Graduate Students 

I am not currently actively looking for graduate students, as the financial support I have available is spoken for.  The earliest season that I anticipate having a potential opening would be for the Fall of 2025, and that would be only if I feel like I can take on a fourth student and commit enough time to ensure their success.  

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Post-doctoral position in statistical modelling of large-scale disease dynamics

 

The Stephens lab at Oklahoma State University (Stillwater OK) has a post-doctoral position to create statistical models of large scale infectious disease dynamics available.  The position will involve comparing and contrasting the influence of eco-environmental factors (e.g., temperature, rainfall, mammalian host diversity) and socioeconomic factors  (e.g., human population density, poverty, health care infrastructure) on infectious disease outbreak risk and outcomes.  Specific projects include variation in realized case numbers of COVID-19 and other respiratory disease in Oklahoma, and outbreaks of filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg) in sub-Saharan Africa.  

I am looking for individuals with proficiency in R, statistical modelling (especially ensemble machine learning methods like boosted regression trees), and GIS.  The starting salary will be $58,000, which is enough to live quite well here in Stillwater.  You can find the formal job description here. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions.  To apply, please submit a cover letter addressing why you are interested in the position and your qualifications, a CV, one representative publication, and contact info (phone and email) for three references to Patrick Stephens (patrick.stephens@okstate.edu). Please include your name and the name of the position (i.e., “Statistical Modelling of Infectious Disease Dynamics: LASTNAME”) in the e-mail header.

Other opportunities

I will be creating another post doctoral scholar position to explore global patterns of biodiversity in squamates (lizards and snakes).  This position would certainly lend itself to conservation questions if that is your passion.  This position will be for approximately a year, please contact me if you are interested.

Page last updated Feb. 13, 2024