PhD Biomedical Sciences: Trends & Drivers of antibiotic failure in primary care

(ref. BAP-2023-32)

Laatst aangepast : 24/01/2023

The successful candidate will conduct PhD research under the supervision of Professor Jan Verbakel, Dr Nathalie Conrad, Professor Geert Verbeke and Professor Geert Molenberghs. You will play an active role in the research team, participate in the organisation of the research project, organise and take part in workshops, conferences, public events and other activities. You will be based at the EPI-Centre, part of the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the KU Leuven, an interdisciplinary centre aiming to perform research on the impact of innovations in public health and primary care. The staff members of this centre publish their work in international peer reviewed journals, participate in national and international research projects, and support other academic and professional organizations. You will benefit from an established infrastructure for research and work alongside an internationally renowned multidisciplinary team. You will join a vibrant group of over 20 postgraduate students, and will play a full part in the EPI-Centre, presenting at internal seminars, attending journal clubs, student group meetings and external seminars. You will have access to specialised training courses and the opportunity to present your research at national or international conferences. With the support of the supervision team, the successful candidate will be expected in the course of the PhD to familiarise themselves with the relevant literature; participate in research training; access data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, including gaining relevant permissions; analyse the data with the support of the supervision team; write the thesis and contribute to peer reviewed publications.

Project

The overarching aim of this research programme is to improve understanding of the drivers of antibiotic failures in the general population, to support the design of more targeted antimicrobial resistance prevention strategies. 

This will be done so in two steps. First, you will investigate antibiotic failures in a large population-based cohort and their variation over time and by sub-groups - to help understand how many individuals are affected, what their typical profile is and how this might have changed over time. Second, you will perform a thorough examination of possible patient- and practice-level factors that might play a role in the emergence of antibiotic failures – to help uncover possible reasons that could explain why treatments fail in some patients and not in others. 

A better understanding of the factors associated with antibiotic failures in routine clinical practice may inform the development of more effective healthcare policy to limit the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Identified risk factors as well as differences between infection types and antibiotic classes may further point towards biological functions underlying these complications and inform the design of future research. 

Profile

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled biomedical researcher with a background in data science to join our team as a PhD student. The successful candidate will work on a research project utilizing the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) to investigate trends in antibiotic failure and resistance.

The project will involve the application of data science techniques to large and complex biomedical datasets, with the aim of gaining new insights into human health and disease. The candidate will have the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art technologies and analytical methods, and to collaborate with other researchers in the field.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in data science, statistics, or a related field, as well as experience with programming and data analysis tools such as R or Python. A background in biomedical research, epidemiology, microbiology, or a related field would be beneficial, but not essential.

We are looking for:

• an ambitious, intellectually motivated doctoral candidate,
• who is interested in managing large datasets, complex data analysis and biomedical research
• who has a strong interest in quantitative scientific research and mathematical modelling
• who is proactive and able to work independently in a multidisciplinary context,
• who graduated with (at least) distinction with a university master's degree,
• who preferably has a master's degree in a relevant discipline: bioinformatics, biomedical sciences, engineering, but profiles from other disciplines (medicine, psychology, rehabilitation sciences,…) may certainly also be suitable.
• Sufficient level of English speaking and writing skills
• Highly motivated to communicate about this research at international level (by scientific publications and oral presentations on conferences)

Offer

• A full-time position, initially for 1 year but extendable to 4 years after positive evaluation.  The researcher is enrolled in a PhD program whereby PhD tuition fee is paid by project. 
• The researcher is supervised and guided by experts in this field.
• A challenging and exciting working environment at the most innovative university in Europe.
• An (inter)national network for collaboration with UGent, UAntwerpen, VUB, ULiege, UCLouvain, University of Oxford
• Possibilities to teach.
• An office between other doctoral students at the Leuven EPI-Centre.
• A budget for a computer, training and participation in international conferences.
• Various opportunities for professional development (KULeuven Career Center, a wide range of specific courses, etc.).

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Jan Verbakel, tel.: +32 16 37 72 86, mail: [email protected].

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at [email protected].