Post Doctoral Research Associate - Chronic Wasting Disease

UMass Amherst • Amherst, NY

1d • $62,838 - $71,033 • Onsite

About The Position

The University of Massachusetts Amherst seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate to support work preparing Massachusetts for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal, transmissible prion disease of deer, elk, and moose. The role blends human dimensions research with quantitative wildlife disease research and focuses on understanding stakeholder knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as strengthening the state’s response should CWD be detected.

The postdoctoral researcher will analyze existing statewide stakeholder surveys; help design and facilitate a multi-agency tabletop exercise; and co-develop response-plan revisions, decision tools, and communication materials. Depending on the candidate’s interests and skills, the role may also include quantitative modeling of CWD arrival and spread, evaluation of management actions, and development of a One Health survey for state agencies. The researcher will be part of the U.S. Geological Survey Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and collaborate with federal scientists, state agency staff, and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vermont. This position is subject to final budgetary and administrative approval.

Requirements

• PhD in human dimensions of natural resources, conservation social science, ecology, conservation, epidemiology, wildlife science, or a related field.
• Experience with quantitative analysis in R.
• Evidence of scientific writing, such as published or submitted peer-reviewed manuscripts or technical reports.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with agency partners.

Nice To Haves

• Experience designing or analyzing surveys of human knowledge, attitudes, or behavior, including weighted survey analysis or ordinal regression.
• Experience facilitating workshops, structured decision-making processes, or tabletop exercises.
• Experience in wildlife disease, wildlife health, or wildlife management.
• Experience with quantitative modeling, such as Bayesian methods, decision analysis, or spatial and epidemiological modeling.
• Experience working with or within state or federal natural resource agencies.
• Experience with reproducible workflows and version control such as Git.

Responsibilities

• Analyze three existing statewide CWD stakeholder surveys to quantify knowledge, attitudes, and regulation-relevant behaviors and identify hunter subpopulations at greatest risk of importing CWD into Massachusetts.
• Help design and co-facilitate an in-person, multi-agency tabletop exercise simulating CWD detection scenarios and testing the state’s reactive response.
• Translate tabletop exercise results into a revised reactive-response section of the state CWD response plan and a positive-detection decision tree linking preventative, surveillance, and reactive actions.
• Develop a management protocol to help other state wildlife agencies structure tabletop exercises, if feasible.
• Co-design pre-positioned communication materials with state agency outreach and education staff, using survey findings about communication channels and trust.
• Update and extend existing decision models to identify effective management actions under alternative CWD arrival scenarios.
• Contribute to quantitative modeling of CWD spread and time-to-arrival in the Northeast in collaboration with the University of Vermont postdoctoral researcher.
• Develop and analyze a One Health survey for state agencies concerning communication, jurisdiction, and workflows.
• Develop materials and templates that other CWD-negative states in the region can adapt.
• Work collaboratively and effectively to promote teamwork, equality, and inclusiveness.
• Partner with colleagues within the College of Natural Sciences and across campus to support the Dean’s strategic priorities.
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of the College of Natural Sciences’ mission and goals.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree