Graduate Student Opportunity (PhD level):
Interdisciplinary PhD on the Implementation of a Wildlife Health Program in a One Health Framework
Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (MA Coop Unit)
University of Massachusetts, Organismic & Evolutionary Biology Department, Amherst, MA
Review of applications will begin 23 Oct 2023
Position start date Summer 2024
Position description
The Massachusetts Div. of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) is in the process of developing a robust wildlife health program as part of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Zoonotic Disease Initiative. MassWildlife Health will utilize a network of diagnostic and pathology labs to expand disease surveillance, implement communication strategies to address disparities in impact of zoonotic diseases, and prepare for emerging diseases through the development of strategies for detection.
Over the last few years, MassWildlife has partnered with other state and federal agencies on an ad hoc basis to test for SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife, respond to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in domestic/wild flocks and coastal seals, monitor for Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in white-tailed deer, and address rabies concerns with increasing human-wildlife conflict. These emerging issues are in addition to already existing wildlife disease issues of White-nose Syndrome in bats, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV), Eastern Equine Encephalitis (Triple E), West Nile Virus among avian flocks, maintaining prevention from invasion of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and regional surveillance for P. tenuis (brain worm) in moose.
In collaboration with MassWildlife, we are seeking applications for a PhD level graduate student position at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst that will conduct research that will aid in the implementation of MassWildlife Health and more broadly, wildlife epidemiology and zoonotic disease transmission prevention. We highly encourage people from historically underrepresented groups or non-traditional backgrounds to apply especially those with fluency in multiple languages (e.g., Spanish or Portuguese). The successful candidate will enroll in the PhD program in the Organismic & Evolutionary Biology Department (https://gpls.cns.umass.edu/oeb) and be part of the MA Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (https://www1.usgs.gov/coopunits/unit/Massachusetts).
Project objectives
Potential objectives, which are subject to modification based on the successful applicant’s interests, include:
Salary/Benefits The graduate student will be provided:
1. Research assistantship funding and teaching assistantship funding for at 5 years through the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, which includes graduate student stipend (~$32,000 per year for 20 hrs/week), health benefits, and tuition waiver. More information about benefits is available through the UMass Graduate Employee Organization (https://www.geouaw.org/).
2. Professional development experiences relevant to federal and state jobs but transferable to other conservation agencies.
3. Be a valued member of an integrated team that is part of a regional effort
4. Mentoring, encouragement, and autonomy to ensure that they see and understand how they and their perspectives are vital to achieving the goals of the project.
Qualities of preferred applicants The following will be considered positive factors in choosing a successful candidate. We do not expect applicants to have all of these qualities and is not meant to discourage applicants.
Training & products
The graduate student will be provided training and support to learn and accomplish the following:
Eligibility
- Minimum of a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) for undergraduate students
- Have graduated from undergrad by May 2024 to start graduate school in Summer or Fall 2024
Application
Priority will be given to applications received before or by: 1 pm EST on Oct 23, 2023
To apply, please send the following materials in a single PDF with the following document name “YOUR LAST NAME-OneHealth app- 2023.pdf” in an email with the subject “OneHealth application” to Dr. Graziella DiRenzo at [email protected] AND Martin Feehan [email protected]:
(a) A cover letter or personal statement that describes your interest in the position, past research experiences, interest in conducting fieldwork, desire to pursue graduate work, and any discrepancies in your academic record [1 – 2 pages in length]
(b) A curriculum vitae or resume;
(c) The contact information (name, position, relationship to applicant, email, and phone number) for three references;
(d) Unofficial transcripts
This is optional supplemental materials to include in your application, and if you feel that your cover letter/personal statement addresses these questions directly, you should still include the optional supplemental materials and just copy and paste your responses below each prompt:
(ii) Tell us about your perseverance and maturity completing graduate-level coursework, independent study, and research definitely requires perseverance in handling deadlines, challenges, and even failures along the way. Briefly describe a challenging time (one where you did not fully succeed in achieving a goal or completing a task) and describe how you responded to that and what you learned from that experience. Then, briefly describe an experience where you struggled through a challenging time but eventually succeeded. What helped you get through that struggle and the stress associated with it?
