Postdoctoral  Fellowship  in  the  group  of  Marc  Lipsitch   Data  analysis  and  modeling  of  vaccine  modes  of  action  using  two  model  vaccines  of  trout   A  postdoctoral  fellow  is  sought  for  a  position  working  with  Marc  Lipsitch,  Center  for  Communicable   Disease  Dynamics  (CCDD),  Harvard  T.H.  Chan  School  of  Public  Health,  who  is  co-­‐investigator  on  an  NIH-­‐ funded  project  on  the  Impact  of  Host  Vaccination  and  Genetic  Resistance  on  Pathogen  Transmission.   This  project  seeks  to  develop  transmission  models  of  two  diseases  of  rainbow  trout,  Bacterial  Cold   Water  Disease  (BCWD,  Flavobacterium  psychrophilum)  and  Infectious  Hematopoietic  Necrosis  Virus   (IHNV)  disease,  built  upon  experimental  data  on  the  impact  of  vaccination  or  selective  breeding  for   resistance  on  the  dose-­‐response  curve  for  infections  with  these  pathogens.  Led  by  PI  Andrew  Wargo  of   Virginia  Institute  of  Marine  Science  (VIMS),  this  project  will  involve  large-­‐scale  challenge  experiments  of   vaccinated  or  selectively  bred  fish  with  these  pathogens,  with  the  goal  of  testing  models  of  vaccine   action,  including  the  effect  on  the  dose-­‐response  curve  (where  response  may  be  infection,  shedding  or   mortality)  and  the  “leaky  vs.  all-­‐or-­‐nothing”  distinction,  and  then  using  transmission  models  predict  the   effects  of  vaccination  in  aquaculture  and  natural  environments.  The  project  is  an  unusual  effort  to  unify   the  fields  of  microbial  risk  assessment  with  transmission-­‐dynamic  modeling,  using  experimental   approaches,  statistical  analysis  and  mechanistic  modeling.  Experiments  will  be  done  at  VIMS,  and  the   postdoc  will  have  primary  responsibility  for  the  statistics  and  modeling.   Applicants  should  have  a  PhD  and  some  publications  in  statistics,  biostatistics,  infectious  disease   epidemiology,  evolutionary  biology,  ecology  or  similar  quantitative  biological  field.  And  should  be   proficient  at  programming  in  R,  Python,  Matlab  or  similar.  Knowledge  of  immunology  or  aquaculture  is   beneficial  but  not  required.  Enthusiasm  for  collaborative  work  is  essential.  The  post  will  be  at  CCDD  (at   the  Harvard  Chan  School  in  Boston,  MA,  USA),  which  offers  opportunities  for  interaction  and   collaboration  with  a  wide  range  of  colleagues  working  on  diverse  topics  in  quantitative  infectious   diseases.    The  postdoc  will  likely  travel  to  visit  the  other  quantitative  co-­‐investigator,  Gabriela  Gomes,  at   the  Liverpool  School  of  Tropical  Medicine  (UK)  for  several  periods  during  the  grant.  The  post  is  for  two   years  in  the  first  instance,  with  the  possibility  of  extension.     To  apply,  please  send  a  letter,  a  CV  and  names  of  references  to  Marc  Lipsitch   [email protected].        

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