PhD candidate in Molecular Epidemiology - Utrecht University｜Meet.jobs

Job description
Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen in veterinary medicine, responsible for a number of diseases in several animal species. In ruminants, S. aureus is an important cause of mastitis, leading to significantly decreased welfare and farm profitability. This pathogen has a wide arsenal of tools to evade the hosts immune system. In this project, we will study to what extent these immune-evasion strategies affect the pathogen’s ability to transmit within ruminant herds. The job will be based at the department of Farm Animal Health (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine), in close collaboration with researchers the department of Infectious diseases & Immunology (FVM) and the Medical Microbiology group at the University Medical Center Utrecht.
The candidate will perform research at the interface between molecular biology and epidemiology. The project comprises ex vivo/in vitro cellular assays as well as field studies to characterize S. aureus field strains using molecular typing tools/genome sequencing and to estimate associations between transmission rates and strain characteristics.

Qualifications
We are seeking a PhD candidate with a strong drive to understand the biology behind disease transmission. The candidate has in depth knowledge of, and research experience in either molecular biology or epidemiology, and is willing to develop expertise in the lesser developed area. The candidate has a master’s degree in biology, biomedical sciences, epidemiology, (veterinary) medicine or similar. We are looking for someone with good interpersonal skills, who likes to be part of a multidisciplinary team, but also can solve problems independently and creatively.

Offer
Appointment is for a period of one year (full time) with the perspective of extension with another three years and should lead to a dissertation. The gross monthly salary coming with a fulltime appointment will amount to € 2.125,- in the first year to € 2.717,- in the fourth year (P-scale of the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities). Secondary benefits, based on the CAO of Netherlands Universities, are excellent in general and include e.g. a pension scheme, flexible employment conditions, and salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a yearend bonus of 8,3%.

About the organisation
Utrecht University has great ambitions for its teaching quality and study success rates and has a clear research profile which is centered around four themes: Dynamics of Youth, Institutions, Life Sciences and Sustainability. Utrecht University aims to be directly relevant to our society and contributes to finding answers to current and future societal issues.
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University (FVM) is the only Veterinary School in the Netherlands and belongs to the international top in research, education and veterinary medical patient care. The FVM is one of the few European veterinary schools accredited by the American and Canadian Veterinary Medical Associations and the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education. The faculty employs approximately 1.000 veterinarians, scientists and support staff and counts 1.500 students.

Additional information
Additional information about this vacancy can be obtained from Dr. Gerrit Koop (g.koop@uu.nl) /+31 (0) 30 253 1119).
Interviews are scheduled for September 4, 2015.
Please do NOT send your application to this email address.