PhD-Track GRA: Wildlife Disease Ecology & ML

Georgia 4-H; Athens (GA); On-site; USD 20,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

The Sundaram Laboratory in the Department of Infectious Diseases within the Precision One Health Initiative at the University of Georgia is seeking a motivated PhD student to investigate the ecology of wildlife reservoirs, coronavirus dynamics, and the mechanisms driving zoonotic spillover into human populations. Funding: 5 years of full support including stipend, tuition waiver, and health insurance benefits.

Location: Athens, GA.

Qualifications

• Develop and curate global databases on wildlife reservoirs and coronavirus disease outbreaks.
• Process and integrate environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic GIS data layers.
• Apply spatial statistics and machine learning to identify drivers of pathogen persistence and spillover risk.
• Build predictive models linking wildlife host dynamics with coronavirus outbreak patterns.
• Prepare high-impact manuscripts for publication in scientific journals.

Responsibilities

• Develop and curate global databases on wildlife reservoirs and coronavirus disease outbreaks.
• Process and integrate environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic GIS data layers.
• Apply spatial statistics and machine learning to identify drivers of pathogen persistence and spillover risk.
• Build predictive models linking wildlife host dynamics with coronavirus outbreak patterns.
• Prepare high-impact manuscripts for publication in scientific journals.

Skills

GIS

Spatial statistics

Machine learning

Macroecology

Big-data management

Job description

The Sundaram Laboratory in the Department of Infectious Diseases within the Precision One Health Initiative at the University of Georgia is seeking a motivated PhD student to investigate the ecology of wildlife reservoirs, coronavirus dynamics, and the mechanisms driving zoonotic spillover into human populations. Funding: 5 years of full support including stipend, tuition waiver, and health insurance benefits.

Location: Athens, GA.