Masters graduate position – Dispersal and disease transmission dynamics in Banded mongooses in Botswana: Virginia Tech.

School: Virginia Tech and CARACAL

Location: Blacksburg, Virginia

Job Category: Graduate Assistantships

Salary: Competitive stipend, tuition waiver

Last Date to Apply: 12/01/2016

 

Description:

     The Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech, in collaboration with the Centre of African Resources; Animals, Communities and Land use (CARACAL) in Botswana would like to recruit a Master’s student to participate in a multidisciplinary project directed at enhancing our understanding of disease transmission in social wildlife species. This project is funded under the National Science Foundations Ecology of Emerging Infectious Disease under the direction of PI, Dr. Kathleen Alexander. Banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) in Botswana are infected with a novel, emerging tuberculosis (TB) pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi that is transmitted in anal gland secretions. This long-term study system will be used to investigate the manner in which infectious disease and Allee Effects interact to influencing disease dynamics and group persistence in group-living species. The successful Master’s candidate will use microsatellite genotyping together with detailed observational data to determine inbreeding, relatedness within and between banded mongoose troops, and estimate troop dispersal and fusion/fission events across a diverse landscape. These outputs will be incorporated into infectious disease transmission models. For more information on our program please visit the following sites:
www.caracal.info
www.facebook/caracalbotswana.com
www.healthbotswana.blogspot.com
http://fishwild.vt.edu/faculty/alexander.htm

 

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications:

     Candidates must have a BS in molecular ecology, biology or a related field. Candidates must have a highly competitive GPA and GRE score. Knowledge of molecular genetics, mammalian biology, and statistics are critical. Strong candidates will also demonstrate excellent writing skills, a strong work ethic, as well as the ability to work with others and independently.

Desired Qualifications: 

    Competitive candidates will have prior experience with ARLEQUIN, FSTAT, STRUCTURE, and BOTTLENECK (or similar programs), and experience analyzing data in the R computing environment.
    To apply for this position please send:

1) A letter of interest.

2) A current curriculum vitae.

3) Contact information for three references

4) An example of written material produced by the candidate 

5) Copies of transcripts and GRE scores as a single *.pdf document to Kathleen Alexander (kathyalx@vt.edu) and Claire Sanderson (clairees@vt.edu). 

    Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled, with an anticipated start date spring of 2017.