Job no: 509311
Work type: Post Doc (Amherst Only)
Location: UMass Amherst
Department: Environmental Conservation
Union: Post Doc
Categories: Postdoctoral Research Associate, College of Natural Sciences

About UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

Job Summary

Management decisions for emerging infectious diseases, endangered species, and invasive species depend on the true state of the system and must be made quickly to maximize opportunities for control. However, molecular detection methods, like any diagnostic test used in the detection of pathogens, may occasionally yield false negatives (i.e., when a sample appears negative but is truly positive) as well as ‘ambiguous,’ ‘uncertain,’ or ‘equivocal’ results (i.e., an inability to confidently classify a sample as negative or positive). Therefore, we are seeking to recruit a postdoctoral researcher that will develop quantitative tools to improve pathogen surveillance in the white nose syndrome (WNS) system. Specifically, we are looking for a postdoc to extend a novel statistical model that accounts for both imperfect and ambiguous pathogen detections and to apply this model to already collected WNS field data for parameter estimation. This is a one-year postdoctoral position with the possible extension to a second-year dependent on performance and funding.

This work is a collaboration among the USGS Amphibian Research Monitoring Initiative, USGS National Wildlife Health Center, the University of Vermont, and the Massachusetts Cooperative Research Unit. The postdoctoral researcher will explore optimal sampling designs for determining pathogen absence or eradication and will use simulations to explore the model’s accuracy, precision, bias, and coverage. This model will use both negative and uncertain detections to make inference about a site’s disease state, and the postdoc will extend this model to include temporally and spatially varying covariates that can improve estimation of model parameters. The model will be incorporated into a surveillance model to improve inference on the distribution of WNS and its causative agent, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). PIs on this project work in several other disease systems, and while this project is focused on the WNS system, we will help to ensure that this model can be used to improve the detection and management of emerging pathogens and invasive species more broadly.

Essential Functions

Examples of duties:

Other Functions

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

Work Schedule

• Monday – Friday 8:30am – 5:00pm.

Salary Information

Salary will commensurate with experience.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Submit a letter of application, resume and contact information for three professional references. Apply by August 1, 2021 in order to ensure priority consideration. Search may remain open until a suitable candidate pool has been identified.

As part of a commitment to their own multicultural community, CNS seeks an individual with a demonstrated commitment to diversity and one who will understand and embrace university initiatives and aspirations. (https://www.cns.umass.edu/diversity-equity-inclusion)

UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, or genetic information in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University. To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. It is the policy of the UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.

Advertised: Jul 22 2021 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: