PhD position: Changes in physical environment related to changes in neighbourhood SES

PhD position: Changes in physical environment related to changes in neighbourhood SES
PhD position: Changes in physical environment related to changes in neighbourhood SES

Published	Deadline	Location
today	28 Sep	Utrecht

We are looking for an ambitious and enthusiastic Epidemiologist or (Environmental) Health Scientist, with interest in or who has experience with studying the relation between environment and health.
Job description
PhD position within the EU project SURREAL (A systems approach towards urban health).

• An exciting, multi-disciplinary and international research environment with ample opportunities for exchange with scholars from related disciplines at the universities and research institutes in the consortium, as well as with the local partner organizations and local stakeholders;
• A creative, entrepreneurial, innovative and holistic training environment consisting of:
  • Individual Research Projects (IRP), providing excellent supervision and mentoring with academics and non-academics;
  • Structured local training programs, comprising specific training courses in research-related skills and well as training in complementary skills, offered on the basis of a Personal Career Development Plan;
  • Network-wide activities, i.c. Network Schools in Paris and Barcelona;
  • Secondments, i.c. at least two inter-sectoral secondments to participants within the SURREAL Network;
  • Collaborative learning in practice (CLiP), allowing to engage continuously with and learn from working in real urban health intervention situations;
  • Career development modules, i.c. the use of Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) and how to effectively employ the RDF Planner as basis for a Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP);

Additional training and networking opportunities through participation in international conferences.
An individual's residential neighbourhood has been shown to be related with various health outcomes. In this project we aim to better understand the impact of changes in residential neighbourhood on health and behaviour. For example, an individual can move to 1) a greener and safer area, or 2) to a more deprived area, or 3) a neighbourhood where an individual resides can change (e.g. gentrification). In addition, we aim to explore the role of SES in these associations. The candidate will enrich large health datasets with environmental data and maps changes in physical environment over time and relates these changes with health outcomes and SES. We will focus on cardiovascular health.
This PhD is part of the SURREAL project which is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) action funded by the European Commission. The network will employ 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESR students) for a 3 years' high quality interdisciplinary and intersectoral PhD training. The aim of the action is to deliver a unique, creative and single training network for 15 ESR students working on an improved understanding of the urban health systems complexity, and on co-designing and applying adequate interventions in the system. The action will draw upon interactions between academic disciplines such as epidemiology, public health, human movement science, psychology, sociology, geography, and urban planning and a wide range of entities such as medical centres, public authorities, firms, and NGOs as well as citizens.
Specifications

• max. 36 hours per week
• max. €3336 per month
• Utrecht View on Google Maps

University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht)

Requirements
Within this project we are looking for a candidate with experience in R and who is keen on working with large datasets. In addition, the candidate has an interest in health inequality research. Requirements are that you not have resided AND not have carried out your main activity (work, studies) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date.
In addition:

• Strong motivation to engage in interdisciplinary and intersectoral network wide training activities;
• Willingness to closely collaborate with other academic disciplines and societal stakeholders;
• Willingness to participate in two internships;
• Willingness to participate in network-wide training events, and to communication, dissemination and engaging activities;
• Fluent in English, both written as well as oral;
• Skills in academic writing and reporting;
• Good organizational skills and good communications skills;
• Ability to take own initiatives, as well as work in groups to solve complex problems.

Conditions of employment
The maximum salary for this position (36 - 36 hours) is € 3.336,00 gross per month based on full-time employment.
In addition, we offer an annual benefit of 8.3%, holiday allowance, travel expenses and career opportunities. The terms of employment are in accordance with the Cao University Medical Centers (UMC).
Department
You will be part of a large consortium including 10 universities and research institutes joining forces with 20 partner organizations. Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research - LISER (LU), Université du Luxembourg - uni.lu (LU), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale - INSERM (FR), Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht - UMC UTRECHT (NL), Erasmus Universitair Medisch Centrum Rotterdam - ERASMUS MC (NL), Wageningen University - WUR (NL), Universiteit Hasselt - UHASSELT (BE), Tel Aviv University - TAU (IL), Fundacion Privada Instituto de Salud Global Barcelona - ISGLOBAL (ES) and Tartu Ülikool - UTARTU (EE).
The partner organizations are located in The Netherlands, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Israel, Spain, France, UK, and Estonia. You will be stationed at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, which is part of the University Medical Center Utrecht, and you will be embedded in the Cardiovascular Health research group. The Julius Center performs (epidemiological) studies on cardiovascular disease, cancer, infectious disease, mental health as well as methodology and biostatistics (www.juliuscenter.nl). It is a leading and multidisciplinary research center. Within the research group, there is a wide range of expertise on cardiometabolic disease epidemiology and environmental determinants of health behaviors and chronic diseases.
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