POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH SCIENTIST (MADIVA)
TextDeadline: January 15, 2025
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is a premier research-to-policy institution, generating evidence, strengthening research and related capacity in the African research and development ecosystem, and engaging policy to inform action on health and development. APHRC seeks to drive change by developing strong African research leadership and promoting evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) across sub-Saharan Africa.
The MADIVA (Multi-morbidity Action through Data Insights and Visualization for Africa) project aims to develop data science techniques and solutions to tackle the problem of multimorbidity in Africa – the problem of multiple co-occurring diseases significantly adding to the health burden in Africa. Our primary research sites in urban Nairobi, Kenya, and rural Bushbuckridge, South Africa, each have rich data sets from longitudinal studies collected by the health and demographic surveillance systems based there, together with a nascent set of clinical health records and genomic data. We will develop and apply data science techniques to link the different data sets, build dashboards for different stakeholders, and apply new machine learning techniques to automatically stratify populations for risk profiles to different diseases, including the use of polygenic risk scores.
APHRC is seeking to recruit a Post-Doctoral Research Scientist to support and maintain the productivity and research output of MADIVA and other projects in the Chronic Diseases Management Unit of the Health and Wellbeing Theme.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Contribute to the development of APHRC’s evidence use agenda through utility of data science and/or artificial intelligence tools, including data mining, development of data visualization tools, and statistical modeling.
Contribute to the application of innovative analytics to systematically extract information from large/complex data sets that traditional approaches cannot manage.
Assist in managing projects efficiently and contribute to fundraising efforts through proposal development, securing grants, and building partnerships to support APHRC’s research and impact goals.
Coordinate processes of tracking, collating, organizing, and making available population health data from diverse sources.
Lead the development of study protocols and tools and ensure ethical approvals and research permits are obtained.
Secure and manage the necessary human, financial, and material resources for the project.
Lead the development of project reports and oversee data quality and analyses.
Contribute to proposal development and fundraising for research projects in the unit.
Mentor junior researchers and facilitate the Center’s training programs.
Represent the Center at high-level national, regional, and international forums, including relevant technical working groups and expert committees.
Contribute to the development of information systems and provide analytical methodological support and advice to researchers.
Define own area of research interest in data science/statistics/public health through developing proposals, concept notes, and publishing in the area.
Contribute to institutional publications including policy/research briefs, fact sheets, and contribute to policy engagement and the unit’s strategic planning.
Qualifications and Experience
PhD in Statistics, Data Science, Biostatistics, Health Informatics, or equivalent in related disciplines with a specialization in R; graduated in the last 2 years.
Data management, programming, and modeling experience.
Demonstrated experience in applying big data analytics, preferably in healthcare.
Evidence of publications is an essential requirement.
Highly motivated and committed to biomedical research.
Interest in Epidemiology and preferably chronic diseases, including multimorbidity.
Application Process
Interested candidates are invited to submit their application in English through the MADIVA Postdoc Researcher portal, including:
A letter of application.
A statement of research interests and goals (1-2 pages).
A CV with contact details of three referees.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates will be required to have a Police Clearance Certificate.
Special Notice
APHRC is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All employment decisions are made based on qualifications and organizational needs. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.
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The African Population and Health Research Centre
The African Population and Health Research Centre is the continent’s premier research institution and think tank, generating evidence to drive policy action to improve the health and wellbeing of African people.
As a progressive African-led global research center invested in creating legacy impact, our work is centered in three integrated programmatic divisions:
Research: Our teams orient their research agendas to global and continental development priorities bringing independent evidence to the forefront of decisions supporting improved growth and development in the region. The center’s research priorities fall within six thematic units: Aging and Development; Education and Youth Empowerment; Health and Systems for Health; Maternal and Child Wellbeing; Population Dynamics and Sexual Reproductive Health and; Urbanization and Wellbeing in Africa. Anchoring the six is our Data, Measurement and Evaluation Unit providing internal support for robust data systems and outward looking technical assistance in program evaluation and data use.
Research capacity strengthening: Through strategic partnerships, the Center strives to nurture African research leadership by building a critical mass of researchers to meaningfully engage with policy actors in developing, reviewing and implementing policies and programs relevant to the continent’s development.
Policy engagement and communications: The Center builds relationships with key decision-making bodies at the national, regional and global levels to encompass engagements with government and non-government entities, as well as academic, advocacy and research institutions: all in service to our agenda of ensuring contextual, relevant and localized knowledge as a driver of change. Our goal is to become a continental model for robust, policy-oriented, rigorous research that emphasizes synergy and collaboration.
