SMIDDY Newsletter (17.04.2013)

Topics:

1. Assistant/Associate Professor position in Computational Life Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
2. Epiwork international Workshop “Digital Epidemiology”, 30-31 May 2013, Turin, Italy
3. Statistician post at Public Health England (formerly Health Protection Agency) working on chlamydia, London, UK
4. Systems Biology Approach to Infectious Processes Conference (SBIP 2013), 13-15 May 2013, Lyon, France
5. Postdoc in Math. & Comp. Infectious Disease Dynamics, University of Michigan, USA
6. Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Theoretical Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA
7. Announcement of EpiNet Advanced School, 30 September – 3 October 2012, Girona, Spain

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1. Assistant/Associate Professor position in Computational Life Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

The Theoretical Biology & Bioinformatics (TBB) group at Utrecht University is searching for a computational life scientist with a track record reflecting exciting fundamental biological research, which should involve modeling and/or bioinformatics. You will be functioning at the PI level, develop your own research line and supervise your own PhD students. Your background could be biology provided you have a solid expertise in modeling or bioinformatics, or mathematics or physics provided you have genuine biological research line.

Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained at the website “http://theory.bio.uu.nl/positions.html”, and by email from: Prof. dr. Rob J. de Boer (R.J.DeBoer@uu.nl). As part of the selection procedure successful candidates are expected to give an outline of his/her research plans in a written report and an oral presentation. To apply, please find the position in the very near future at the aforementioned website and attach a letter of motivation
and curriculum vitae. The application deadline is May 1st, 2013 but we will continue the procedure until the position is fulfilled.

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2. Epiwork international Workshop “Digital Epidemiology”, 30-31 May 2013, Turin, Italy

Web-based systems, on-line information streams and mobile devices have revolutionized the way we monitor large-scale communities on the quest for real time public health signals, citizens engagement and support to public health interventions at individual and population levels.

This workshop aims to explore how this revolution impacts all these aspects. The availability of real time Big Data from social networks, blogs, games, participatory web platforms provide a constant stream of situation-aware information which, in joint action with cutting edge Computer Science and ICT, allow for prompt data harvesting and analyses and response to public health threats. Existing systems illustrating the potential of analysis of online data include HealthMap, participatory systems for flu surveillance in three different continents (namely Influenzanet, Flu Near You and Flutracking), Medysis, Crowdbreaks, ProMed, biodiaspora, Google Flu Trends.

Moreover, social media and social networks have reshaped the routes on which risk communication and public information about health threats spread among the population.

The goal of this workshop is to bring together public health professionals working in public health and epidemic intelligence services in WHO, ECDC, CDC and researchers in on line data mining, crowdsourcing and Social Media user engagement to raise awareness on the critical global applications of public health, user participation and risk communication.

The topics include:
– Web-based participatory systems for public health
– epidemic intelligence and early warning systems from social media data mining
– crowdsourced data collection, user engagement
– situational awareness for public health
– data analysis of disease prevalence
– visual analytics and exploratory data analysis of social media for public health
– developed of integrated platforms harvesting and analysing real time data for early warning and rapid response
– information diffusion models for public health
– Disease Surveillance, detection and reporting

Visit the following website for more information: http://www.isi.it/workshop_digital_epidemiology

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3. Statistician post at Public Health England (formerly Health Protection Agency) working on chlamydia

Statistician post at Public Health England
(job reference J84-HPS-11608091; application deadline 22 April 2013)
Salary range £37,175-£39,196 pa

We have a 1-year post available, working on a project to develop a user-friendly modelling tool for chlamydia, based at Public Health England in north-west London, in the HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections Department and Modelling and Economics Unit.

The project is funded by the Technology Strategy Board and is led by Public Health England (PHE), with a strong group of inter-disciplinary collaborators (including Johns Hopkins University, University of Oxford, St George’s University of London, University College London, and industrial partners).

This project will improve our understanding of fundamental chlamydia epidemiology as well as developing an important tool. The post-holder will gain valuable experience working closely with epidemiologists, statisticians, modellers and health economists at PHE and experts in collaborating institutions to analyse the extensive data-sets that PHE holds (National Chlamydia Screening Programme; Genito-Urinary Medicine Clinic Activity Dataset; and Chlamydia Testing Activity Dataset) and help develop the model at the heart of the decision-makers’ tool. Other data that will inform the work come from the recently-completed MSTIC (Maximising STI Control) study, and new data collected from clinic patients as part of this study.

The post-holder will lead on the statistical and epidemiological analysis required for this project. He/She will analyse chlamydia epidemiology at the local level to ensure that the model can represent the patterns observed, and will undertake statistical analyses of data from multiple sources and investigate the effect of a wide range of parameter values on model outcomes to ensure the model outcomes are robust. The post-holder will also be required to coordinate empirical data collection.

