Call for Postdocs: Digital Epidemiology (Deadline: January 25th)

Call for Postdocs: Digital Epidemiology (Deadline: January 25th)

 

Job Description:

The ISI Foundation (https://isi.it) is looking to fill a postdoctoral position in the area of Digital Epidemiology, focusing on the surveillance of disease and the communication around it. The work contributes to the ongoing efforts in disease tracking using alternative sources of information, including participatory surveillance, social media, and other digital traces, as well as the tracking of potential medical misinformation. The appointed researcher will work with existing international-scale participatory surveillance system and participate in the design and deployment of diverse activities, ranging from epidemiological studies to social media analytics tools, contributing to interdisciplinary work at the crossroads of epidemiology, data science, network science, and computational social science, under the supervision of Dr. Daniela Paolotti, Dr. Michele Tizzoni, and Dr. Yelena Mejova.

 

The appointed researcher will engage in the design, implementation, deployment, and analytics of health-related data collection systems, including: (1) participatory/community-based surveillance systems relying on mobile technologies to enhance routine disease monitoring, emerging disease preparedness and behavioural change detection; (2) exploitation of digital traces as proxy for human mobility to enhance disease modeling capabilities; and (3) monitoring traditional and social media, in order to model the propagation of medical misinformation, and estimation of its impact on the reached audience. The aim of this project, is to generate an ecosystem of novel and cost-efficient digital surveillance infrastructures in countries on a global scale for the effective surveillance, monitoring and control of circulating diseases, as well as capturing the accompanying propagation of medical misinformation and incorporating its impact into disease modeling. As such, the researcher will get extensive hands-on experience in health-related data collection, data management, big data analytics as well as design and implementation of epidemiological studies.

 

We welcome applicants with strong backgrounds in digital epidemiology, statistical physics, computer science, or computational social science. The candidate should be comfortable with data manipulation, statistical analytics, network science, mathematical modeling, working with a diverse array of data sources, and should have some epidemiological background.

 

The researcher is expected to produce high quality scientific and technical outputs including journal articles, conference papers and presentations and technical reports.

 

Required skills:

Ph.D in Computer Science, Physics, or related computing/quantitative field.

Experience in digital epidemiology, surveillance systems, social media analytics.

Have good programming skills in at least one of the following languages: Python or R, as well as proficiency with libraries for data manipulation and analysis, e.g. Pandas and scikit-learn.

Fluency in English both spoken and written.

Highly collaborative spirit and personal initiative.

And obviously excellent personal skills.

 

ISI offers:

We provide an unusually rich opportunity for collegial interaction in a highly competitive environment, with a range of collaborators from algorithmic data analytics, network neuroscience, mathematics and complex systems science. We provide a competitive salary according to the qualifications and medical and pension benefits according to the Italian State.

The researcher will be appointed for one year with the possibility to extend for a second year, based on satisfactory performance.

 

To apply:

To apply, please send your cover letter, curriculum vitae and professional reference list to Dr. Yelena Mejova (yelena.mejova@isi.it). Application deadline is January 25th 2019, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

ISI is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or disability.

 

Position details

Length: 12 months, full-time, with potential to be extended for a second year.

Location: ISI Foundation, Turin, Italy

Starting date: as soon as possible

 

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Evaluation begins immediately.