(iii) Tell us about how you work in teams. As a graduate student, your research will often involve working as a team with your advisor and other collaborators. Think about a past experience being a part of a team (academic or extra-curricular), and please answer the following questions: What was the purpose or goal of your team? What role(s) did you play on the team (leader, synthesizer, heavy-lifter, etc.) that contributed to its success? What did you learn about successful teamwork and/or team culture through the experience?
(iv) Tell us about your independence, curiosity and problem-solving skills. Conducting research as a graduate student requires curiosity in developing a question or hypothesis and independence along with creative problem-solving in conducting self-directed research. Please describe a time when you took initiative on something, either academic or outside of academics, that highlights some of these qualities.
Project investigators
Dr. Graziella DiRenzo ([email protected]), U.S. Geological Survey, MA Coop Unit
Martin Feehan - Deer & Moose Biologist/Wildlife Health Specialist, MassWildlife
Nondiscriminatory AA/EEO statement The University of Massachusetts provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, genetic information, pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition, or membership in any other legally protected class. The University of Massachusetts complies with all applicable federal, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the university operates.
Position start date Summer 2024
Position description
The Massachusetts Div. of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) is in the process of developing a robust wildlife health program as part of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Zoonotic Disease Initiative. MassWildlife Health will utilize a network of diagnostic and pathology labs to expand disease surveillance, implement communication strategies to address disparities in impact of zoonotic diseases, and prepare for emerging diseases through the development of strategies for detection.
Over the last few years, MassWildlife has partnered with other state and federal agencies on an ad hoc basis to test for SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife, respond to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in domestic/wild flocks and coastal seals, monitor for Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in white-tailed deer, and address rabies concerns with increasing human-wildlife conflict. These emerging issues are in addition to already existing wildlife disease issues of White-nose Syndrome in bats, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV), Eastern Equine Encephalitis (Triple E), West Nile Virus among avian flocks, maintaining prevention from invasion of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and regional surveillance for P. tenuis (brain worm) in moose.
In collaboration with MassWildlife, we are seeking applications for a PhD level graduate student position at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst that will conduct research that will aid in the implementation of MassWildlife Health and more broadly, wildlife epidemiology and zoonotic disease transmission prevention. We highly encourage people from historically underrepresented groups or non-traditional backgrounds to apply especially those with fluency in multiple languages (e.g., Spanish or Portuguese). The successful candidate will enroll in the PhD program in the Organismic & Evolutionary Biology Department (https://gpls.cns.umass.edu/oeb) and be part of the MA Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (https://www1.usgs.gov/coopunits/unit/Massachusetts).
Project objectives
Potential objectives, which are subject to modification based on the successful applicant’s interests, include:
- Analyze existing disease surveillance and wildlife health system frameworks and create optimized processes for detection, response, and management of pathogens.
- The student would have the opportunity to explore different configurations of One Health wildlife programs and contribute significantly to theoretical development in this emerging area of epidemiology and public health.
- Address disparities in impact of zoonotic diseases with underrepresented communities by implementing communication plans and programming targeting these groups with strategies to overcome language and resource barriers.
- The student will develop surveys of underrepresented groups to gauge their knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes.
- Conduct targeted surveillance in the field of zoonotic diseases
- The student will have the opportunity to work with MassWildlife taxa specific biologists (Deer & Moose biologists, state ornithologist, fish pathologist, state herpetologist, coastal waterbird biologist, turkey & upland game biologist, waterfowl biologist, and/or bear & furbearer biologist) to develop disease surveillance and conduct epidemiological research.
- There are significant funds for project development in this area depending on the interest of the graduate student and cooperating biologists.
- In coordination with the MassWilldife Outreach and Education section, develop communication plans for inter/intra-agency coordination of public communication about wildlife health issues with a holistic One Health approach and develop/implement measures of success.
- Develop scientific communication materials around wildlife health topics and measure effectiveness.
- Develop, implement, and analyze public reporting strategies for surveillance activities similar to TickReport or NYSDEC EHD reporting.
- Develop prevention and monitoring strategies for reducing risk of disease transmission during translocation of wildlife, particularly amongst herps and rehabilitated wildlife.
Salary/Benefits The graduate student will be provided:
1. Research assistantship funding and teaching assistantship funding for at 5 years through the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, which includes graduate student stipend (~$32,000 per year for 20 hrs/week), health benefits, and tuition waiver. More information about benefits is available through the UMass Graduate Employee Organization (https://www.geouaw.org/).
