University of Copenhagen PhD Fellowship in Biostatistics, Denmark

PhD in Biostatistics

A 3-year PhD fellowship is available at the Department of Public Health, Section of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, starting on 1 December 2016 or as soon as possible hereafter.
The section of Biostatistics conducts general biostatistical research and methodological development in biostatistics, undertakes teaching of students at various educations, undergraduate as well as postgraduate, and offers biostatistical advice to staff and students in all disciplines of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The position

The Danish national registries provide information on medical records and outcome for all Danish citizens. Tools from survival analysis such as Cox regression and Poisson regression are frequently used for registry based association studies. This project is a biostatistical project in which we develop and apply new statistical strategies for psychiatric disease research. We will systematically search the registries for new candidate drugs which show potential protecting effects against depression and bipolar disorder. Funding for the project has been obtained from the The Danish Council for Independent Research.
The aim of the PhD project will be to develop study design and corresponding statistical methods suitable for a Register-Wide Association Study (R-WAS) which includes all drugs on the market in a given calendar time period. The challenges are due to the large number of drugs on the market and the resulting huge number of combinations of drugs which define the medical history of a single person at a given landmark timepoint. Further challenges are due to that drug prescription processes are influenced by co-morbidity, policy changes in treatment regimes, confounding by indication, contra-indications and similar sources of bias.

An initial focus point will be to control the family-wise error rate and false discovery rate when analysing marginal effects on depression/bipolar disorder status for a very large number of different drugs. We will then investigate and repurpose methods developed in biostatistics (e.g., case-only designs), machine learning (random forest and penalized regression/LASSO) and bioinformatics (e.g., multiple testing correction) for the time-dynamic setting of a registry wide assocation study.

Qualifications

The successful applicant for the Ph.D. scholarship will be a statistician with a strong background in mathematics and statistics. Accordingly we require documentation for skills within theoretical and applied statistics (e.g., a master degree) as well as high-level programming skills. Knowledge of R and C++ will be a great advantage. It is a prerequisite that the candidate can be (and is not already) enrolled as a PhD student at the faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Employment conditions

Salary and other terms and conditions of appointment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant professional organizations. In addition to the seniority-based salary, the appointee will receive an annual supplement of currently DKK 15,345.24 and additional bonuses may be negotiated on an individual basis.
The PhD fellow is obliged to carry out – without additional payment – allocated teaching-related tasks, etc. of up to 840 working hours during their period of employment.

Application

Submit your application, including cover letter, Curriculum Vitae, publication list and diplomas, via the provided link no later than October 1st, 2016.
The cover letter should include
• A statement detailing the basis on which the applicant wishes his or her scientific, and other qualifications to be assessed.
• A detailed account of other qualifications relevant to the post applied for
• Description of relevant background, possible national or international experience, and motivation for choosing this research project.
Applications submitted after this date will not be considered.
More information about the project and the position is available by contacting Head of section, Prof. Claus Thorn Ekstrøm, ekstrom@sund.ku.dk, Phone 45 35 32 75 97
The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates.
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointments Committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an expert assessment committee. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee and each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

To APPLY click "Further official information" below and fill the application form.

University of Copenhagen PhD Fellowship in Biostatistics, Denmark