Position Scope
The Institute for Pandemic Insights in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis is seeking a post-doctoral researcher interested in ecological and environmental drivers of virus emergence, transmission and circulation. Primary responsibilities include outbreak investigations, laboratory testing and analysis of results, spatial and temporal epidemiology, and phylogenetics to better understand infectious disease dynamics with a focus on avian influenza transmission in coastal marine mammal and bird populations. This is a 2-year post-doctoral researcher position beginning Fall of 2026, with potential for extension. The position is based at UC Davis with opportunities for collaboration and mentorship across the many disciplines engaged at the IPI’s National Science Foundation Center for Pandemic Insights (NSF-CPI).
Project Overview
The IPI develops innovative scientific and technological advances to detect, characterize, and strengthen our understanding of the relationship between disease dynamics, ecosystem change, and the risk of disease emergence and spillover. This work is achieved through transdisciplinary research that integrates a wide array of population and ecosystem parameters related to virus-host interactions in the pre-emergence phase of pandemics. This position will engage in research activities spanning multiple disciplines including epidemiology, ecology, virology, evolutionary biology, and engineering, with an emphasis on developing applied transdisciplinary skills needed for pandemic-related research.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
65% SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
- Conduct research on the ecological mechanisms that govern virus-host-environment dynamics, with a focus on influenza viruses.
- Receive, process, and test field samples collected from animals in a BSL-2 laboratory to support rapid insights into test results.
- Coordinate with field teams to collect data on host ecology, community interactions, and environmental drivers at key high-risk animal-human interfaces.
- Design lab and field studies to investigate and evaluate detection and data collection capabilities of new technologies.
- Analyze data on emerging zoonotic diseases, high-risk human-animal contact, and ecological risk.
- Collaborate with engineering and computer science trainees to advance biologically cognizant machine learning methods that use data generated by NSF-CPI.
- Conduct independent research and produce high quality scientific manuscripts.
35% PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
- Provide infectious disease expertise, technical support, data analyses, and data-sharing tools for zoonotic disease emergence and technology development projects.
- Collaborate and coordinate with team members and partner institutions to provide discipline-specific expertise, integrate research efforts, and sustain consistent progress on project deliverables.
- Collaborate with research staff (in the US and internationally) on study design, data collection, data management, data analysis and interpretation, and publication preparation.
- Develop summaries of research data for presentations and reporting, assist in the development of data collection and data management tools; and ensure open communication and coordination with domestic and international partners in project implementation.
- Contribute to Center meetings, workshops, and conferences.
- Participate in training and research exchanges at collaborating institutions to integrate their research with other disciplines.
- Participate, collaborate, and lead preparation of transdisciplinary products and publications.
- Travel to domestic sites to work with field and laboratory staff, participate in activities, and attend scientific meetings as needed.
- Facilitate undergraduate and trainee mentorship and training opportunities, develop training products, and lead cross-disciplinary near-peer mentoring of graduate students across disciplines and institutions.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum Education/Experience
- PhD in virology, biology, ecology, epidemiology, or related life-science.
- Early career researchers with fewer than 3 years of post-doctoral training.
Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong quantitative skills in biostatistics and epidemiology.
- Experience performing and troubleshooting laboratory assays, including qPCR, in BSL-2 laboratories.
- Experience with statistical software commonly utilized in research environments, such as R, Python, and/or STATA.
- Demonstrated independent publication record in applied infectious disease research.
- Demonstrated written and oral communication and interpersonal skills to work effectively and diplomatically with diverse individuals and disciplines.
PREFERED QUALIFICATIONS
Preferred Education/Experience
- Experience working with cross-disciplinary research projects or on multidisciplinary teams.
- Proficient in working with large-scale environmental and ecological datasets (e.g., remote sensing data, species distribution models).
Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including experience verifying accuracy and completeness of large data sets and developing creative data visualization.
- Time management and organizational skills to successfully prioritize and complete workload and activities that have immediate and long-term deadlines.
Compensation & Benefits
Compensation: Salary will be commensurate with experience based on established UC Postdoctoral Scholar salary scales.
Benefits: https://grad.ucdavis.edu/postdoctoral-scholar-benefits
To Apply
Apply through Handshake (Job ID 11083491) or email a cover letter and CV by June 23, 2026 to:
Dr. Christine K. Johnson and Nicole Gardner
Institute for Pandemic Insights
School of Veterinary Medicine
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616
[email protected]
[email protected]