Veterinary Ph.D Position in Zoonoses Research in Africa and Germany

Position Description
We invite applications for a Ph.D position in the junior research group ‘Emerging Zoonoses’ hosted at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Berlin, the central German federal institution responsible for disease control and prevention. The applicant will be part of an interdisciplinary project that integrates expertise from different human and veterinary medical disciplines for diagnostics, virology, epidemiology and disease modeling, and from ethnological disciplines for the assessment of human behavior leading to disease emergence. Specifically, the applicant will investigate potential pathogen transmission routes between humans and non-human hosts and identify pathogens present in different animal species that are in close contact to humans.
Field work will be conducted over the course of several months in a rural area within Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. The Ph.D candidate will work alongside a physician of the host country, and will survey and collect samples from possible non-human pathogen sources like livestock and bush meat. Laboratory work and subsequent analysis will be conducted at the RKI in Berlin, but also at the Ivorian partner institutions in Abidjan. This project provides interdisciplinary training and research opportunities for a veterinary surgeon who wishes to work towards a Ph.D (or similar).
Qualifications/Experience We invite applications from all countries. Applicants hold a degree in veterinary sciences and must have some experience in laboratory diagnostics and sample collection from domestic animals (e.g. blood, swabs). Work experience in the tropics is advantageous but not mandatory. It is not necessary to hold the degree at the point of application. However, you must have been awarded your degree prior to the start of the program in February/March.
Candidates should have the ability to live and work under remote conditions during field work, physical fitness, strong social skills, a high degree of self-motivation and responsibility, and show respect to local customs. Candidates have to be fluent in written and spoken English and must have good communication skills in French.
Salary/funding The Ph.D. student is supported by a 50% E13 position for 3 years (approx. 1000€/month after deductions).
Term of Appointment up to 3 years starting February/March 2011
Application Deadline
posted until position is taken
Comments Berlin is a highly livable city in the center of Europe (www.berlin.de).