ILRI Research Fellowship – call for applications: Veterinary Public Health/ Microbiology

Project: Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa: Ecosystems, livestock/wildlife, health and wellbeing
Location: Kenya (Nairobi)
Duration: Until December 2014, starting October 2014

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI, www.ilri.org) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. Part of the CGIAR Consortium (www.cgiar.org).

The position: The MSc student will implement a project to determine the main reservoirs of West Nile virus in Tana River district, Kenya. Key activities will include field surveys to collect samples, development and optimization of diagnostic tools required for serological/molecular screening of the samples and statistical analysis of the data collected. The student is expected to use this assignment to produce a thesis, project report or a paper that can satisfy an academic requirement for an MSc degree.

Key responsibilities:

• Review relevant and recent literature on West Nile virus, with special focus on East Africa and Kenya
• Work with his/her ILRI and university supervisors to develop a protocol for West Nile virus detection in birds
• Contribute in devising survey methods adapted to the local field context in order to collect data
• Travel to the field to test the survey instruments, take part in ringing of birds, collect data samples
• Analyze the samples using PCR and serology
• Conduct statistical analysis using quantitative analysis tools (Stata or R)
• Write up research results in a format suitable for publication as an MSc Thesis or university field report, and possibly a case study article or a scientific journal article.

Requirements:

• Be a current student at MSc (or equivalent degree level) in veterinary sciences, public health, microbiology or biology;
• Should have completed course work requirements of an MSc programme in one of the above fields;
• Demonstrated knowledge of using statistical tools and software for research, alternatively, genuine interest to learn about using statistical packages a plus;
• Demonstrated skill of using PCR;
• A team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Ability to interact effectively in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Terms of appointment and stipend:

The successful candidate will be supervised jointly by a scientist at ILRI and a university supervisor at the college where the student is registered. While at ILRI, he/she will interact with other ILRI scientists and research technicians to further develop his/her research career. The student is expected to cater for their own accommodation and ILRI will provide an allowance of US$ 500/month to support personal expenses. Additionally, ILRI will meet the costs of research related travel, as well as insurance.

Please apply to this Veterinary Public Health/ Microbiology (MSc student) position online:http://ilri.simplicant.com/

Closing date: 30 September 2014 or until a suitable candidate is selected

To find out more about ILRI, visit our websites at http://www.ilri.org

To find out more about working at ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org/ilricrowd/

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer. Suitably qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.