07.09.2015Postdoc: Cause of Nodding Syndrome & Epilepsy in Onchocerciasis endemic Countries

Essential criteria:

• Excellent knowledge of epidemiology, experience with statistical data analysis, and experience in using statistical software (SAS, STATA, or R)

• Experience with participating in or leading a research project in in developing countries (preferably in Africa) is an important asset;

• Excellent organizational skills and able/willing to work in remote places in Africa

• Strong interest in scientific work; flexible, autonomous, excellent communication and interpersonal skills; strong sense of initiative and responsibility.

• Good communicative skills, collaborative and multidisciplinary interest

• Good publication record and experience with grant writing

• Excellent knowledge of English, both oral and written;

• Good knowledge of French, both oral and written;

Function

• Coordinating a trans-disciplinary research project to identify the cause of nodding syndrome and epilepsy in onchocerciasis endemic regions

• Collaborating closely with clinicians, parasitologists, eco-entomologists, biologists, anthropologists and bioinformaticians

• Visiting research sites in Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon and assisting in coordinating local research activities.

• Supervising PhD students working in the project

• Develop data collection systems, databases, perform data management and data analysis

• Report on project progress and results;

• Assist in writing scientific publications on project results.

• Assist in attracting external research funding from the private and public sector in the domain of basic and applied research on national as well as international level

We offer

• An initial 12 months fixed-term contract for a full-time position (post-doc level), extendable with a minimum of two additional years after positive evaluation. The position can be taken up immediately, but timing can be agreed upon; salary according to university standard remuneration rates, depending on academic qualifications and former professional experience;

• A dynamic and interdisciplinary international research environment;

• A stimulating international collaborative network, with opportunities for frequent study visits abroad

Application

• Application deadline: September 30th, 2015

• To apply, please send your curriculum vitae and a summary of your motivation and relevant experience to Prof Robert (Bob) Colebunders, robert.colebunders@uantwerpen.be