Job Description

Job Title: Research Associate Centre/Department/School/Faculty: MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis (MRC GIDA), and Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency

Analytics (J-IDEA), Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine Campus location: St Mary’s Campus (Paddington) Job Family/Level: Academic & Research, Research Associate Responsible to: Professor Neil Ferguson Key Working Relationships Research groups and department staff (internal): Contract type: Full time and Fixed term until 30 September 2022

Purpose of the Post

Understanding SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics, impact of NPIs, and vaccination The current COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest threat posed by a respiratory virus since the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic. As countries start to roll out mass vaccination programmes, they must balance the parallel lifting of non-pharmaceutical interventions carefully to prevent another wave of cases, hospitalisations, and deaths. Availability and equitable allocation of vaccines within and between countries will be critical.

Potential areas of work include:

▪ Real-time modelling of the epidemic in the UK and globally ▪ Comparisons of interventions across countries ▪ Quantifying the potential impact of vaccine roll out strategies on the COVID-19 pandemic and implications for release of non-pharmaceutical interventions ▪ Quantifying the impact of new variants of concern on transmissibility, severity, and the epidemic trajectory ▪ Tracking the COVID-19 epidemic globally to provide epidemic trajectories at country level to support WHO and country situational awareness and planning

We are looking for people with experience in:

a) Epidemiological analysis – experience in epidemiological analysis of infectious disease data. b) Data collection - experience with systematic literature reviews, data collection, and extraction. Good overview of the existing COVID-19 literature. c) Model development and parameter inference - experience in mathematical modelling and infectious disease transmission dynamics, Bayesian statistical modelling methods and strong R programming language skills.

The post-holder will work as part of the larger Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team including several Centre PIs (Prof , Prof Azra Ghani, Prof Nick Grassly, Prof Tim Hallett, Prof Steven Riley, Dr Katharina Hauck, Dr Sam Bhatt, Dr Marc Baguelin). The exact details of the project will be determined by the match of the candidate’s skillset to project areas of interest.

The research will be undertaken within the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis and the Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA), both within Imperial College’s School of Public Health and the Faculty of Medicine. The Centre and J-IDEA are directed by Professor Neil Ferguson.

Job Description

The Centre’s mission is to be an international resource and centre of excellence for research on the epidemiological analysis and modelling of novel infectious disease outbreaks. SARS, H5N1 avian influenza and H1N1 ‘swine’ influenza have highlighted the need of the world to improve its readiness for new epidemics. It has built upon a world-leading research group in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at to undertake applied collaborative work with national and international agencies in support of policy planning and response operations against emerging infectious disease threats. The post will benefit from the translational focus of the Centre and the close existing links it has with public health bodies. Further information can be found at https://www.imperial.ac.uk/mrc-global- infectious-disease-analysis

Research Duties

• To take initiatives in the planning of research • To analyse epidemiological data relevant for the research project • To visualize model results and data to generate insight • To take initiatives in the planning of research • To direct the work of small research teams • To identify and develop suitable techniques, for the collection and analysis of data • To conduct data analysis • To always ensure the validity and reliability of data • To maintain accurate and complete records of all findings • To write reports for submission to research sponsors • To present findings to colleagues and at conferences • To submit publications to refereed journals • To provide guidance to staff and students • To attend relevant workshops and conferences as necessary • To develop contacts and research collaborations within the College and the wider community • To promote the reputation of the Group, the Department, and the College • To provide guidance to PhD Students • Contribute to bids for research grants • To conduct and plan own scientific work with appropriate supervision. • To actively participate in the research programme of the Group • To publish in high quality journals and to present data at national and • international meetings. • To participate in Group research meetings and internal seminars. • To collaborate with other allied scientists within Imperial College and elsewhere in London and abroad, as appropriate. • Assist in the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate research students and research assistants as required. • To comply with the College, School, and Centre safety practices and to attend courses on safety when appropriate. • Any other duties as may be deemed reasonable by Head of group as well as Head of School/Department/Centre.

Where Imperial or funder conditions necessitate, you will be required to complete timesheets for your work on projects in a timely manner.

Other Duties

• To undertake any necessary training and/or development • To undertake appropriate administration tasks • To attend relevant meetings Job Description

Person Specification

Requirements Essential (E)/ Candidates/post holders will be expected to demonstrate the following Desirable (D)

• Education • At Research Associate level: PhD or equivalent in one of the following areas: E epidemiology, statistics (including computational statistics and machine learning methods), bioinformatics, mathematics, or a similarly quantitative discipline

At Research Assistant level: Near completion of a PhD (or equivalent) in one of the E following areas: epidemiology, statistics (including computational statistics and machine learning methods), bioinformatics, mathematics, or a similarly quantitative discipline

Experience Data collection and analysis - systematic literature reviews, data collection & extraction E Experience of working with statistical and machine learning methods E Model fitting and inference - experience of statistics or mathematical modelling and E infectious disease transmission dynamics, Bayesian statistical modelling methods and strong R programming skills Practice working with large datasets E Practical experience within a research environment and / or publication in relevant and E refereed journals Research experience in infectious disease epidemiology D

Knowledge Good overview of the existing literature E

An interest in infectious disease epidemiology and control E

Working knowledge of the models relevant to the project D

Skills & Abilities

Proven research skills E

Ability to collate data, interpret and present results to a high standard using a range of E specialised research techniques

Ability to conduct a detailed review of recent literature E

Ability to develop and apply new concepts E

Creative approach to problem-solving E

Excellent verbal communication skills and the ability to deal with a wide range of people E Job Description

Excellent written communication skills and the ability to write clearly and succinctly for E publication

Ability to organise own work with minimal supervision E

Ability to prioritise own work in response to deadlines E

Advanced computer skills, including word-processing, spreadsheets and the Internet E

Ability to direct the work of a small research team and motivate others to produce a high E standard of work

Other

Willingness to work as part of a team and to be open-minded and cooperative E

Flexible attitude towards work E

Discipline and regard for confidentiality and security at all times E

Willingness to undertake any necessary training for the role E

Willingness to travel both within the United Kingdom and abroad to conduct research and E attend conferences

Willingness to work out of normal working hours (including weekends) if the requirements E of the project demand

Please note that job descriptions cannot be exhaustive and the post-holder may be required to undertake other duties, which are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.

Imperial College is committed to equality of opportunity and to eliminating discrimination. All employees are expected to follow the 7 Imperial Expectations detailed below:

1) Champion a positive approach to change and opportunity 2) Encourage inclusive participation and eliminate discrimination 3) Communicate regularly and effectively within and across teams 4) Consider the thoughts and expectations of others 5) Deliver positive outcomes 6) Develop and grow skills and expertise 7) Work in a planned and managed way

Employees are also required to comply with all College policies and regulations paying special attention to: • Confidentiality • Financial Regulations • Private Engagements • Conflict of Interest • Health and Safety and Register of Interests • Data Protection • Information Technology • Equal Opportunities • Smoking

They must also undertake specific training and assume responsibility for safety relevant to specific roles, as set out on the College Website Health and Safety Structure and Responsibilities page.

Job Description

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published. For more information, see https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research- evaluation/

The College believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes where their use is shown to be necessary for developing new treatments and making medical advances. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in the College’s care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level. http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research- integrity/animal-research/

Committed to equality and valuing diversity, we are an Athena SWAN Silver Award winner, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, a Disability Confident Employer and work in partnership with GIRES to promote respect for trans people.

March 2021