Postdoctoral Fellow

About the role

Site: The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc.

Mass General Brigham relies on a wide range of professionals, including doctors, nurses, business people, tech experts, researchers, and systems analysts to advance our mission. As a not-for-profit, we support patient care, research, teaching, and community service, striving to provide exceptional care. We believe that high-performing teams drive groundbreaking medical discoveries and invite all applicants to join us and experience what it means to be part of Mass General Brigham.

Job Summary

Apply by Email Only - Application Instructions Below

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow to join the Wohl Lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School. The position will focus on developing and evaluating sampling strategies for pathogen genomic surveillance, and on collaborating with international stakeholders to analyze pathogen genomic data.

The Wohl lab uses genomic techniques to understand the evolution and spread of disease-causing human pathogens, conducting research at the intersection of infectious disease epidemiology, theoretical methods, and public health. We aim to harness the full potential of sequencing data to understand and combat human pathogens through empirical study and methodological innovation.

This involves working towards a more complete understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms of both viral and bacterial disease-causing pathogens, and also includes developing better ways to account for sampling biases in phylogenetic and other analytical results.

We are also passionate about ensuring that sequencing capacity and study design expertise are in the hands of local public health experts who are best positioned to take actionable steps towards responding to pathogen threats.

The selected postdoctoral candidate will also work closely with the Grad Lab at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

This candidate will work closely with collaborators in the Grad Lab to develop, simulate, and evaluate genomic sampling and analysis strategies. Specific tasks may include:

• Developing a simulation framework for pathogen transmission and applying this framework to evaluate the epidemiological information gained under different genomic sampling scenarios
• Engaging with international stakeholders to identify priority public health pathogens and evaluate plausible genomic surveillance strategies
• Leveraging AI tools to build pathogen genomic datasets from publicly available data and metadata
• Guiding the development of accessible tools for genomic surveillance program design
• Performing and/or supporting pathogen genomic analyses conducted in public health settings

Requirements

• We are seeking a highly motivated applicant with a Ph.D. in infectious disease epidemiology, computational biology, applied statistics or mathematics, or similar. Pending doctoral degrees will also be considered.
• Ideally, the selected candidate will have experience in transmission dynamics modeling of infectious diseases, pathogen genomics, bioinformatics, and/or applied statistics.

Skills/Abilities/Competencies Required

• Strong programming skills in scripting languages such as Python and/or analysis tools such as R
• Experience with next-generation sequencing data or phylogenetic analysis AND/OR experience applying statistical methods to study design, population dynamics modeling, or population genetics
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of multi-disciplinary teams and international collaborations

Pay and benefits

The salary range for this position is $71,750 to $79,199 annually (commensurate with years of experience).

Additional Job Details (if applicable)

Important – Application Instructions

Please do not apply through the Workday “Apply” button.

This position is being posted for informational purposes only. To be considered, please submit the following directly to the hiring manager by clicking the link below:

• CV/resume
• Cover letter
• Contact information for three references

📧 [Click Here to Email Your Application]

Please note: Applications submitted through Workday will not be forwarded to the hiring manager and may not be reviewed.

• Remote Type
• Onsite
• Work Location
• 4-6 Blackfan Circle