Mathematical modeling of host-parasite dynamics, PhD positions

The Hall Lab (halllab.ecology.uga.edu) is seeking to recruit Ph.D. students who are passionate about mathematical modeling of host-parasite dynamics for admission in fall 2020. Successful applicants will join multi-disciplinary teams working on exciting projects funded through the National Science Foundation’s Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems, Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases, and Population and Community Ecology programs. Positions are available for the following three projects:

• Modeling habitat and coinfection as drivers of heterogeneity in infection processes, applied to transmission of Puumala hantavirus in voles in Finland. For project details, click HERE.

• Modeling the socio-ecological dynamics of land use change and infectious diseases, with application to transmission of Chagas disease and leishmaniasis in Panama. For project details, click HERE. 

• Modeling interactions between resident and migratory populations and the consequences for parasite infection, with application to North American monarch butterflies and their protozoan parasites. This position will be co-mentored by Dr Sonia Altizer (www.altizerlab.org).Click HERE for project details.

Students will join the world-class Ecology graduate program at the Odum School of Ecology (ecology.uga.edu), and may also be eligible for admittance to the NSF-funded Graduate Research Training program in Interdisciplinary Disease Ecology Across Scales (ideas.ecology.uga.edu) or the Integrative Conservation Program (icon.uga.edu) at UGA. We seek motivated graduate students with strong interests in applying mathematical models to ecological and epidemiological problems. Prior experience of working with mathematical models is highly desirable. Interested applicants should send a cover letter indicating their research and training interests, and a copy of their CV, to rjhall [at] uga [dot] edu. Applications from students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds are especially welcome.

For more information, click HERE.

Epidemiologist II – DEP, CPHE

Job Description
Knowesis, a Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVO) (CVE certified) and Small Disadvantaged Business (SBA certified 8a), is looking for subject matter experts to supplement and enhance the existing workforce and training and operational support for the U.S. Army Public Health Center (APHC) located at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Edgewood, Maryland. The APHC’s mission is to promote health and prevent disease, injury, and disability of Soldiers and military retirees, their families, and the Department of the Army civilian employees; and assure effective execution of full spectrum veterinary service for Army and Department of Defense Veterinary missions.

We are looking for a Epidemiologist to develop, conduct, and evaluate epidemiologic data and studies in support of public health and oversee the analysis of data and ensure timely dissemination of the results of these studies. The successful candidates will:

Develop and review study protocols, critical literature reviews, direct participation in data collection, and interpretation of study results
Create, manage, and assess databases critical to the mission as well as provide internal/external customer service support
Utilize databases to design studies, answer inquiries, and produce reports
Identifies critical outcome measures, both morbidity and mortality based, for the evaluation of the effectiveness of public health programs
Compares outcome objectives for disease prevention and health promotion programs which will enable comparison with other applicable benchmarks

Experience and Skills
Education and Experience Requirements

Master’s Degree in Epidemiology, Public Health, Biology, Chemistry or other Health Sciences
Field and proven medical and public health experience required
PhD or Medical Degree desired
Prior experience in research design, and the ability to work with data analysis map creation, statistical and scientific software
Expertise using major medical information systems such as MSS Datamart or MHS Data Repository (MDR) Composite Health Care System (CHCS) or AHLTA
Abilty to perform analytical and inferential statistics to include risk ratios, odds ratios, ANOVA, T-test, chi 2, correlation, non-parametric tests, regression and logistic regression, and survival analysis
Fluency with computerized database management and statistical software programs, particularly SAS coding and database management
Demonstrated critical thinking, spoken communication, and writing skills

Benefits
About Knowesis
Founded in 2007, Knowesis Inc. has been providing data driven decisions and solutions to federal healthcare clients from day one. Our core capabilities include analytics and information management, planning and operations, and communication and engagement strategies. Knowesis’ highly qualified, customer-focused professionals are committed to providing information and advice to enable client success through holistic, thorough, thoughtful, and aligned approaches. Our clients leverage these capabilities to support data driven decisions for their key business functions. Knowesis is dedicated to earning the loyalty of clients and staff through work ethic, collaboration, and humility. Our intent is to be a positive impact to our clients, team, and community.