Further details are attached, and there is more information on the NHS jobs website (www.jobs.nhs.uk – search using the job reference J84-HPS-11608091). Further information is also available from Dr Peter White (peter.white@phe.gov.uk) or Dr Tony Nardone (anthony.nardone@phe.gov.uk).

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4. Systems Biology Approach to Infectious Processes Conference (SBIP 2013), 13-15 May 2013, Lyon, France

We are happy to invite you to participate in the Systems Biology Approach to Infectious Processes Conference (SBIP 2013) that will be held in Lyon, France, from May 13th to May 15th 2013.

The conference aims at bringing together leading specialists addressing different facets of infectious processes from a systems and modeling perspective. This includes microbial ‘omic’ approaches in relation to infection, analysis of immune response, evolution of pathogens and epidemiology. On each of these broad topics, the conference will bring together experimentalists and modelers attempting to characterize system-wide properties of infectious processes that might be put at use for disease control.

In addition to keynote lectures by invited speakers (see below), the conference program will leave ample space for contributed talks and posters for which proposals are welcome. Please use the website (http://sbip2013.sciencesconf.org/) to submit a one-page abstract by March 15, 2013.

Registration is free but mandatory. If you submit an abstract, don’t forget to register as well. To register and to submit an abstract, you will have to create a sciencesconf.org account by filling the on-line registration and submission forms.

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5. Postdoc in Math. & Comp. Infectious Disease Dynamics, University of Michigan, USA

*POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES*
Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Mathematics and Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

Applications are invited for two postdoctoral research fellowships in the immunity, epidemiology and evolution of pertussis (whooping cough). These posts are part of a long-term NIH-funded project supervised by Pej Rohani and Aaron King. Successful applicants will develop mathematical and computational transmission models and confront them with longitudinal incidence data using cutting-edge statistical inference techniques. The ideal candidate has a PhD in statistics, applied mathematics, applied physics, other highly quantitative field and previous experience in the analysis of epidemiological or ecological systems.

Initial appointments will be for one year, with possible renewal depending on progress. The salary will be in the range of $37,000-42,000 per year (depending on experience), plus fringe benefits. Starting date is negotiable.

The University of Michigan is a vibrant scientific community and the successful applicants will be afforded many opportunities for professional development. Ann Arbor offers a rich cultural and intellectual life in a very livable small city setting.

For further information, contact Pej Rohani (e-mail: rohani@umich.edu) and Aaron King (kingaa@umich.edu). Applicants should send a cover letter, a detailed CV, a brief statement of research interests, and the names of three references. The cover letter should discuss possible starting dates.

Review of applications will start immediately and will continue until the posts have been filled.

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6. Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Theoretical Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA

A postdoctoral position is available in our group in the Department of Systems and Computational Biology.

We work on a variety of questions relating to the dynamics of T cell development, maintenance and responses to pathogens. Some of our current interests are (i) understanding how developing T cells process information during selection in the thymus, (ii) quantifying turnover of hematopoietic cell lineages, (iii) understanding how recent thymic emigrants and mature naive T cells integrate homeostatic stimuli, and (iv) spatial modeling of the very earliest stages of HIV infection in humanised mouse models. Your work will be theoretical and/or data-driven, using deterministic or stochastic models, analytical or computational, where appropriate. You will likely have the opportunity to work with data from dedicated experiments that we design in collaboration with experimental Immunologists.

Applicants must have a PhD degree in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science or equivalent. Previous experience of immunological modeling and/or a basic background in immunology will be a strong advantage.

The post is available immediately, initially for 1 year, with possible extension to 3 years.

Contact Andrew Yates (andrew.yates@einstein.yu.edu) for further details. Group webpage: www.einstein.yu.edu/labs/andrew-yates

Yeshiva University is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity

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7. Announcement of EpiNet Advanced School, 30 September – 3 October 2012, Girona, Spain

We are pleased to announce the school “EpiNet Advanced School: Modelling epidemics on networks”.

The goal of the school is to introduce concepts, modelling approaches, and tools that allow students and young researches to deal with current research problems. Topics covered in the courses are:
– Stochastic modelling of epidemic on networks
– Epidemics on populations with different levels of mixing
– Modelling human responses in epidemic dynamics
– Deterministic approaches for epidemic modelling

Confirmed lecturers (in alphabetical order):
– Tom Britton (University of Stockholm)
– Istvan Z Kiss (University of Sussex)
– Lorenzo Pellis (University of Warwick)
– Caterina Scoglio (Kansas State University)

There will be room for short presentations by participants who wish to present their current research.

Registration is already open. Early registration fee (until 31 May): 150 Euros

For further information, please visit the school’s website: https://sites.google.com/site/epinetschool2013/home


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