Behavioural Modelling Zoonotic Outbreak Preparedness

Psychological sciences » Behavioural sciences

Organisation/Company Utrecht University Research Field Psychological sciences » Behavioural sciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Final date to receive applications 9 Mar 2026 - 22:59 (UTC) Country Netherlands Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Not Applicable Hours Per Week 40.0 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Do you want to work with farmers, veterinarians, policymakers, and researchers across different institutes? Join us as a PhD candidate! In the face of zoonotic threats, human behaviour is a key factor determining the success of early detection. Currently, infectious disease models often overlook the nuances of stakeholder behaviour, such as a farmer’s willingness to report a sick animal or the communication barriers between veterinarians and authorities.

Your job

In this ZonMW-funded project, you will work with stakeholders to develop a conceptual framework that integrates social and behavioural drivers with epidemiological concepts. Together with mathematical modellers, you will translate this framework into a mathematical model, which will be parameterised, validated, and refined through stakeholder input and behavioural research.

The model will be used to evaluate different intervention strategies aimed at the early detection of a hypothetical zoonotic swine influenza outbreak in the Netherlands. The project will provide tools to refine intervention planning by considering both human behaviour and disease dynamics, thereby contributing to improved outbreak preparedness. The participatory approach enhances stakeholder engagement, trust, and ownership of outcomes.

Your key responsibilities are:

• Organise and facilitate participatory research groups with pig farmers, veterinarians, and government officials to identify behavioural drivers and barriers to early reporting.
• Develop, together with the participatory research groups, a conceptual and mathematical framework that integrates social‑behavioural variables into epidemiological models.
• Simulate and quantify the impact of interventions, such as increasing risk awareness and improving communication channels.
• Act as a liaison between the collaborating institutes (UU, WUR, WBVR, and RIVM) to ensure the model is parameterised using the best available data and aligned with national policy needs.

This project offers an opportunity to work at the heart of the Dutch "One Health" landscape. While primarily based at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University (Veterinary Epidemiology group), you will collaborate closely with experts from Wageningen University "Health and Society" and "Business Economics" departments, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (Epidemiology group), and RIVM (Department of Behaviour and Health). This multi‑institutional environment ensures that your research is grounded in the best available epidemiological, behavioural, and modelling expertise.

• A completed MSc in behavioural science, social science, health psychology, or a related field. Candidates with an MSc in veterinary medicine or animal sciences and a proven affinity for social science methods are also encouraged to apply.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
• A curious, proactive, structured, and well‑organised working style.
• Willingness to work in an international environment, strong command of English, and the ability to work with stakeholders in Dutch.

Besides that, you either possess the following competencies, or you have the motivation to develop these:

• Interdisciplinary Synthesis: The ability to work across academic disciplines. In this project, you will bridge the gap between “soft” behavioural data and “hard” epidemiological modelling, and you will learn to translate psychological drivers (such as risk perception) into parameters for mathematical equations.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Qualitative
  
  Skills:
  
  Excellence in participatory research methods. You are, or are eager to become, a skilled interviewer capable of building rapport with…