For more information and to apply, click HERE.

Injury Prevention Post Master’s Research

Description
The mission of United States Army Public Health Center (APHC) is to promote health and prevent disease, injury, and disability of soldiers and military retirees, their families, and Army civilian employees; and assures effective execution of full spectrum veterinary services for Army and DOD veterinary missions. Their vision is to be a world-class provider of public health services across the Army and DOD. For more information about APHC, please visit https://phc.amedd.army.mil.

Under the direction of the mentor, the individual will participate with APHC Injury Prevention Division (IPD) scientific teams to collect and analyze information on injuries, fitness, and related programs centered around members of the Armed Services. The candidate will assist with literature review, study design, data collection (which may require travel), data management, statistical analysis with SAS and SPSS, and production of technical reports, publications, and other products. The candidate should have knowledge of descriptive and analytical statistics and their use in SAS and SPSS. S/he must be able to analyze, interpret, write up, and publicly present results.

Appointment Length

The opportunity is scheduled for twelve months and can be renewed up to a total of five years of research participation. Appointments may be extended depending on funding availability, project assignment, program rules, and availability of the participant.

Participant Benefits

Participants will receive a stipend to be determined by APHC. Stipends are typically based on the participant’s academic standing, discipline, experience, and research facility location. Other benefits may include the following:

Health Insurance Supplement. Participants are eligible to purchase health insurance through ORISE.
Relocation Allowance
Training and Travel Allowance
Nature of Appointment

The participant will not enter into an employee/employer relationship with ORISE, ORAU, DOD, or any other office or agency. Instead, the participant will be affiliated with ORISE for the administration of the appointment through the ORISE appointment letter and Terms of Appointment.

While participants will not enter into an employment relationship with DOD or any other agency, this opportunity will require a suitability investigation/background investigation. Any offer made is considered tentative pending favorable outcome of the investigation.

Qualifications
This opportunity is seeking recent graduates with a masters in public health, epidemiology, exercise science, or related field. To qualify for ORISE, candidates must have completed their degree within the past five years.

For more information and to apply, click HERE.

Injury Prevention Post Master’s Research

Description
The mission of United States Army Public Health Center (APHC) is to promote health and prevent disease, injury, and disability of soldiers and military retirees, their families, and Army civilian employees; and assures effective execution of full spectrum veterinary services for Army and DOD veterinary missions. Their vision is to be a world-class provider of public health services across the Army and DOD. For more information about APHC, please visit https://phc.amedd.army.mil.

Under the direction of the mentor, the individual will participate with APHC IPD scientific teams to collect and analyze information on injuries, fitness, and related programs centered around members of the Armed Services. The candidate will assist with literature review, study design, data collection (which may require travel), data management, statistical analysis with SAS and SPSS, and production of technical reports, publications, and other products. The candidate should have knowledge of descriptive and analytical statistics and their use in SAS and SPSS. S/he must be able to analyze, interpret, write up, and publicly present results.

Appointment Length

The opportunity is scheduled for twelve months and can be renewed up to a total of five years of research participation. Appointments may be extended depending on funding availability, project assignment, program rules, and availability of the participant.

Participant Benefits

Participants will receive a stipend to be determined by APHC. Stipends are typically based on the participant’s academic standing, discipline, experience, and research facility location. Other benefits may include the following:

Health Insurance Supplement. Participants are eligible to purchase health insurance through ORISE.
Relocation Allowance
Training and Travel Allowance
Nature of Appointment

The participant will not enter into an employee/employer relationship with ORISE, ORAU, DOD, or any other office or agency. Instead, the participant will be affiliated with ORISE for the administration of the appointment through the ORISE appointment letter and Terms of Appointment.

While participants will not enter into an employment relationship with DOD or any other agency, this opportunity will require a suitability investigation/background investigation. Any offer made is considered tentative pending favorable outcome of the investigation.

Qualifications
This opportunity is seeking recent graduates with a masters degree in public health or epidemiology. To qualify for ORISE, candidates must have completed their degree within the past five years.

