Research Fellow in Infectious Disease Modelling Ref: 43151 (Fixed Term) in Brighton

Location: Brighton, UK

Hours: Full time hours considered up to a maximum of 1.0 FTE/ 37.5 hours per week. Requests for flexible working options will be considered (subject to business need).

Grade: 7 starting at £38,784 to £46,049 per annum, pro rata if part time.

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract

About the role: As the Postdoctoral Research Associate on this project, you will be at the heart of an ambitious effort to transform how we quantify the drivers of infectious disease transmission, i.e. the drivers of the effective reproduction number. You’ll work alongside the PI and a dedicated software engineer, contributing both to cutting‑edge methodological development and to the creation of accessible, open‑source tools used by public health professionals and researchers. The project will require an interdisciplinary effort, combining epidemiology, statistical modelling, and software development.

In this role, you’ll lead the design and implementation of simulation studies, analyse real-world epidemiological datasets, develop novel statistical methods and help shape the new Rtglm package from its foundations. You’ll collaborate with national and international partners, engage with stakeholders and public contributors, and see your work directly inform best practice in epidemic analysis. This position offers the space to grow your independent research profile while making tangible impact. If you are excited by the idea of developing new methods, working collaboratively across disciplines, and seeing your work used in real‑world public health decision‑making, you will thrive in this role.

About you: We are looking for a talented, motivated and collaborative researcher who is excited by methodological innovation and real‑world impact. Ideally, you will hold a PhD in a quantitative discipline such as infectious disease modelling, statistics, mathematical epidemiology, data science, or a related field. Equivalent experience in applied modelling or public health analytics is also welcome.

You will bring strong analytical and coding skills, with an interest in developing robust, transparent methods and high‑quality research software. You are comfortable managing your own workload, balancing independent research with collaborative work across an interdisciplinary team. At times, you will support colleagues, whether by contributing methodological insight, reviewing code, or helping shape shared outputs.

You will communicate clearly and confidently, able to explain technical ideas to both experts and non‑specialists. You enjoy working with diverse stakeholders, from researchers and public health professionals to community contributors, and you value open, inclusive scientific practice. Most of all, you are curious, rigorous, and eager to help build tools that strengthen epidemic preparedness and improve public health decision‑making.

About our School: In the School of Life Sciences we strive to understand the mechanisms that drive biological and chemical processes and to develop innovative and diverse approaches to enhance human health, technology and the environment. We undertake multidisciplinary research, teaching and engagement across a wide range of subjects, from Chemistry through Cellular and Molecular Biosciences to Conservation Biology.

The School comprises five Departments: Biochemistry & Biomedicine, Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Neuroscience, Ecology & Evolution and Chemistry. We also house the Sussex Drug Discovery Centre which works to deliver the bench-to-bedside translation of our discoveries. The breadth and depth of our cutting-edge research and innovative teaching practice is delivered by a diverse community who work across boundaries to deliver excellence, engage with real world problems and produce impact.

We pride ourselves on our world-leading research and have a strong research economy, with approximately 50% of our income stemming from research and an active grant portfolio of over £50 million. We host or form part of three University Centres of Excellence: the Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Sussex Neuroscience and Sussex Sustainability Research Programme. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, 90.6% of our Biological Sciences outputs and 84.8% of our Chemistry outputs were rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. We are proud that in both areas, 100% of our Impact cases were rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

The School is committed to the University’s core values of kindness, integrity, inclusion, collaboration and courage. We believe that equality, diversity and inclusion is everyone’s responsibility and aim to provide a friendly and supportive environment for all who work, study and visit the School of Life Sciences. The School of Life Sciences is proud to hold a Silver Athena Swan Award.

Why work here: Our university is situated off the A27, next to the beautiful South Downs where you will enjoy everything that our 150-acre campus has to offer. We are accessible by public transport; Falmer train station is a five-minute walk to campus and several bus stops are located within campus. We also have dedicated cycling paths and encourage our staff to use these with our offering of a cycle to work scheme.

Sussex is a renowned, multi-accredited, research-led International University and this is only possible because of the people that work here. Whether you are a member of Faculty, part of a Professional Services team or a Student, it’s our people that make us great and we want you to be part of that.

The University is committed to equality and valuing diversity, and applications are particularly welcomed from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) at Sussex.

Please note that this position may be subject to ATAS clearance if you require visa sponsorship. The University requires that work undertaken for the University is performed in the UK. Visa Sponsorship Queries: This role has been assigned an eligible SOC code and meets the salary requirements for Skilled Worker Sponsorship if full time and appointed at Grade 7.4. Please consult our Skilled Worker Visa information page for further information about Visa Sponsorship.

Fixed term until 30th April 2029 / for three years.

If you are experiencing any issues using our application portal or if you require adjustments to be made to the selection process, please contact us on (01273) 873743 or recruitmentadministration@sussex.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.