Research Assistant Professor - Spatial Epidemiologist

Texas A&M University - Kingsville, TX

Full-time - Entry Level

Hybrid - Kingsville, TX

Educational Services

About the position

We are seeking a highly motivated Research Assistant Professor to join the wildlife disease program at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute and Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The wildlife disease program works primarily on understanding disease presence, prevalence, and transmission dynamics in wildlife that inhabit south Texas and rangeland systems, but also engages in national and international research. This position will focus on developing a model for assessing the spatiotemporal trends in chronic wasting disease (CWD) spread across a range of management regimes. The chosen candidate will be part of a larger collaborative team comprised of academic and state organizations, including Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and Pennsylvania Game Commission. The candidate will have the intellectual freedom to explore additional research topics of interest. Additional opportunities may include the ability to mentor graduate and undergraduate students and to contribute to ongoing wildlife disease work in South Texas. Location: Texas A&M University - Kingsville, Kingsville, Texas. This university is located in the Tamaulipan Biotic Province of southern Texas, about 40 miles from the Corpus Christi metropolitan area and the Gulf of Mexico. Remote employment may be considered. Duration: This is a one-year position with potential to extend dependent upon performance (two-year maximum). Will consider remote option for exceptional candidate who is unable to relocate.

Responsibilities

• Develop a model for assessing the spatiotemporal trends in chronic wasting disease (CWD) spread across various management regimes.
• Engage in research to understand disease presence, prevalence, and transmission dynamics in wildlife.
• Collaborate with academic and state organizations on wildlife disease research.
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students in wildlife disease topics.
• Contribute to ongoing wildlife disease work in South Texas.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in wildlife science, ecology, statistics, or related field by the anticipated start date.
• Strong quantitative skills.
• Strong R coding skills.
• Experience in geospatial analysis (R, ArcGIS, QGIS).
• Demonstrated record of research productivity.
• Demonstrated potential to attract extramural funding.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with students, professionals, lay audiences, and other scientists.

Nice-to-haves

• Strong coding skills in R, python, C++, or other programming languages.
• Demonstrated ability to develop epidemiological models.
• Experience with modeling in a Bayesian framework.
• Previous research experience with large scale datasets.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with private landowners and state, federal, and private natural resource organizations.

Benefits

• Intellectual freedom to explore additional research topics of interest.
• Opportunity to mentor students.
• Potential for remote work for exceptional candidates.