. The ideal applicant will be highly quantitative with experience in epidemiology, statistics, ecology and/or infectious disease modeling. Experience in disease mapping and/or the development of R packages is highly desirable. Applicants with, or nearing completion of, a doctoral degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, or a related quantitative field (e.g., computer science, ecology) will be considered.
The successful applicant will work with Dr. Justin Lessler, Dr. Andrew Azman and colleagues on a project primarily funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that aims to improve our understanding of cholera epidemiology in order to design rational strategies for use of oral cholera vaccine. Over the past years our team has built a massive database of cholera incidence and mortality worldwide and the postdoctoral work will largely focus around gaining new insights from these data. This work will involve the development of Bayesian methods to estimate the incidence and endemicity of cholera across the world and the exploration of how various covariates shape cholera risk across time and space. In addition, there will be opportunities to combine phylogenetic and epidemiologic data to understand large-scale patterns of cholera transmission within Africa. While this work has theoretical components, it is highly connected to ongoing cholera control work throughout the world through the Global Taskforce for Cholera Control, and the successful applicant will have the chance to share results with policy and operational partners including the WHO, MSF and others. You would be joining a highly collaborative group (iddynamics.jhsph.edu) who works on projects ranging from empirical data collection to theoretical modeling of disease dynamics, and there will be ample opportunities to work on cross-cutting projects focused on issues in infectious disease transmission and control. The position will be for 1-2 years, depending on applicant interest and career plans. Interested candidates should contact Laura Bowles ([email protected]) with a CV, statement of interest, and references. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and should be submitted by May 30, 2017.
