Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Job Category
Faculty Non Bargaining

Job Title
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Department
Stringhini Laboratory | School of Population and Public Health | Faculty of Medicine (Silvia Stringhini)

Posting End Date
March 5, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date
Apr 30, 2025

Hours per week will be 32 (80% FTE).

Annual pay range based on 80% FTE: $48,000 to 60,000.

(Hours per week and an annual pay range of 80% FTE are negotiable based on experience.)

Dr. Stringhini’s s lab is looking for a highly qualified part time data scientist to contribute to the development of our research program on lifecourse socio-economic determinants of health and ageing in the role of Postdoctoral Research fellow. The ideal candidate will have strong quantitative skills, familiarity with computer programming, and documented organizational abilities. An excellent publication records is desirable, as well as a willingness to learn about large scale multi-cohort data and a desire to solve problems relevant to human health are essential. The successful candidate will be hired for an initial term of one year, with the possibility of renewal.

The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will report directly to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Silvia Stringhini. The mission of Stringhini’s Lab is to understand the impact of socioeconomic conditions across the lifecourse on trajectories of health and ageing from birth to middle-to-old age. We leverage large-scale population-level biobank data and cohorts, with a major focus on longitudinal data and biomarkers/omics data, and we work at the interface of epidemiology, social sciences, statistics, bioinformatics, and genetics.

Housed within the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) is an innovative unit that encompasses many of the health-related groupings at UBC as a collaborative venture. The School is structured around four divisions: Occupational and Environmental Health; Health Services and Policy; Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health Practice; and Health in Populations. The resulting mix of professions and disciplines is seen as a means of connecting individuals and learners to galvanize the relationship between health research, public health and health services and to enhance learning.

The primary activities of the Postdoctoral Research Fellow include:

• Contribute to project planning and to the development of project goals, scope, and strategy;
• Apply advanced statistical approaches to large-scale data, including (epi)genomic data, longitudinal data and structured and unstructured data in population health registries and electronic health records;
• Analyze, interpret, and document results in a digital lab notebook such as Evernote, and contribute to the generation of publication-quality tables and figures for presentations and manuscripts;
• Coordinate and communicate project goals with Stringhini Lab members and external stakeholders;
• Investigate potential funding sources;
• Support the preparation of manuscripts, grants, data access requests, etc. by composing, editing, and proofing documents;
• Participate in regular lab meetings with Stringhini Lab members and the Principal Investigator;
• Contribute to tasks related to lab business (paper and/or grant submissions, administrative forms, coordination of trainees hiring etc).

Unreliable data, leading to an incorrect generation of research results, could result in erroneous findings and faulty publications which would have serious implications for current and future funding.

This position will be responsible for access, collection, use and disclosure of personal information in accordance with the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RSBC 1996) and other UBC privacy and security policies. This position requires employees to work under strict confidentiality requirements; internal procedures and policies to protect personal information must be followed and adherence to these requirements will be regularly reviewed by the employer.

Supervision Received:

The candidate reports directly to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Silvia Stringhini.

Supervision Given:

The candidate will provide relevant training to junior staff and trainees.

Education/Work Experience:

PhD in statistics, biostatistics, and epidemiology preferred. Persons with a PhD in another quantitative discipline (e.g., mathematics, computer science) will also be considered.

Minimum of two years of experience in research. Experience with longitudinal data analysis and counterfactual mediation modelling will be an asset. Facile with programming in R and Python. Demonstrated experience working in interdisciplinary teams and contributing to the learning and advancement of junior personnel.

Skills:

Expertise in statistical analysis of high-dimensional data.

Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities, and to work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines.

Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing. Ability to analyze problems, identify key information and issues, and effectively resolve.

Excellent writing skills.