Researcher with statistical competence in causal inference for infectious disease

The Section for Modelling and Bioinformatics, in the Department of Method Development and Analytics, is recruiting a researcher for a permanent position. In our Section we develop mathematical and statistical models to understand how public health interventions, including vaccines, affect the spread of infectious diseases, with the ultimate goal of reducing the overall burden of infectious disease.

We are seeking a candidate with statistical competence, to contribute to method development in causal inference and time-to-event analysis, with applications in infectious disease, including vaccine effectiveness. Our research is closely linked to real-world data and applications in infectious disease surveillance, and impacts the recommendations we make to decision makers.

The researcher will join our interdisciplinary and international research environment and contribute to the department's research on vaccine effectiveness, and work synergistically with others, including the mathematical modelling and vaccine surveillance teams. Our department produces and uses unique data from various Norwegian health surveys (cohorts), national health registries and laboratory analyses, which can be linked for comprehensive analysis.

The Department of Method Development and Analytics is organized under the Division of Infection Control, one of six focus areas at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The Division’s mission is to prevent infectious diseases. The overarching goal of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health’s research is that it should be of high quality, internationally competitive, and of strategic significance for the Institute’s societal mission and goals.

The workplace is in Oslo, where participation in Sectional, Departmental and Divisional activities is expected.

Key responsibilities

• Develop, apply and implement novel statistical methods for causal inference for infectious disease, including vaccine effectiveness and target trial emulation
  
• Statistical advising in the Division for Infection Control
  
• Publish scientific articles and reports, and present findings internally and at national and internation conferences
  
• Initiate, plan and lead new relevant research projects within the strategic themes of the institute
  
• Develop and contribute to research proposals for external funding
  
• Maintain and build national and internation collaboration with relevant research environments
  
• Contribute to research across the institute
  
• Participate in various departmental activities and tasks

Qualifications

• PhD in epidemiology, statistics or biostatistics, or a related field
  
• Experience with statistical method development for causal inference and/or time-to-event analysis is required
  
• Experience with application and implementation of causal inference and/or time-to-event methodology is a strong advantage
  
• Experience with research in infectious disease, or other settings with interference, is an advantage
  
• Experience with health registry and/or cohort studies is an advantage
  
• R competence is required
  
• Interest in initiating projects and developing innovative ideas is required
  
• Prior successful acquisition of external funding is an advantage
  
• Good communication and writing skills in English is required and in Norwegian (or another Scandinavian language) is an advantage. Candidates who do not speak Norwegian must be willing and motivated to learn

Personal attributes

• Strong collaboration skills in interdisciplinary teams
  
• Flexible, agile, efficient and goal-oriented
  
• Able to work independently
  
• Contributor to an inclusive work environment

We offer

• An interesting position in an active, knowledgeable and engaged research environment
• The opportunity to work with world-class data
• The opportunity to contribute to solving important societal challenges in infection control and public health
• Permanent position as a researcher (code 1109/1110/1183), with salary based on qualifications following the state regulations
  
• Good pension schemes in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Flexible working hours and good welfare schemes

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health’s vision is better health for all. We produce, summarize and communicate knowledge for the public health sector and healthcare services. Our main activities are emergency preparedness, knowledge and infrastructure. Infrastructure comprises registries, health surveys, biobanks and laboratory services. The Institute is a government organization under the Ministry of Health. We have approximately 1300 employees located in Oslo and Bergen.

The Institute is committed to diversity. We urge qualified candidates to apply for a job with us, regardless gender, age, disability, ethnic or national background, or if there are periods of absence from work.