Context And Mission
The Global Health Resilience (GHR) group led by ICREA Research Professor Rachel Lowe at the BSC-CNS is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral scientist to conduct cutting‑edge methodological research on tracking past, present and future health risks posed by climate change, environmental degradation, human movement and other global change processes.
The mission of the GHR group is to apply a transdisciplinary approach to co‑designing policy‑relevant methodological solutions, to enhance surveillance, preparedness and response to climate‑sensitive disease outbreaks and health outcomes. The group conducts cutting‑edge methodological research on disentangling the impacts of global environmental change on infectious disease risk and co‑developing impact‑based forecasting models at sub‑seasonal to decadal timescales in collaboration with public health, disaster risk management, and humanitarian agencies. The GHR group works closely with the Earth System Services (ESS) group, whose mission is to research the impact of weather, atmospheric chemistry and climate upon socio‑economic sectors, including renewable energy, agriculture, water management, forest fires, urban development and health and demonstrate the ongoing value of earth system services to society and the economy.
The selected candidate will co‑develop innovative modelling approaches using statistical, machine learning and mathematical modelling approaches, informed by a combination of open‑source and decision‑maker provided data. These innovative modelling frameworks will feed into decision‑support tools GHR tools and EpiOutlook) at multiple spatial scales and different forecasting horizons for a diverse set of users. The candidate will interact with international partners of projects funded by the Wellcome Trust and Horizon Europe, covering topics including designing mathematical models, early warning and response systems and health impact attribution studies. The candidates will benefit from interdisciplinary training opportunities tailored to their experience and interests. The research will be positioned within the context of WMO’s Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), whose aim is to provide actionable climate information to key sectors of society. This position presents an opportunity to work alongside a wide range of leading international climate and health scientists delivering cutting‑edge climate services for the health sector to inform policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and worldwide.
Successful candidates will benefit from expert training and BSC‑CNS staff benefits: international multidisciplinary scientific environment and advanced applied research training. We encourage applications from highly motivated candidates with demonstrated experience in impact modelling for public health and an interest in applied research in the context of climate and environmental change.
Key Duties
* Co-create decision support systems to enhance public health resilience to climate change
* Harmonise multi‑source, multi‑scale climate, land‑type, demographic, socio‑economic, human movement and health datasets
* Formulate statistical, machine learning and mathematical models to understand the impact of environmental change and socio‑economic factors on infectious disease risk and health outcomes
* Develop indicators to track the impact of climate change on infectious disease risks and health outcomes
* Disseminate research outputs in peer‑reviewed scientific papers and international conferences
* Interact with scientists in the group, department, centre and other institutions in Barcelona to enhance synergies
* Apply for competitive grants and projects
* Engage with local communities, stakeholders and policy makers
* Develop training materials and deliver training workshops to researchers, data managers and stakeholders
* Coordinate core activities of the global health resilience group
* Support administrative duties of the group, including arranging meetings, taking minutes, writing deliverable and mission reports, maintaining Wiki / webpages, etc.
* Co‑supervise Masters students
* Contribute to policy reports and policy briefs
Requirements
Education
* BSc and MSc in Epidemiology, Biology, Ecology, Meteorology, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics (or equivalent)
Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
* PhD in infectious disease epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, statistical, ecological or environmental modelling or related field
* Experience in data management and statistical analyses
* Proficiency in scientific programming in a suitable language R, Python) and experience with git
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, demonstrated in scientific publications and well documented repositories
* Ability to work in a collaborative professional environment within a transdisciplinary and international team
Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
* Fluency in English is essential. Proficiency in Spanish and other languages would be advantageous
* Experience with data from the field
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