Postdoctoral Associate; Pascual Lab

New York University: NYU - NY:
Arts and Science (A&S):
Biology and Genomics Location

New York, NY

Sep 16, 2026

The Pascual lab at NYU Biology and Environmental Studies is looking for a highly motivated and independent individual to work as a Postdoctoral Associate.

This position is for a post-PhD trainee preparing for a research scientist career path. The planned position will provide a transition to career independence through the development of professional skills; supervision by senior scientist incorporating individual development plan in support of training goals and those of faculty mentor; and publication of research findings/scholarship during postdoc appointment period.

Projects in the Pascual lab fall into two main areas: (1) the eco-evolutionary dynamics of host-pathogen systems and (2) the population dynamics of vector-borne diseases and other climate-sensitive infectious diseases. This postdoctoral position is to conduct research in (1) as part of a collaborative NIH-supported project on the Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases, titled “Malaria Reservoir Study (MRS) II:
Reducing parasite diversity to break intervention resilience in Plasmodium falciparum populations at high endemicity”. This study concerns the vast strain diversity of the malaria parasite from the perspective of the multigene family known as var which encodes for the major antigen of the blood stage of infection. High-transmission malaria regions such as our study sites in Northern Ghana exhibit a large reservoir of (asymptomatic) prevalence enabled by high antigenic variation of the parasite.

Theory and computational work in Pascual’s lab focus on the connection of strain/var gene diversity and its structure to the resilience of this complex system to intervention efforts in regions of high transmission. High transmission implies high parasite competition for hosts via immune memory; hence, the theoretical connections of the system to Ecology on questions of coexistence in large diversity systems.

The postdoctoral associate will work with a stochastic agent-based model on parameter estimation from epidemiological and molecular data, model formulations that simplify the representation of the dynamics, investigation of the transition from high to low transmission/diversity, and/or associated population genetics. The postdoctoral associate will interact with Pascual’s partners at the University of Melbourne and the Navrongo Health Research Center (NHRC) in Northern Ghana to bridge theory and models to the molecular and epidemiological data.

Candidates interested in the connections of this complex adaptive system to broader questions on coexistence and resilience in high-dimensional trait spaces are welcome to apply.

In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for this position is $65,. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) the specific grant funding and the terms of the research grant when extending an offer.

This position is based in New York and the selected candidate will be expected to work onsite as of their effective start date.

The ideal candidate will hold a PhD, have prior research experience in some combination of theoretical ecology, mathematical models in epidemiology, population genetics and evolutionary dynamics, including a track record of peer-reviewed publications. A background is required in computer programming, applied mathematics and statistics. Experience with agent-based modeling, parameter estimation for high-dimensional systems, and/or critical transitions would be a plus.

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