Position Description

Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Raina Plowright's Laboratory
Public and Ecosystem Health
College of Veterinary Medicine
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY

This position is funded off our NIH P20 grant (Research on Climate, Health and Equity in A Changing Environment (C-CHANGE)) and funding from the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation (Investigating how climate change may increase risk of zoonotic spillover by changing human and wildlife movement, stress, and behavior). This position requires a PhD in ecology, disease ecology, epidemiology, or related fields and the successful applicant must have advanced quantitative and biological skills and an understanding of basic disease dynamics. The work will explore large datasets on bat viruses we have acquired, with collaborators around the world, primarily from Australia, South Africa, and Bangladesh. Current work adds data from the US-Mexico interface. These two grants fund work seeking to understand links between climate change, human behavior, bat behavior, land-use change, policy, and disease spillover risks. PI Plowright and colleagues are deeply engaged with disease research in the context of One Health, policy change, leading international policy groups such as the Lancet Commission on Prevention of Viral Spillover, advising UN agencies, and working closely with on-the-ground with conservation groups.

Postdoc position responsibilities will include:

• Analyzing longitudinally collected virological and serological data on zoonotic bat viruses
• Experience with environmental data and/or movement data would be an asset, but is not required, for:
• linking environmental covariates (e.g., climate, land use, habitat change) with infectious disease dynamics using advanced statistical approaches
• analyzing bat movement data
• Collaborating with a transdisciplinary international team of experts
• Assisting with project coordination and management
• Developing multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts as a lead-author and a co-author

Requirements:

• PhD in ecology, disease ecology, epidemiology, or related fields.
• The candidate must be highly organized, curious, a creative critical thinker, a good communicator, and have strong interdisciplinary skills spanning biology, ecology, One Health, computer science, and disease ecology.

Salary and Benefits: Salary Range: $62,232 -$75,000.  This position is eligible for benefits.

Postdocs from the Plowright lab have gone on to tenure-track positions in academia and research or policy positions in government. If you any questions about the position, please email Emma Spence (es957@cornell.edu) for more details.

To apply: Visit https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31899 and submit a resume with references and their contact information, as well as a paragraph on your unique experiences that would make you suitable for the position (can be formatted as a cover letter). Applications will be reviewed as received, and the position will remain open until filled.

Offers higher than the published salary range might be considered to meet unique circumstances, qualifications, academic discipline, and experience.