Applications are currently being solicited for a post-doctoral research associate in the area of mathematical modeling of infectious disease epidemiology at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. The lab’s epidemiological research focuses on the modeling of population robustness to disease threats, biosecurity and biosurveillance, economic epidemiology, and the impact of individual behavior and decision making on population-level disease outcomes. Additional related research interests in the lab include the evolution of sociality and social complexity, self-organizational strategies, efficiency of bio-inspired distributed decision making, and population persistence. Questions explored are both theoretical and applied, and an ideal candidate would be interested in both.

Requirements:
• A Ph.D. in a pertinent field. Such fields could include, but are not limited to applied math, computer science, epidemiology, ecology, or evolutionary biology.
• Research experience in applied mathematical modeling and infectious diseases
• An interest in disease and epidemics
• The ability to write clearly and scientifically (e.g. to produce drafts of papers for publication in scientific journals without too much oversight)
• Ability to work/communicate with a multidisciplinary team
• Ideally, a candidate would have some mathematical programming abilities (Maple or Matlab are preferred, though any similar programming environment would be fine), but this is not necessary
• Willingness to help with the preparation of grant proposals would be a plus


An ideal candidate could come from theoretical biology, epidemiology, or public health, but could also come from a program in applied mathematics, computer science, operations research, bio-engineering, or nearly any other technical field. The lab runs jointly between The Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science and the department for Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, so there exists the possibility to play with the job title for those wishing to work in biology for a while, but then possibly return to math or computer science.

This position could be appropriate not only to new Ph.Ds, but also to more advanced researchers looking to switch fields, or re-enter academia from government or industry.

This is a full-time, one year position with benefits, renewable for an additional year if things work out well. (International applications are welcome, but please be advised that the position is unable to offer H1b visas and can only provide a J1.) Ideal start date: February 2010, however this is negotiable. For further questions, or to apply by sending CV and statement of interest, send email to Nina H. Fefferman at <feffermn ( at ) dimacs.rutgers.edu>. Please ONLY apply for this position if you have had some experience in the mathematical modeling of infectious diseases. Applications will be reviewed as they arrive. Please understand if it takes a long while to hear back – previous job postings from this lab have resulted in hundreds of applications and it just takes a long time to sort through all of them, especially after the position has been filled.

To apply: Send CV and statement of interest by email to Nina H. Fefferman at <feffermn ( at ) dimacs.rutgers.edu>. Please ONLY apply for this position if you have had some experience in the mathematical modeling of infectious diseases.