INFORMATION for CANDIDATES

School/Department: Biological Sciences / IIIR

Post: Research Fellow in Statistical Epidemiology

Vacancy Ref: 3012822

Closing Date: 30 May 2010

Job description:

Funding body: Wellcome Trust
Hours: Full time
Start date: by 01/10/10
Duration: 2 years
Supervisor: Prof. M.E.J. Woolhouse
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Background: IDEAL (Infectious Diseases of East African Livestock) is a research project which began in October 2006 and will run until October 2012. The field component of the project is based in Kenya and involves co-investigators at the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, and the University of Pretoria, Institute, with close links to the Kenya Department of Veterinary Services.

The project addresses the need for detailed knowledge of the burden infectious diseases impose on livestock, especially in developing countries. Such information is a prerequisite to informed decision making, resource allocation and prioritization of research. However, there is growing evidence that disease impacts cannot be fully understood by reference to single infections in isolation. Instead, a holistic approach is required which considers both direct and indirect interactions between pathogens and the effects of these on the epidemiologies of infectious diseases of cattle and of the disease burdens they impose and, ultimately, of their impacts on human welfare. To date, no field study has adopted such a holistic approach.

This study will provide unique field data on total infectious disease burden in livestock and its relation to animal health and to both genotypic and phenotypic traits. It will also provide a platform for further research on diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, immune responses, pathogenesis, disease resistance and disease transmission. The results will be important for fundamental scientific knowledge (providing unique data on the interactions between different infections and between infections and host traits), and for tropical animal health, and ultimately for human health and welfare in a region where people are directly and critically dependent on their livestock.

The project involves an intensive longitudinal field study of 500 Kenyan cattle from birth to 12 months old, providing data on as many as 80 infections, episodes of clinical disease and their sequelae, genetic polymorphisms, and markers of immune and nutritional status. These data will be used to estimate attributable impacts for all infectious diseases found and also to design decision support criteria for subsequent development as diagnostic aids, and for statistical analysis of associations between different infections and their sequelae and genotype and phenotype. Specimens will be placed in a Biobank and linked to a comprehensive clinical, epidemiological and demographic database, providing a unique resource for future research.

For further details see www.epigroup.biology.ed.ac.uk and the IDEAL project website

Job profile: This post is for a statistician who will lead the analysis of the extensive data sets currently being produced by the IDEAL project. Experience in the analysis of longitudinal and time to event data, familiarity with data reduction methods, competence in data extraction and the production of well documented scripted R code for reproducible and robust analysis are essential. Familiarity with SNP genetic data would also be an advantage. The post holder will design appropriate analyses in close discussion with the PIs and will be expected to communicate and write up the results. The post holder will also provide some support to PhD students working on the IDEAL project. The post holder will be based at the University of Edinburgh and will need to make regular visits to Nairobi and Pretoria.

Person specification: Formal training in applied statistics to a minimum of MSc level is essential with preferably 3 years practical experience of statistical analysis in academia or industry. A PhD involving quantitative research and the application of statistical methods is highly desirable. Must have a good track record of scientific publications and must work well within a team and have good written and oral communication skills.

Salary: The role is grade UE07 and attracts an annual salary of £29,853 - £35,646 for full-time hours. Salary is paid monthly by direct transfer to your Bank or Building Society account, normally on the 28th of each month. Salaries for part-time staff are calculated on the full-time scales, pro-rata to the Standard Working Week.

We anticipate interviews will be held in one/two weeks after the closing date. If you have not been invited for interview by this date, you have not been successful.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The University of Edinburgh

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The College of Science and Engineering

For information about the College of Science and Engineering, please visit http://www.scieng.ed.ac.uk/About/index.asp 

The School of Biological Sciences

The School of Biological Sciences is located at the King's Buildings campus. It includes about 125 academic staff and independently-funded senior research fellows, around 200 research assistants, most of whom are postdoctoral, 150 technicians, 50 administrative and IT staff and approximately 200 postgraduate research students. Research grant expenditure is currently about £20M per year. The School comprises six research-focused Institutes with a strong inter-disciplinary remit: Structural and Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, including the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, Stem Cell Research, Immunology and Infection Research, Evolutionary Biology, and Molecular Plant Science. Research of the highest international standard is conducted over a wide range of pure and applied biological science Postgraduate research students are members of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences, and the School is a partner in the Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD Programme.

The School's teaching programme includes both undergraduate and taught Masters degrees, with some 1600 students enrolled on our degree programmes. Many programmes are taught jointly with other Schools, in particular with Biomedical Sciences and GeoSciences. About 400 students are admitted each year to read biological subjects, across 15 Honours Schools and 4 MSc programmes. The administration of teaching is co-ordinated by the Biology Teaching Organisation. For more information please visit the BTO web-site at http://www.bto.ed.ac.uk/ 

Further information about the School of Biological Sciences and its constituent Institutes is available on the Web at http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk   

UKBA Certificate of Sponsorship:

Should you require a visa to undertake paid employment in the UK you will be required to fulfil the minimum points criteria to be granted a Certificate of Sponsorship and Tier 2 visa. As appropriate, at the time an offer of appointment is made to you, you will be asked to demonstrate that you fulfil the criteria in respect of financial maintenance and competency in English.

Informal inquiries

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Application Procedure:

We encourage all applicants to apply online at www.jobs.ed.ac.uk. The application process is quick and easy to follow, and you will receive email confirmation of safe receipt of your application. The online system allows you to submit a CV.

If you do not have access to a computer, you can call our recruitment line on 0131 650 2511 for an application pack. This will be posted out to you for you to complete and return. Please return the Application form and all enclosures (except the equal opportunities form) to SBS Contracts, School of Biological Sciences, School Office, Darwin Building, The Kings Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JR by the closing date of 30 May 2010. Return the equal opportunities form in the separate prepaid envelope.

To complete the application process both online and in paper format, you need to complete the (i) Application Form (ii) Additional Personal Information Form, (iii) Equality & Diversity Monitoring Form, and (iv) Rehabilitation of Offenders Form and (v) full curriculum vitae and (vi) the names and contact details (including email) of two referees. You should additionally include a letter of application outlining how you meet the person specification and what you would bring to the post. We cannot guarantee to consider late applications.

Please quote reference no: 3012822

Closing date: 30 May 2010

The University reserves the right to vary the candidate information or make no appointment at all. Neither in part, nor in whole does this information form part of any contract between the University and any individual


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