2. Professional development experiences relevant to federal and state jobs but transferable to other conservation agencies.
3. Be a valued member of an integrated team that is part of a regional effort
4. Mentoring, encouragement, and autonomy to ensure that they see and understand how they and their perspectives are vital to achieving the goals of the project.
Qualities of preferred applicants The following will be considered positive factors in choosing a successful candidate. We do not expect applicants to have all of these qualities and is not meant to discourage applicants.
- Holds a Master’s degree in a wildlife/epidemiology related field or professional degrees related to health (e.g., DVM, Mph, DPH)
- Skills in scientific communication for both professional and public audiences.
- Experience with human dimensions/sociology research and/or epidemiological/wildlife disease research.
- Fluency in multiple languages, especially Spanish and/or Portuguese
- Membership in one of the following groups that have been historically underrepresented in the wildlife field:
- Women
- Black/African American
- Hispanic/ Latinx
- Asian
- Native American
- Alaska Native
- Pacific Islander
- LGBTQIA
- Disabled (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/reference-materials/#url=Glossary)
- Evidence of a strong desire to learn (as supported by evidence of superior academic achievement, extracurricular activities, or life experiences)
- Interest and/or experience conducting field work
- Interest in population ecology and conservation
- Interest in working at the nexus of OneHealth (i.e., public health, education, and disease ecology)
- Creativity (e.g., problem solving and creative solutions to answering objectives)
Training & products
The graduate student will be provided training and support to learn and accomplish the following:
- Work alongside MassWildlife, USGS, and other stakeholders to accomplish the objectives of this project
- Collect and analyze data
- Present research findings at quarterly meetings with stakeholders
- Prepare at least three manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals
Eligibility
- Minimum of a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) for undergraduate students
- Have graduated from undergrad by May 2024 to start graduate school in Summer or Fall 2024
Application
Priority will be given to applications received before or by: 1 pm EST on Oct 23, 2023
To apply, please send the following materials in a single PDF with the following document name “YOUR LAST NAME-OneHealth app- 2023.pdf” in an email with the subject “OneHealth application” to Dr. Graziella DiRenzo at [email protected] AND Martin Feehan [email protected]:
(a) A cover letter or personal statement that describes your interest in the position, past research experiences, interest in conducting fieldwork, desire to pursue graduate work, and any discrepancies in your academic record [1 – 2 pages in length]
(b) A curriculum vitae or resume;
(c) The contact information (name, position, relationship to applicant, email, and phone number) for three references;
(d) Unofficial transcripts
This is optional supplemental materials to include in your application, and if you feel that your cover letter/personal statement addresses these questions directly, you should still include the optional supplemental materials and just copy and paste your responses below each prompt:
- The four prompts are an opportunity for you to describe in a paragraph or two how you demonstrate strengths that can serve you well in graduate school.
(ii) Tell us about your perseverance and maturity completing graduate-level coursework, independent study, and research definitely requires perseverance in handling deadlines, challenges, and even failures along the way. Briefly describe a challenging time (one where you did not fully succeed in achieving a goal or completing a task) and describe how you responded to that and what you learned from that experience. Then, briefly describe an experience where you struggled through a challenging time but eventually succeeded. What helped you get through that struggle and the stress associated with it?
(iii) Tell us about how you work in teams. As a graduate student, your research will often involve working as a team with your advisor and other collaborators. Think about a past experience being a part of a team (academic or extra-curricular), and please answer the following questions: What was the purpose or goal of your team? What role(s) did you play on the team (leader, synthesizer, heavy-lifter, etc.) that contributed to its success? What did you learn about successful teamwork and/or team culture through the experience?
(iv) Tell us about your independence, curiosity and problem-solving skills. Conducting research as a graduate student requires curiosity in developing a question or hypothesis and independence along with creative problem-solving in conducting self-directed research. Please describe a time when you took initiative on something, either academic or outside of academics, that highlights some of these qualities.
Project investigators
Dr. Graziella DiRenzo ([email protected]), U.S. Geological Survey, MA Coop Unit
Martin Feehan - Deer & Moose Biologist/Wildlife Health Specialist, MassWildlife
Nondiscriminatory AA/EEO statement The University of Massachusetts provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, genetic information, pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition, or membership in any other legally protected class. The University of Massachusetts complies with all applicable federal, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the university operates.