Research Assistant/Research Fellow in Infectious Disease Modelling

at  University College London

ABOUT US

The UCL Institute for Global Health (IGH) is at the heart of UCL’s Grand Challenge of Global Health. The Institute’s vision is for a world where international policy on global health is informed by world-class research. IGH aims to support the development of robust solutions to aspects of the world’s major global health challenges through scholarly outputs, education, public engagement, translational research, and ultimately by influencing public policy and professional practice.
We are seeking a highly motivated researcher with experience in the development of mathematical models of infectious disease transmission and a strong interest in working across disciplines and in partnership with affected communities to develop these models.
The successful candidate will join COMMET (CO-producing Mathematical Models of Epidemics Together, funded by UKRI), bringing transmission modelling expertise to a new interdisciplinary project aiming to develop methods, guidance and tools to integrate public voices into epidemic modelling. We will work via case study projects to develop co-production approaches, initially via exploring responses to mpox in the UK, which has primarily affected gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men since 2022 and about which key questions concerning future patterns and response needs persist. We will reach out to our project partners at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the JUNIPER Partnership of UK infectious disease modellers to explore application of methods across different populations and infections.
COMMET is one of several new projects in interdisciplinary approaches to epidemic response in the department. The postholder will join and benefit from a growing group of modellers, epidemiologists, social scientists, clinicians, and co-production experts working in this area.

ABOUT THE ROLE

In this post you will bring expertise in infectious disease modelling to work with other disciplines and people of lived experience to co-produce transmission models of mpox and other infections in the UK, exploring research questions generated in partnership between researchers, affected community members and other stakeholders. You will reflect on the approaches, methods and tools that you and the project develop to support this process and work with the team to disseminate learnings about both the research questions you address and the co-production process and tools to support it.
This post involves the application and interrogation of key mathematical epidemiology skills: transmission model development and implementation, application to jointly defined research questions, model calibration and analysis and could involve working with different types of model (e.g. compartmental or network/individual-based). Key aspects include: working in collaboration with a diverse team; iterative testing and development of tools to support the co-production process; and regular reflection and assessment.
You will have excellent opportunities for career development, and capacity development is a core value of the project. This includes support to develop your own research ideas, contribute to related projects and teaching, and develop your cross-sectoral network in epidemiological and interdisciplinary responses to epidemics and co-production.
This is a part-time role (i.e. 0.8 FTE, 29.2 hours per week) and it is available from January 2025 for 24 months in the first instance.
A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
Appointment will be made at Grade 6B unless the applicant has been awarded a PhD or has equivalent substantial working experience in infectious disease modelling or mathematical modelling when appointment will be made at Grade 7.
Salary range:
Grade 6B: £38,357 to £41,005 per annum (including London Allowance), depending on experience.
Grade 7: £43,142 to £51,610 per annum (including London Allowance), depending on experience.
If you have any queries about the role, please contact Dr Liz Fearon on e.fearon@ucl.ac.uk.
If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact the IGH HR Team on IGH.HR@ucl.ac.uk.

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-Site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insuranc