The goals of this fellowship are to advance mathematical and statistical models that integrate objective surveillance data and subjective human judgment predictions, perceptions, and behaviors to generate more accurate, calibrated, and communicative forecasts of the trajectory of infectious disease outcomes such as incident hospitalizations due to seasonal influenza. In addition, the candidate will support the day-to-day operations of the lab, mentor students, and produce peer reviewed manuscripts.

Specific research goals for this position are: Build novel mathematical models to combine surveillance data and human judgment data to improve forecasting performance. Evaluate historical performance of forecasting models incorporating human judgment data compared to models informed only by disease surveillance data. Develop systems for collecting human judgement and communicating statistical models to a broad audience.

Qualifications. Candidates for this application should have completed by August 2023 a doctoral degree in applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, computational epidemiology, or a related degree. In addition, the ideal candidate will have advanced knowledge of Python and Python packages for scientific computing, have experience working in a cluster computing environment, and have a working knowledge of the shell/bash. We expect that candidates will meet with Prof. McAndrew in person at regular time intervals (i.e. this position is not remote), with members of the larger Catastrophe Modeling Center at Lehigh University, and remotely with collaborators at public health agencies, such as CDC and CSTE.

Candidates will have the opportunity to attend the annual CSTE/CDC Infectious Disease Forecasting Workshop and present their research to leaders in the field of infectious disease forecasting and public health as it relates to infectious disease. Appointment. The appointment is expected be filled as soon as possible with an anticipated start date of June 01, 2023. This date may be discussed and adjusted as needed. This position is for 1 year with the possibility of renewal pending performance review(s) and the availability of funding. The salary and benefits are competitive, and additional funding is available to the postdoctoral fellow for professional development.

The review of applications will start immediately, and will continue until the position is filled. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible.