Research Technical Specialist, School of Medicine - Microbiology & Immunology

Emory•Atlanta, GA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Zarnitsyna lab in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory University School of Medicine is recruiting for a multidisciplinary project on respiratory virus transmission. The project combines video-recorded ferret transmission experiments, machine learning-based behavioral tracking, and mechanistic mathematical modeling to investigate how contact behavior, contact duration, fomite sharing, and viral shedding shape infection risk. Its long-term goal is to apply this framework to human challenge studies and household cohorts to inform evidence-based mitigation strategies. This position focuses on the mathematical modeling component. Working with Dr. Zarnitsyna, the specialist will design and develop mechanistic models of influenza transmission in ferret experiments, including within-host viral dynamics and stochastic transmission-kernel models. The models will be fitted to behavioral tracking data, infection outcomes, and viral load measurements using Bayesian and likelihood-based inference. The position can start immediately. The role also involves interpreting results, following relevant literature, maintaining documentation and quality standards for data and code, sharing expertise and training others in relevant tools, preparing figures for publications and presentations, and co-authoring papers and presenting findings at scientific meetings. Tasks are generally performed in person at an Emory University location; remote-work-from-home days may be granted at department discretion, and Emory may change remote-work status with notice.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a scientific field.
Seven years of professional research experience.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (e.g., M.S. or M.P.H.) in a quantitative discipline, life science, or public health, such as biostatistics or epidemiology.
Programming experience in R, Julia, or Python, including reproducible workflows.
Ability to work effectively across experimental and computational teams.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and conduct large and/or complex research experiments and modeling work.
Design and develop mechanistic models of influenza transmission in ferret experiments, including within-host viral dynamics and stochastic transmission-kernel models.
Fit models to behavioral tracking data, infection outcomes, and viral load measurements using Bayesian and likelihood-based inference.
Review research progress, evaluate results, and interpret findings.
Follow relevant research literature.
Maintain documentation and quality standards for data and code.
Share expertise and train others in relevant tools, equipment operation, and laboratory techniques.
Refine or adapt methodologies to meet specific experiment requirements and collaborate in developing new techniques.
Prepare figures for publications and presentations.
Co-author publications and co-present findings with the Principal Investigator at meetings and conferences.
Perform related responsibilities as required.