Research assistant position, Oxford, UK.

["Daniel Falush" <falush@stats.ox.ac.uk>]

This position is open to all nationalities, thus providing a route for both
EU and non-EU citizens to obtain a doctorate in the UK.

Research Assistant, analysis of spatial patterns of genetic variation in
pathogenic bacteria

Academic-Related Research Staff Grade 1B. Salary in Range £18,265- £20,311
(UK sterling).

Applications are invited for a three year position, funded by the Wellcome
Trust. It is anticipated that the appointee will register for a doctoral
degree with the University of Oxford.  This position provides an opportunity
for someone with a degree in a mathematical or biological subject to perform
research in a rapidly developing area of genetics.

Pathogenic bacteria remain a potent threat to human health, killing millions
worldwide each year. Extensive DNA sequence datasets are now becoming
available for a wide range of pathogens, allowing us to more accurately
reconstruct the history of each species and its interaction with the human
host, and to characterise the dynamics of transmission. The appointee will
develop novel mathematical and statistical methods for analyzing patterns of
spatial variation, which, depending on the species in question, reflect
evolutionary processes taking place on timescales of weeks, years or even
millennia. As well as addressing challenging methodological issues, an
important goal of the research is to develop practical methods of data
analysis, with the goal of informing public health interventions.

The Peter Medawar Building (www.medawar.ox.ac.uk) houses multidisciplinary
teams of scientists involved in the collection, analysis and interpretation
of sequence data from pathogens, as well as a world leading mathematical
genetics and bioinformatics group. The wider Oxford environment also
includes experts on viral evolution, epidemiology, tropical medicine and
spatial statistics, amongst other disciplines.

Candidates should have, or be expecting to soon receive, a good bachelors
degree in a mathematically or biologically related subject. Knowledge in
some of the following specific subject areas would be an advantage, but are
not essential for candidates committed to moving into the field: (1)
population genetics (2) programming in C or C++ (3) modern
computationally-intensive statistical methods (4) bacterial sequence typing.

Further particulars are available from http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk. Potential
applicants are encouraged to contact Daniel Falush (falush@stats.ox.ac.uk).
Applications, comprising a Curriculum Vitae and the names of at least two
academic referees should be submitted to Mrs Sue Wood, Department of
Statistics, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG or emailed to
wood@stats.ox.ac.uk (acceptable provided a hard copy follows by post) before
February 6th 2004. Please quote AM-04-001 on all correspondence.