UNIV - Research Assistant - Student - Department of PHS

Job Description Summary
Under the mentorship of Dr. Abe Mollalo, the position focuses on the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases, with an emphasis on integrating GLOBE citizen science data and NASA Earth observations to model mosquito habitats and assess disease risk across space and time. The student will play an integral role in supporting data-driven research, contributing to scientific publications, and engaging in professional development through presentations and scholarly activities.

Entity
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC - Univ)

Worker Type
Employee

Worker Sub-Type
Regular

Cost Center
CC001038 COM PHS Operations CC

Pay Rate Type
Hourly

Pay Grade
University-00

Pay Range
0.00 - 0.00 - 0.000

Scheduled Weekly Hours
20

Work Shift

Job Description

Research Assistant - Student

Job Description:

Under the mentorship of Dr. Abe Mollalo, the position focuses on the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases, with an emphasis on integrating GLOBE citizen science data and NASA Earth observations to model mosquito habitats and assess disease risk across space and time. The student will play an integral role in supporting data-driven research, contributing to scientific publications, and engaging in professional development through presentations and scholarly activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare, clean, geocode, and analyze geospatial and remote-sensing datasets.
• Conduct spatial and statistical analyses using R or Python.
• Develop data visualizations, figures, and analytical summary reports.
• Support manuscript development, abstracts, posters, and scientific presentations.

Duties:

35% Data preparation, analysis and modeling. The student will assist with collecting, cleaning and processing large datasets, from multiple sources to ensure accuracy, consistency, and reliability.

35% Contribute to manuscript development and assist with publications. Student will assist with the preparation and development of manuscripts, assist with literature reviews, citation management, and reference formatting, and support the submission and revision for academic and professional publications.

30% Participate in and help organize meetings, seminars, and conferences; prepare and deliver research presentations. The student will actively participate in research meetings and seminars to share progress and ideas.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Background in public health, environmental health, epidemiology, health geography, bioinformatics, or a related discipline.
• Experience with R or Python.
• Introductory familiarity with GIS tools (ArcGIS, QGIS, or similar).
• Strong interest in environmental health, geospatial data, or infectious-disease topics.
• Good communication skills and readiness to learn new analytical methods.
• Coursework or early experience in environmental health, disease ecology, epidemiology, or GIS.
• Exposure to remote-sensing datasets is helpful but not required.
• Familiarity with spatial statistics, machine learning is a plus.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks

Position Details

• Full-time position funded for 2 years, with potential extension.
• Based in Charleston, South Carolina.
• Start Date:
  
  January 2026.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit the following materials:

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Cover Letter describing relevant experience and motivation
• One Writing Sample (e.g., manuscript draft, technical report, or academic paper)
• Contact Information for Two Professional References (name, email, phone)

Additional Job Description

Physical Requirements:

(

Note:

The following descriptions are applicable to this section: Continuous - 6-8 hours per shift; Frequent - 2-6 hours per shift; Infrequent - 0-2 hours per shift) Ability to perform job functions while standing. (Frequent) Ability to perform job functions while sitting. (Frequent) Ability to perform job functions while walking. (Frequent) Ability to work indoors. (Continuous) Ability to work outdoors in all weather and temperature extremes.

(Infrequent) Ability to work in confined/cramped spaces. (Infrequent) Ability to perform job functions from kneeling positions. (Infrequent) Ability to bend at the waist. (Infrequent) Ability to squat and perform job functions. (Infrequent) Ability to perform 'pinching' operations. (Infrequent) Ability to fully use both hands/arms. (Continuous) Ability to perform repetitive motions with hands/wrists/elbows and shoulders. (Frequent) Ability to reach in all directions.

(Continuous) Possess good finger dexterity. (Continuous) Ability to lift and carry 15# , unassisted. (Infrequent) Ability to lift objects from floor level to height of 36 inches, to 15#, unassisted. (Infrequent) Ability to lower objects, to 15 #, from height of 36 inches, unassisted. (Infrequent) Ability to push/pull objects to 15 #, unassisted. (Infrequent) Ability to maintain 20/40 vision, corrected, in one eye or with both eyes.

(Continuous) Ability to see and recognize objects close at hand. (Continuous) Ability to see and recognize objects at a…