The trade of livestock animals is an important factor to consider when studying the spatial spread of infectious diseases. However, information on the trade in livestock in the Netherlands is typically not included in publications due to privacy concerns. In this 1-year project, we are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to statistically recreate the trade network of five livestock species in the Netherlands. The project involves statistically describing the spatial structure of the actual livestock trade network (e.g., which regions trade with which, how many connections each node has) and reconstructing these networks at an aggregated level to preserve the privacy of individual farms.

To validate these synthetic networks, the postdoc will use the ErrazeSim framework, developed by the Infectious Disease Epidemiology (IDE) group at Wageningen University, and simulate disease outbreaks across these networks. These outbreaks are used to validate whether the synthetic networks represent the actual trade networks in the domain of infectious disease transmission.

You will be part of a larger team of scientists at Wageningen University, RIVM, de University of Twente, and KNMI working on a recently started IMBIT ZonMW project. The outbreaks and networks you generate will be used to train a Bayesian model to quickly trace the source of new disease outbreaks, as well as evaluate different public health interventions in simulation models.

Your duties and responsibilities therefore include

• Find the best way within graph theory to describe the Dutch livestock trade networks (they appear to be a combination of different graph types).
• Recreate synthetic versions of these networks and evaluate their properties for disease spread against the actual trade networks, and publish your findings.

Integrate your work with the IMBIT ZonMW project through the ErrazeSim framework (https://git.wur.nl/errazesim/wiki/-/wikis/home).

We are looking for a candidate who is enthusiastic about the above work, can independently solve problems, and is skilled at leveraging the group's and others' expertise on Dutch livestock systems when exploring solutions.

In addition, you possess:

• an affinity for statistics and network analysis, demonstrated by your work experience or PhD discipline.
• proficiency in R or another suitable programming language for network analysis. For generating the outbreaks in ErrazeSim, you will have to use R.
• an interest in learning about livestock trade networks and infectious disease modeling.
• strong project management skills to ensure timely delivery of preliminary synthetic networks and simulated outbreaks for use by other teams.

In our international working environment there is an increasing amount of communication in English. For this position it is about language level B2 .

You can see that there are plenty of challenges ahead of you. These challenges can also be seen as development opportunities. So if you do not yet have the track-record required in the vacancy, but do have solid work experience, we would also like to invite you to apply.

You will work here
You will work at Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Animal Sciences group of Wageningen University, under supervision of senior researchers that are part of the larger project. The group consists of seniors, master and PhD students who are interested and will benefit from your work on recreating these livestock trade network. At IDE you have an excellent opportunity to either extend your knowledge of infectious disease dynamics or when coming from another field, begin your exploration into this field.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between €3.345,- and €5.278,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10). Additionally, a contract for 0.8 FTE can be discussed. We offer you a one-year contract. Of course, we would be happy to discuss this with you if you have any questions.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

Wageningen University & Research

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.