Positions for graduate students are available as part of a multi-year project funded through 2025 by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The goal of the project is to better understand drivers of spillover of Ebolavirus and other African filoviruses along ecological boundaries. You can read more about the project here.
We have opportunities for students interested in applying data science and statistical modeling techniques to understand large-scale patterns of disease emergence or disease macroecology. We also have opportunities for students interested in applying mathematical models (e.g., compartmental SIR models) to understand the mechanisms whereby animal viruses spill over into people. Some experience with the R programming language is helpful, and basic knowledge of statistics is essential. Students will be enrolled at UGA in the school or department that their major advisor belongs to and associated with the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases. Full research assistantships are available, as well as individual semesters of support for some projects related to scientific outreach. Faculty members associated with this project are listed below. Please contact potential faculty mentors from the list below directly, and be sure to indicate your research interests. We will recruit up to three students for the Fall of 2021.
Project Faculty Members:
John Drake (Odum School of Ecology), Susana Ferreira (Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics), Nicole Gottdenker (College of Veterinary Medicine), J. P. Schmidt (Odum School of Ecology), Patrick R Stephens (Odum School of Ecology)