For more information and to apply, click HERE.

Injury Prevention Postdoctoral Research

Description
The mission of United States Army Public Health Center (APHC) is to promote health and prevent disease, injury, and disability of soldiers and military retirees, their families, and Army civilian employees; and assures effective execution of full spectrum veterinary services for Army and DOD veterinary missions. Their vision is to be a world-class provider of public health services across the Army and DOD. For more information about APHC, please visit https://phc.amedd.army.mil.

Under the direction of the mentor, the individual will participate with APHC Injury Prevention Division (IPD) scientific teams to collect and analyze information on injuries, fitness, and related programs centered around members of the Armed Services. The candidate will assist with literature review, study design, database management, statistical analysis with SAS and SPSS, and production of technical reports, publications, and other products. The candidate should have knowledge of descriptive and analytical statistics and their use in SAS and SPSS. S/he must have experience with inferential statistics including regression modeling, data analysis and interpretation, database creation and management, and reporting in written and oral formats.

Appointment Length

The opportunity is scheduled for twelve months and can be renewed up to a total of five years of research participation. Appointments may be extended depending on funding availability, project assignment, program rules, and availability of the participant.

Participant Benefits

Participants will receive a stipend to be determined by APHC. Stipends are typically based on the participant’s academic standing, discipline, experience, and research facility location. Other benefits may include the following:

Health Insurance Supplement. Participants are eligible to purchase health insurance through ORISE.
Relocation Allowance
Training and Travel Allowance
Nature of Appointment

The participant will not enter into an employee/employer relationship with ORISE, ORAU, DOD, or any other office or agency. Instead, the participant will be affiliated with ORISE for the administration of the appointment through the ORISE appointment letter and Terms of Appointment.

While participants will not enter into an employment relationship with DOD or any other agency, this opportunity will require a suitability investigation/background investigation. Any offer made is considered tentative pending favorable outcome of the investigation.

Qualifications
This opportunity is seeking recent graduates with a doctoral degree in public health or epidemiology. To qualify for ORISE, candidates must have completed their degree within the past five years.

For more information and to apply, click HERE.

CDC Spatial Epidemiology and Statistics Fellowship

Application Deadline: 10/28/2019 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Description
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

A research opportunity is currently available with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch (ESB), Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP), within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch monitors heart disease and stroke patterns and trends through the timely collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of programmatically relevant data.

Under the guidance of a mentor, the selected participant will have the opportunity to gain experience in advanced spatial and spatiotemporal studies of heart disease and stroke morbidity and mortality. These activities may include:

Creating, updating, analyzing and managing very large datasets
Participating in advanced spatial and/or spatio-temporal analyses of heart disease and stroke morbidity, mortality and risk factors using Bayesian and frequentist approaches
Writing summaries of methods, results and interpretations for use in government reports and peer-reviewed articles
Conducting literature reviews
Presenting the results to internal and external audiences, including professional meetings and/or conferences
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: October 28, 2019

This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and CDC. The initial appointment can be up to one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC contingent on the availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. The appointment is full-time at CDC in the Atlanta, Georgia, area. Participants do not become employees of CDC, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits.

Qualifications
The qualified candidate should have received a master’s or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields, or be currently pursuing one of the degrees and will reach completion by the start date of the appointment. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.

Preferred skills:

Experience analyzing spatial and/or spatiotemporal data
Experience in the management and analysis of large data sets
Knowledge/Awareness of Bayesian statistical methods
Experience using statistical software, such as SAS or R, for data analysis
Experience using ArcGIS or other mapping software package

Eligibility Requirements
Degree: Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 10/28/2019 11:59:00 PM.

For more information and to apply, click HERE.

Applied Epidemiology ORISE Fellowship in Data Analysis, CDC

Position Title, Department, and Geographic Location

Applied Epidemiology ORISE Fellowship in Data Analysis, CDC Malaria Branch, ATL Roybal campus

Pay range

MPH: $54,095/annum

PhD/DrPH: $78,446/annum

Applicants with prior experience in the qualifications listed below have potential for salary negotiation.

