Data scientist: ‘Immunity to infectious diseases and vaccines’

Post Doc position

Are you the scientist eager to provide an innovative approach towards advanced data-analyses of immune responses to infectious diseases and vaccines in the Dutch population?

Within our Centre for immunology of infectious diseases and vaccines (IIV) of RIVM we have a post-doc position available for conducting immunological research to vaccinations of the Dutch population using large datasets.

We investigate immune responses gained after vaccination and/or infection with a specific focus on the vulnerable groups in our society such as children and older adults. To this end we collect human samples in clinical studies, such as blood and saliva, which are analyzed for specific antibody concentrations in the laboratory. We investigate the development, the quality and the duration of antibody levels as well as cellular responses that are specific for various vaccine preventable diseases. To investigate these in relation to age, sex, general health and the environment, the laboratory results are linked to available demographic and questionnaire data of the study participants. By repeated samplings post vaccination we are able to monitor the kinetics of vaccine responses in populations over time.

IIV applies state-of-the-art serological and data analysis techniques to various clinical studies and research lines. While there is ample experience in investigating the immunogenicity of vaccines and by interpreting the levels of immunity in general, this is much more challenging in risk groups that are more sensitive to low vaccine responsiveness and more vulnerable for serious infectious diseases.

As a data scientist you will apply your knowledge on large datasets to expand and further develop the current analytical tools. You will do this in a team with experienced (data) scientists. Your work contributes to the understanding of immunity against infectious diseases in vulnerable groups of the Dutch population within ongoing projects that are relevant for general public health. Research will be performed on immunity following vaccination or infection to i.e. Pneumococci, Influenza Virus, Coronavirus, Varicella Zoster Virus or Pertussis.

Main responsibilities

• Define research questions and perform well documented statistical analyses;
• Prepare and cross-validate databases for statistical analyses (together with data managers);
• Explore datasets, design data analysis plans and advise on next steps in laboratory analyses;
• Analyze immune data from different clinical specimens (eg serum, saliva, T/B cells) of specific primary and booster vaccination studies or infection in relation to age and other demographic factors;
• Determine longevity of immune responses and/or waning of immunity;
• To understand and guide the type of data in a biological/functional context from the clinical studies;
• Contribute to projects and data analyses of colleagues;
• Write scientific papers and present orally on the findings.

You will be appointed at

The Centre Immunology of infectious disease and vaccines (IIV). This Centre is part of the Centre for infectious diseases prevention and control (Cib) and is the Centre of immunological expertise within the Dutch government. The core task of the Centre is to provide information and advice about vaccines, vaccinations and the protection against infectious diseases to relevant parties such as the health council. This public advise task includes all vaccinations offered by the government; of the current and future program. The Centre performs research to optimize the effectivity and safety of the vaccination program, performs immune-surveillance and investigates age-specific vaccine responses.

Profile

In collaboration with the immunologists and virologists in our Centre, you will perform analyses on existing extensive datasets. You have knowledge of the immune system, preferably with previous experience in working with antibody data. You can design an analysis plan based on the research questions and possibilities of the datasets, perform the statistical analysis using R programming language and prepare scientific publications of the findings. You are comfortable working with complex datasets derived from clinical studies and population-based cohorts. You are able to keep track of the literature related to specific research questions. Because you have affinity with laboratory analyses, you can prioritize and advise on next steps. You are able to work independently and contribute to scientific team discussions and multiple projects simultaneously.

Who are we looking for:

• You have a PhD degree in a (bio)technical/medical topic and recognize yourself in the profile above;
• You have to ability to conceptualize and formulate research questions;
• You have extensive experience with analysis of large longitudinal datasets using R;
• You can collaborate in a diverse team of researchers and laboratory technicians;
• You have good communication skills, oral as well as in writing, in Dutch and/or English;
• You are an experienced scientific writer of peer reviewed publications.

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