USGS Postdoctoral Fellowship: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Wild Bird Ecology, Modeling, and Decision Analysis

About the role

The USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center seeks a postdoctoral fellow to gain experience with a suite of wildlife disease research projects, focusing on the role of wild waterfowl in the spread and persistence of avian influenza viruses. The fellowship will integrate disease ecology, mathematics, statistics, and decision analysis to address wildlife disease management questions.

Responsibilities

• Design and perform analyses to understand the role of wild waterfowl in the spread and persistence of avian influenza viruses.
• Collaborate with lab members to guide selection of analytical methods across a range of studies.
• Evaluate the potential impacts of disease mitigation strategies, such as carcass removal, across species and disease systems.
• Develop multi-species sampling designs and assess factors such as population immunity on disease spread.
• Participate in field research activities related to wildlife disease studies, as opportunities arise.
• Contribute to experimental design and analytical method selection for other wildlife disease systems, including Chronic Wasting Disease.

Requirements

The successful candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in relevant fields such as Ecology, Wildlife Biology, Natural Resources, GIS, Statistics, or a related field. The degree must have been received within the past five years, or anticipated to be received by 7/1/2026.

• Highly motivated and able to act independently.
• A strong track record of producing published research.
• Experience with both frequentist and Bayesian methods.
• Demonstrated proficiency with a wide breadth of analytical methods for ecological analyses.
• Experience or interest in decision analysis approaches.
• Knowledge of R, with experience in GIS platforms, Spatial Disease Modeling, or Movement Ecology being beneficial.

Qualifications

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 7/1/2026
• Discipline(s): Relevant fields such as Ecology, Wildlife Biology, Natural Resources, GIS, Statistics, or a related field

Skills

• Decision analysis approaches
• R programming
• GIS platforms
• Spatial Disease Modeling
• Movement Ecology

Benefits

Not specified.

Pay

$65,000.00 annually

Schedule

Full-time