PhD student in epidemiology, studying follow-up care after childhood cancer - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Surgical Sciences (IKV) is part of the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy. IKV has about 160 employees and 200 registered doctoral (third cycle) students, the majority of which are clinically active doctors and nurses. The yearly turnover is SEK 152 million. Research is conducted at the department, as well as teaching in the first, second and third cycles. Teaching is, among other areas, conducted within the education programmes for doctors, nurses and specialty nurses. Research is conducted in research groups organised according to surgical specialties and closely aligned subject areas, such as anaesthesia and intensive care and radiology. A great deal of research is conducted in cooperation between separate research groups within IKV and other departments at Uppsala University, as well as other universities in Sweden and the rest of the world. Many of the department's employees have combined positions at the University Hospital.

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Project description
The number of childhood cancer survivors who live in Sweden is increasing and many will suffer late complications. Long-term follow-up care is advocated to prevent and detect these late complications. However, the patterns and determinants of attending follow-up care after childhood cancer in Sweden are unknown and the impact of attending long-term follow-up care on health in adulthood remains uncertain.

The aims of the project are to examine (1) patterns and (2) determinants of attendance, and discontinued attendance, of follow-up care after childhood cancer and (3) assess the consequences of attending follow-up care for late complications and healthcare consumption in adulthood.

The PhD student will be based at EpiHubben - a collaborative research environment within the Disciplinary domain of Medicine and Pharmacy at Uppsala University - which aims to facilitate the development and exchange of epidemiological knowledge, expertise and ideas.

The work tasks will be to:
1) learn and apply new skills, knowledge and methodologies
2) work with an interdisciplinary approach to a broad project area
3) plan ahead in a realistic manner and prioritize your own tasks
4) conduct scoping work to establish in detail the best direction for the project to take, including fact finding, discussion, and negotiation, in a range of contexts including with potential collaborators outside of academia
5) perform efficient and proficient data-management of large-scale register-based data, with strong attention to detail
6) in collaboration with supervisors and other researchers involved with the project, draft and develop statistical analysis plans including cutting-edge methodologies in epidemiology
7) conduct statistical analyses in accordance with a statistical analysis plan, with support from supervisors and other researchers involved with the project
8) account for the patient perspective within the research, including potentially addressing qualitative research questions
9) place new results in the context of the existing knowledge base;
10) display social dexterity and excellent inter-personal skills to initiate and develop collaborations in a range of contexts, and
11) communicate clearly and professionally in oral and written English in different situations, for example, within interdisciplinary meetings and collaborations, when drafting and revising articles to be published in peer-reviewed journals, and when presenting new insights at (inter)national conferences.

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• Hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Medicine, Nursing, or similar/other relevant topics or
• Have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits within the subjects above, or
• Have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

We are looking for a cooperative person that works well with others as well as independently. You have strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritize your tasks. Furthermore, you are detail-oriented and have a professional approach. Excellent scientific writing ability in English and excellent oral and written communication in English are required. 

Additional qualifications

It will be considered meritorious to have:

• Documented skills in data management and/or statistical analysis in Stata, R, SAS or similar programme for statistical analyses
• Prior experience of research in the fields of socioeconomic, lifestyle or clinical risk factors for disease
• Prior experience of research in the area of childhood cancer or childhood cancer survivors
• Prior experience of working with Swedish register data
• Prior experience of working with longitudinal data and/or survival modelling
• Demonstrated ability to work in a range of contexts
• Demonstrated excellent social dexterity and inter-personal skills
• Prior experience conducting qualitative research
• Swedish language skills
• Previous outstanding academic achievements

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

The application should include:

• A CV or resume (max 2 A4 pages)
• A cover letter in which you present your research interests and experience, and explain why you are interested in and suitable for this position (max 1 A4 page)
• Copies of verified academic transcripts
• MSc certificate (or equivalent)
• Contact details (name, email and phone number) for two professional references

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Hannah Brooke, PhD, hannah.brooke@surgsci.uu.se
For questions regarding the employment process, contact HR-representative Louise Lundqvist, louise.lundqvist@uu.se 

Please submit your application by 2nd of June 2023, UFV-PA 2023/1893

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