Postdoctoral for project on behaving & modeling

9 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM)

Research Field

Physics
Medical sciences
Technology

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

Netherlands

Application Deadline

31 Mar 2024 - 21:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Not Applicable

Hours Per Week

36.0

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The project

The position is part of the project BEHAVING, which is a collaboration of behavioural scientists, infectious disease modellers and epidemiologists from the different RIVM departments, with two PhD candidates and the advertised postdoctoral researcher. In the project we want to combine behaviour with respect to contacts and risk and infectious disease models. By developing new questionnaires, and using questionnaire data from other studies at RIVM, we want to relate this behaviour to psychosocial determinants of behaviour, such as personal characteristics and external circumstances. We then build this relation into mathematical models for infectious disease transmission, so that we can model what would happen if circumstances change.

As a postdoctoral researcher you will focus on building individual-based transmission models for sexually transmitted infections (STI) and measles. For the STI model you will use behavioural survey data to inform individual-based population models where individuals differ in sexual risk behaviour and/or in psychosocial determinants of behaviour, and use the model to study the effect of interventions on the transmission of STI among the general population. For the measles model you will use data on vaccine uptake and psychosocial determinants. You will build an individual-based model where individuals are part of a network of schools and households, and use the model to extrapolate trends in vaccine uptake and the potential effects of interventions in the general Dutch population. You will use the models for both infections to study how inclusion of determinants of behaviour impacts the transmission dynamics in the models, and to draw conclusions about the use of behavioural theory in infectious disease models for policy advice.

The function

As a postdoctoral researcher in this project, you will

• use data and results from the chlamydia questionnaires to build individual-based models for the transmission of chlamydia and gonnorhea.
• use data and results from questionnaires about measles-mumps-rubella vaccine uptake to inform an individual-based network model of schools and households for the transmission of measles.
• analyse both sets of models to study how the use of behavioural data affects transmission dynamics in the models, and analyse the chlamydia model to study the effects of interventions.
• work in a multidisciplinary project, with behavioural scientists, epidemiologists, statisticians and mathematical modellers.
• publish your results in peer-reviewed journals, and present them at international conferences.

Unique to this position

Being a postdoctoral researcher at RIVM offers a unique opportunity to work with top scientists from many different disciplines, and to do scientific research with impact on society. As a postdoctoral researcher you have the opportunity to focus on your own project, yet broaden your horizon and develop new skills by collaborating with the PhD students within the project, contributing to other projects in the modelling department, and by attending conferences and following courses.

Requirements
Specific Requirements

What we ask

We are looking for someone with:

• a recently completed PhD in computational modelling or a related field, preferably in the area of population biology or infectious disease epidemiology.
• a proven strong interest in infectious diseases, behavioural science, and multidisciplinary research.
• experience in statistics and handling large datasets, and with advanced programming skills, preferably in R.
• communication skills, needed to work in a multidisciplinary project, with behavioural scientists, infectious disease epidemiologists, statisticians and mathematicians.
• enthusiasm about working in public health and infectious diseases, with relevance to society.
• excellent communication skills in English, both in speaking and writing.

Additional Information
Benefits

Arbeidsvoorwaarden

• Salarisniveau: schaal 10
• Maandsalaris: Min €3.091 – Max. €4.921 (bruto)
• Dienstverband: Arbeidsovereenkomst voor bepaalde tijd
• Contractduur: Voor de duur van 36 maanden
• Minimaal aantal uren per week: 32
• Maximaal aantal uren per week: 36

Overige arbeidsvoorwaarden

Naast het salaris ontvang je een Individueel Keuzebudget (IKB). Het IKB bestaat uit geld (16,37% van je bruto jaarsalaris) en tijd. Met het IKB maak jij de keuzes die bij jou passen en kun je een deel van je arbeidsvoorwaarden zelf samenstellen. Je kunt er bijvoorbeeld voor kiezen om een deel van je maandinkomen te laten uitbetalen wanneer jij dat wenst. Ook kun je dit budget omzetten in verlof en andersom of besteden aan fiscaal vriendelijke doelen. De Rijksoverheid hecht sterk aan persoonlijke groei en loopbaanontwikkeling en biedt daarvoor tal van mogelijkheden. Tot de secundaire arbeidsvoorwaarden behoren onder meer verschillende studiefaciliteiten, bedrijfsfitness, volledige vergoeding van je OV-reiskosten woon-werkverkeer en gedeeltelijk betaald ouderschapsverlof.

Selection process

Bijzonderheden

Please address your (digital) motivation letter to Eric Janssen.

The initial interviews will take place on Tuesday, April 9 and Wednesday, April 10. The second interviews will take place on Tuesday, April 16 and Thursday, April 18.

Solliciteren?

RIVM nodigt je uit op hun site te solliciteren. Via onderstaande knop verlaat je deze site ga je direct naar het sollicitatieformulier. Het Rijk hecht waarde aan een diverse en inclusieve organisatie. Werken in divers samengestelde teams maakt ons effectiever, innovatiever en het werk leuker. Eenieder wordt daarom uitgenodigd te solliciteren.

Additional comments

Bijzonderheden

Please address your (digital) motivation letter to Eric Janssen.

The initial interviews will take place on Tuesday, April 9 and Wednesday, April 10. The second interviews will take place on Tuesday, April 16 and Thursday, April 18.

Solliciteren?

RIVM nodigt je uit op hun site te solliciteren. Via onderstaande knop verlaat je deze site ga je direct naar het sollicitatieformulier. Het Rijk hecht waarde aan een diverse en inclusieve organisatie. Werken in divers samengestelde teams maakt ons effectiever, innovatiever en het werk leuker. Eenieder wordt daarom uitgenodigd te solliciteren.

Website for additional job details

https://www.academictransfer.com/338799/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM)

Country

Netherlands

City

Bilthoven

Postal Code

3721 MA

Street

Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.academictransfer.com/en/338799/postdoctoral-for-project-on-behaving…

Contact

City

Bilthoven

Website

https://www.rivm.nl/

Street

Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9

Postal Code

3721 MA

STATUS: EXPIRED