The Quantitative Fisheries Center and Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory at Michigan State University seek a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to participate in a study of vaccination as a method for protecting Lake Michigan fishes against the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus. The hired Post-Doc will take a lead role in developing an agent-based model to evaluate the feasibility/costs in eliciting a herd immune response in a Great Lakes fish population via vaccination. Lake Michigan will serve as the basis of the modeled system. Fish communities will consist of several species for which assessment models have been constructed for estimating abundance, mortality, diet, and recruitment levels. Explored scenarios will consist of different numbers of releases, different numbers of released species, and timing of releases. Analyses will incorporate different levels of interactions between wild and hatchery-propagated sub-populations, differential survival rates of wild and hatchery-propagated individuals, and different levels of interactions with conspecifics and heterospecifics to assess the sensitivity of model results to factors for which little empirical data exists to guide model structure. Performance of different immunization strategies will be evaluated based on disease persistence and anticipated cost of the immunization program.
Expected start date July 1, 2014

Salary: $46,000 per year plus benefits

Qualification: PhD in biology, ecology, epidemiology, or related discipline. A strong record of research productivity in quantitative methods. Experience in programming/developing agent-based models using software such as NetLogo, Repast, SWARM, or R required. Experience in developing spatially-explicit models highly desired.

Application instructions: Interested individuals should prepare (1) letter of interest, (2) CV, (3) description of relevant experience, expertise, and professional goals, (4) names and contact information for three references, and (5) copies of university transcripts. Application deadline: April 1, 2014 but review of applications will begin immediately. Application materials will need to be submitted at www.jobs.msu.edu (Posting #8477). Questions regarding this posting should be directed to Dr. Travis Brenden (brenden@msu.edu). Michigan State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Minority and women candidates are encouraged to apply. Persons with disabilities have the right to request and receive reasonable accommodations.