Postdoctoral position in zoonotic disease risk. University of Aberdeen / Institut Pasteur Madagascar

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In developing countries many zoonoses are hugely under-reported, even though they can cause significant disease burdens. Vulnerability to such diseases is influenced by both environmental and socio-economic factors and there is mounting evidence that changes in climate and land-use are associated with increased risk. However, the relative importance of different factors for disease risk is still poorly understood, especially at local scales. We are seeking a postdoctoral research fellow with experience in the analysis of satellite and aerial images to join a Wellcome Trust funded project that will examine environmental and socio-economic drivers of risk from rodent-borne zoonoses in Madagascar.

Rodents are reservoirs of many zoonoses and their commensal nature and widespread distribution facilitates disease transfer between wild animals, livestock and humans. The project will compare rodent-borne zoonoses with contrasting transmission routes, examining factors associated with exposure risk in both rodents and humans.  In rodent populations, the project will investigate how climate and landscape affect infection prevalence, and explore whether observed relationships are mediated by effects on host abundance, diversity or movement. In human populations, the project will investigate the relative importance of environmental and socio-economic factors, and explore the scale at which these factors operate. The diseases to be studied include plague, hantavirus, leptospirosis and murine typhus. The project will analyse archived data and collect new data on rodent and human infections.
The postdoc will use remote sensing data to characterise climate and land-use and investigate how different factors influence infection prevalence in rodents and humans. The position requires expertise in the treatment and analysis of satellite and aerial images, and experience of spatial and advanced statistical analysis of ecological or epidemiological data (with R or other software). The project is a collaboration with the Insitut Pasteur de Madagascar and the successful applicant will be expected to spend significant amounts of time in Madagascar, including some time with field teams. Experience of working in inter-disciplinary teams and the ability to communicate in French are strongly desirable.

The post is for a period of 3 years and will be supervised by Dr Sandra Telfer in the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/ibes/). The appointee will join the Evolution and Ecology group (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/ibes/research/ecology). This research group has a long standing track record of working both in “blue skies” and applied areas, including studies of host parasite interactions, disease spread and the impacts of climate change on species distribution and evolution.

Informal enquiries about this position can be made to Sandra Telfer (s.telfer@abdn.ac.uk). Full details of the post, and the process for online application, can be found at: www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs. Job Reference Number: YBS526R.  Applications should be submitted by the 27th of March.