The Jornada Experimental Range in Las Cruces, NM will soon be advertising for a highly motivated and creative postdoctoral scientist to join a trans-disciplinary team that is studying how an integration of processes at the interface between ecology, epidemiology, and virology can improve predictions of disease occurrence and spread. The postdoc will contribute to the Grand Challenge project on “Multi-Scale Big Data-Model Integration for Predictive Disease Ecology”. We are using Vesicular Stomatitis (VS), a vector-borne livestock disease spread by an RNA virus that occurs throughout the western US, as a model system for integrating local and landscape-scale processes of disease with multi-scale patterns in diverse environmental datasets in order to explain patterns in disease. The major duties of this position will focus on modeling the relationships among VS hosts, vectors, and their environment, including translating the conceptual model of disease spread into a computational disease ecology model, and executing the model under alternative scenarios to predict future spatio-temporal patterns of disease. Minimum qualifications include experience in numerical modeling of vector-borne diseases, and a track record of scientific publications in disease ecology; Doctoral degree in- hand in Biology, Environmental Science, or a related field with a focus on systems modeling and/or disease ecology. Preferred qualifications include experience with probabilistic modeling, strong statistical background, working knowledge of a systems approach, and handling large geospatial data sets. For more information about this position or to be notified when the position is formally advertised, please contact Dr. Debra Peters (deb.pet...@ars.usda.gov).
