An 18-month post-doc position is available at the Institut Pasteur, UMR 8197 CNRS-ENS and Department of Biology (ENS), Paris, France under the supervision of Dr. Richard Paul and Pr. Bernard Cazelles. Candidates are invited to work on “Phylodynamic models for Understanding Dengue Dynamics in Rural Cambodia”.
Today, Dengue fever represents a major challenge in public health and poses a particular threat in South-East Asia. This study is part of two projects, DENFREE a European project (http://www.denfree.eu/) and PANIC an ANR project. The mutual objective of these projects is to improve our knowledge of the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of Dengue, in South East Asia, in order to design innovative public health measures. These projects are strongly interdisciplinary and involve the collaboration of epidemiologists, biologists, computer scientists, statisticians and mathematicians.
As part of this research, the successful candidate will have to develop cutting-edge models that would be used with empirical data on disease incidence, viral genetic and antigenic variation. These mathematical and/or computational models of dengue propagation will be supported by epidemiological and antigenic data from DENFREE and PANIC consortia, in close co-operation with the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia. In particular, the successful candidate will have to account for heterogeneous and highly interdependent data through a Bayesian framework. This approach is sufficiently flexible to design phylodynamic models that account for non-linear disease dynamics, molecular selection and population structure. This modeling will also benefit from the use of the SSM platform (https://github.com/StateSpaceModels/ssm).
The successful applicant will have trained in quantitative biology or a related field (PhD or equivalent degree required), with expertise in one or more of the following areas; computer science, mathematics, and/or computational biology. Previous experience in biological modeling is expected. A strong aptitude for inter-disciplinary research is required.
The appointment is for eighteen months with a start date between December 2016 and March 2017.
Applications should include a letter of motivation and a CV listing publications and the addresses of at least two referees. Applications and enquiries to: richard.paul-at-pasteur.fr and cazelles-at-biologie.ens.fr
contacts : richard.paul@pasteur.fr bernard.cazelles@upmc.fr