Vacancy
Postdoc position - Modelling the economic and other burdens of animal disease
Your job
Are you the enthusiastic and collaborative animal disease modeller with an interest in developing methods to improve animal health decision making? Then we have the right position for you!
The Business Economics Group of Wageningen University is looking for an ambitious and enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher with expertise in animal disease modelling. The candidate will work on the societal burden of animal diseases, which is multifaceted. For decades, the field of animal health economics has worked on estimating the economic burden of animal diseases, thereby supporting decisions of farmers and other stakeholders in food supply chains. This has been the core of our work at Wageningen University also. However, besides the economic burden, animal diseases may also have an animal welfare, environmental and public health burden which are increasingly valued by society. While estimates of the economic burden of disease are commonly available, quantitative information of the other, non-monetary burdens is mostly absent. With this project, we aim to develop methods to estimate these burdens and to jointly evaluate them using simulation models.
You will work in an interdisciplinary research project of the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare, in which a consortium of several leading institutes working on socio-economic aspects of animal diseases, including Wageningen University, is collaborating. In this project, a methodological framework will be developed to simultaneously evaluate the different societal disease burdens. The framework will be applied to a “bioburden” simulation model, which can be considered an extension of the common bioeconomic model, to estimate the total societal disease burden. Focus will be on dairy cow lameness and mastitis but the framework should be applicable to other diseases and animal species as well.
Your tasks include to:
- jointly develop a methodological framework to assess the welfare burden of diseases in dairy cows;
- extend an existing bio-economic simulation model (in R) with the animal welfare, environmental and public health impacts of animal diseases;
- support further research needed to develop this simulation model;
- publish research on the multiple burdens of dairy cow diseases;
- present results at relevant scientific meetings;
- contribute to new research initiatives of the Business Economics Group.
Your qualities
As the ideal candidate you have:
- a doctorate degree (PhD) in animal health economics, veterinary epidemiology or a related field;
- experience with developing and programming animal disease models;
- a proven track record in publishing research output in scientific journals;
- interest in the development of methods to enhance animal health decision making;
- creativity and the necessary communication skills to contribute to the international research consortium;
- excellent English language proficiency.
You will work here
The Business Economics Group (BEC), led by prof.dr.ir. Alfons Oude Lansink, holds a strong position in interdisciplinary research with key areas, such as food supply chain economics, bio-economic modelling, and economics of animal health, food safety and plant health. You will be supervised by prof.dr.ir. Henk Hogeveen and co supervised by dr.ir. Bart van den Borne and dr.ir. Mariska van der Voort.
We offer you
Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:
- sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
- working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
- the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
- there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
- a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
- excellent pension scheme.
There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.
You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “ Best University ” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.
Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.
Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling. For instance under the "30% rule", certain categories of international staff can receive tax exemption on approximately 30% of their gross salary.
Do you want more information?
For more information about this position, please contact Henk Hogeveen, professor Economics of Animal Health, telephone : +31 0317 485335, e-mail: henk.hogeveen@wur.nl or Bart van den Borne, lecturer Epidemiology and Economics of Animal Health, telephone: +31 6 18410208, e-mail: bart.vandenborne@wur.nl.
For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, Corporate Recruiter, by email: recruitment.ssg@wur.nl
Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.
This vacancy will be listed up to and including 26 August 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews early September 2024. The intended starting date of this position is 1 October 2024.
Procedure
As part of our selection process, an assessment may be incorporated within the procedure.
Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment.
We are
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.
Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!
We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.