Healthcare plans available.

Preferred/minimum qualifications

Graduation in the previous five years with a degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, or equivalent. Candidates with experience in analysis of large datasets, spatial analysis, and scientific writing will be most competitive.

Brief job description

The CDC’s Malaria Branch is pleased to list an ORISE fellowship position which will focus in training and analysis of large malaria datasets for epidemiological estimates. Field surveys which have collected large amounts of data on individual, community-level, and ecological variables are of great value for determining the incidence and prevalence of malaria in a population. The ORISE position will involve the analysis of these large datasets which have been combined with data from laboratory assays. The fellow will focus on the multivariate and spatial components of these analyses, and will work to prepare manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals.

Application deadline and mechanism

Applications will consist of a CV and inclusion of a brief statement of why the applicant feels they would be a good choice for this position. Letters of recommendation are not required, but will also be accepted. Applications can be emailed directly to erogier [at] cdc [dot] gov and will be accepted through December 13th, 2019. Applicants will receive notice via email by December 20th if they have been selected for in-person interviews.

Health Scientist (Data Scientist), CDC

These positions will be in a new Data Science team that is being formed in the Data Analytics Branch of the Division of Injury Response in NCIPC. This team members will apply data science methods that include artificial intelligence (e.g., machine learning), data linkage, data visualizations, and predictive analytics to various topics and priority areas of the Injury Center. There are multiple positions available across any of these job series.

Summary
The incumbent serves as a Health Scientist performing data science work that requires extraction of knowledge from public health surveillance systems and programs at the local, state and national levels that are structured or unstructured for analysis; improved understanding and communication; development/visualization of new concepts, and/or processes that add value to health services delivery and the decision making process.

Responsibilities
As a Health Scientist (Data Scientist), you will:

Consult and collaborate with statistical, data science, artificial intelligence (e.g., machine learning), and public health.
Plan and conduct research using public health data systems, including survey data, health care facility data, syndromic surveillance data.
Support the development of proposals and projects that align with research and policy goals for data science research and analytic projects.
Assist in monitoring data quality issues as they relate to user data products, and collaborates with Informatics and Information Technology.
Bring and develop expertise in the fields of health science, artificial intelligence.
Collaborate with other professionals within and outside the Center in the conduct of surveillance, research, and analytical studies.
Provide advice on the use of data science tools, methods, and statistical learning models to collect.
Maintain current knowledge of developments in allied health sciences, modeling, and machine learning analysis.
All other duites assigned.

Travel Required
Occasional travel – You may be expected to travel Domestic 5 % for this position.

For more information and to apply, click HERE.

Computer Scientist (Data Scientist), CDC

These positions will be in a new Data Science team that is being formed in the Data Analytics Branch of the Division of Injury Response in NCIPC. This team members will apply data science methods that include artificial intelligence (e.g., machine learning), data linkage, data visualizations, and predictive analytics to various topics and priority areas of the Injury Center. There are multiple positions available across any of these job series.

Summary
The incumbent serves as a Computer Scientist performing data science work that requires application of quantitative and qualitative research and analytics, statistical analysis, and building high quality prediction systems integrated with public health surveillance systems and programs.

Responsibilities
As a Computer Scientist (Data Scientist), you will:

Design experiments, tests hypotheses, and builds scalable data science models.
Conduct advanced data analysis and designs highly complex algorithms using artificial intelligence (e.g., machine learning) methods.
Lead discovery processes with stakeholders to identify business requirements and expected outcome.
Make strategic recommendations on data collection, integration, storage, access, analysis, and retention requirements.
Collaborate with CIO subject matter experts to select the relevant sources of information, which may include non-traditional datasets.
Work with stakeholders to identify the business requirements and the expected outcome.
Develop usage and access control policies and systems in collaboration with the IT security experts to ensure that the information used follows the compliance, access management.
All other duties assigned.

Travel Required
Occasional travel – You may be expected to travel Domestic 10 % for this position.

For more information and to apply, click HERE.