We are looking for a full‐time biostatistician PhD-student to support on-going research studies at Centre of Excellence for Health, Immunity and Infections (CHIP), Rigshospitalet (https://chip.dk/).

CHIP is a leading centre in the development and coordination of international clinical and observational studies involving patients with HIV and other infectious diseases such as COVID-19, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. CHIP has extensive international collaborations with a track record of cutting- edge clinical research, in both cohort studies and clinical trials. We are a dynamic interdisciplinary international group with approximately 80 full-time employees working in medical and public health research, IT development and data management, statistics, and bioinformatics.

Ongoing international cohort studies of people with HIV include RESPOND which is a multi-cohort collaboration for the study of infectious diseases, and EuroSIDA, a prospective observational cohort study, initiated in 1994, following adult people living with HIV across Europe. Additionally, CHIP is one of the coordinating centres for the International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT).  INSIGHT is an HIV/AIDS clinical trials network funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a component of the National Institutes of Health conducting studies in 46 countries worldwide.  

Our research is centred around investigating the biological mechanisms that explain the risk of complications in patients with immune dysfunction. To achieve this, we collect and study well-characterized cohorts of individuals. Our studies involve host and microbial genetics, immunological characterization, and clinical data from routine care.

Using data from these studies you will work together with key researchers to address clinical research questions.  Analytic techniques such as time to event analyses using Poisson regression or Cox proportional hazards models, linear regression and logistic regression will be commonly used to analyse the longitudinal data. The data sets are large including complex real-world data collected over many years, and the analytic skills required are those of someone with a keen interest in epidemiology as well as the knowledge of statistical techniques to answer clinically relevant questions.

Duties of the post

You will be part of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics team at CHIP. You will be responsible for biostatistical analyses and are expected to contribute to the design and analysis of research studies. In addition, the position involves a research support aspect where you will be expected to:

• Support other researchers in analyses of data from large and complex databases
• Lead and support the writing of papers and present findings based on original research for peer-review journals. 
• Work closely together with other researchers, clinicians, and bioinformaticians
• Support funding initiatives
• Participate in teaching and training activities as part of the position, both at post and pre-graduate level.

Moreover during this initial one-year period you together with key senior researchers acting as supervisors, will prepare a research protocol forming the basis for the submission of a PhD application to the University of Copenhagen. The application is expected to be submitted within 6 months of employment. Upon successful evaluations and inscription as PhD-student the position may be extended for additional 3 years.  

Qualification requirements

You hold a Master’s Degree in Medical Statistics, Epidemiology, or equivalent with significant statistical content.  In addition, we expect that you have:

• A passion for medical research and an interest in infectious diseases
• A strong epidemiological background in addition to biostatistical skills
• Experience in analysis and interpretation of data from large and complex longitudinal data sets
• Knowledge of the statistical package SAS or significant skills in other statistical software packages such as STATA, R
• Ability to communicate statistical concepts effectively to those with only minimal statistical knowledge
• Be able to use English as a working language and demonstrate excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills in English
• Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team, and collaborate with clinical researchers, and data managers both locally and internationally
• Ability to write reports, research results and draft manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication for a non-technical readership
• Excellent time management and be able to work to deadlines
• Commitment to continuous professional development

Conditions

This is a one-year position with possibility for a 3-year extension as PhD-student. Salary and employment conditions are in accordance with current public agreements in the Capital Region of Copenhagen. Your workplace will be CHIP’s offices at Rigshospitalet.

We want to reflect the surrounding society and encourage everyone regardless of personal background to apply.

For further information, please contact Group Lead Joanne Reekie, email:  joanne.reekie@regionh.dk

Interested applicants should apply by following the link below no later than 20 June 2024.  Interviews will be conducted in week 26 2024.

Preferred start date is 1 August 2024 or as soon as possible. Please include CV cover letter expressing your interest and motivation, and any relevant publications.