Research Epidemiological Modeler

MSU Jobs • Starkville, MS

3d

About The Position

We are seeking up to two Research Epidemiological Modelers with an interest and experience in computational aspects of molecular and spatial epidemiology to work with an interdisciplinary team of professionals at Mississippi State University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Geospatial and Environmental Epidemiology Research Unit (GEERU). The candidates will be responsible for development of advanced computational models of infectious disease evolution, transmission, and persistence with particular emphasis on diseases that impact agricultural infrastructure and pose a biosecurity threat to human populations in the U.S. and beyond. The candidate will be based out of the Geosystems Research Institute (GRI), an institute in the High Performance Collaboratory (HPC2) at Mississippi State University. Through these collaborations the successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop a large, diverse, and well-connected professional network to leverage in their future career.

Requirements

• M.S. degree, in biochemistry, veterinary or agricultural pathology, epidemiology, bioinformatics, computer science or engineering, computational modeling or a related field.
• 2 years’ experience working in an epidemiological or spatial/computational modeling arena or related.
• The position will require strong epidemiological data and/or computational modeling skills, strong interpersonal communication skills, the ability to work closely with an interdisciplinary team of researchers, professionals and students, and the ability to work and think independently.
• The position will also require strong writing skills for report and publication development.
• Applicants must have excellent oral and written communication and organizational skills.
• The Research Epidemiological Modeler must be self-motivated, able to work independently and effectively, and be willing to collaborate effectively across a range of disciplines.

Nice To Haves

• Applicants with Ph.D.’s, or equivalent experience, are particularly encouraged to submit an application.
• In addition to the required qualifications above, preferred qualifications include experience with computational epidemiological modeling, spatial data analysis, GIS, climate niche modeling, and bioinformatics
• Experience working with infectious diseases in animals, with emphasis on disease risk in production systems is preferred.
• Experience with high performance computing in a parallel coding environment is also preferred.
• Experience working with project teams comprised of individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives; and demonstrated evidence of implementation of these concepts in previous employment is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develops models of pathogen transmission across space and time, assembly, and annotation of genomic and transcriptomic data.
• Responsible for the integration of molecular genotypic and phenotypic data with geospatial data.
• Responsible for the integration of epidemiolocal data into climate niche modeling.
• Develops bioinformatic models, and other duties as opportunities related to computational model development arise.
• Develops operational workflows, data curation and pipelines that may include the use of high-performance computing and may participate in design and analysis of field and molecular experiments.
• Participates in the preparation of technical reports, briefings, presentations, and peer-reviewed publications that demonstrate results to sponsors and stakeholders.
• Trains and mentors graduate and undergraduate student researchers in various research labs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees