Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is seeking a Postdoctoral Scientist for a one-year term beginning in October 2023 to work on two different projects related to understanding the changing risk of epizootic shell disease in American lobster in the Gulf of Maine.
First, they will be conducting an experiment examining the effects of temperature on establishment, progression and mortality associated with ESD in lobster from a range of locations. Secondly, they will develop an individual-based mathematical model of epizootic shell disease in adult lobster in response to changing seawater temperatures and shifting molting phenologies. Both projects will be led by the postdoc, but will involve working on a team consisting of the lead PI (Maya Groner, Bigelow), a second postdoc doing a hindcast analysis of ESD in lobster (Reyn Yoshioka, Bigelow), an oceanographer (Nick Record, Bigelow), and resource managers from the Maine Department of Marine Resources (Kathleen Reardon and Heather Glon), and the state of Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (Tracy Pugh) Towards the end of the position, the postdoc will travel around the state of Maine to present findings to lobstermen at zone council meetings.
The position is posted for one year with the possibility of extension. Salary range for this position is $52,650–60,450. Some supervision of research undergraduates and/or technicians assisting with lab experiments may be required.
Requirements
- Ph.D. in disease ecology, veterinary sciences or similar
- Experience using and integrating diverse data using R or similar
- Experience or strong interest in developing mathematical models of disease (e.g., SIR models)
- Experience working with and maintaining marine invertebrates
- Ability to design and execute experiments in a seawater lab
- Track record demonstrating a commitment to publishing research finding
- Strong written and oral communication skills with significant motivation to publish in the peer-reviewed literature
- Strong interest in team-based interdisciplinary science, with the willingness and ability to work independently when required
