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MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit
STATISTICIAN

There is an opportunity for a full-time statistician to join the Medical
Research Council Environmental Epidemiology Unit in Southampton (under the
Directorship of Professor D J P Barker).  The Unit carries out studies of
(i) fetal growth and cardiovascular disease/non-insulin dependent diabetes,
(ii) maternal nutrition and fetal growth, (iii) osteoporosis, (iv)
occupational and environmental causes of disease.  The new post will be for
projects in areas (i) and (ii) and specifically for a programme of studies
taking place in India.  The person appointed will be required to spend
approximately one quarter of their time working in India with our
collaborators.

Candidates should possess an MSc in statistics or equivalent postgraduate
qualification.  The post involves analysis of large and complex datasets
using appropriate statistical techniques with SPSS for Windows and Stata
software. 

The post is initially for a fixed term period of one year with a possible
extension.  Salary in the range of £18,265 - £20,311 per annum on the Other
Related Scale Grade 1 according to qualifications and experience.  The
starting date is Monday 5th May but this could be postponed for exceptional
candidates.

Interviews will be held in the MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit week
commencing 31st March 2003.

For informal enquiries contact senior statistician Dr Clive Osmond and
clinical scientist Dr Caroline Fall  tel: 023 8077 7624 or e-mail
[log in to unmask]@mrc.soton.ac.uk.

Application forms and a job description may be obtained from the Personnel
Department (M), University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, 
tel: 023 8059 2750, email: [log in to unmask] or minicom: 023 8059 5595.
To be returned no later than 14th March 2003.  Please quote reference
number M/.

Working for Equal Opportunities



Medical Research Council Environmental Epidemiology Unit (University of
Southampton)
STATISTICIAN
Job Description

The MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit
The Medical Research Council Environmental Epidemiology Unit was
established in 1979 and is associated with the Faculty of Medicine of the
University of Southampton.  It is sited in a separate building at
Southampton General Hospital.  The Unit has its own Novell Network with a
range of statistical and other software available.  Access to the Internet
and other software is available through the University of Southampton.

The Unit staff are employed by the Medical Research Council, which is the
main government-funded organisation for medical research in this country.
It runs some fifty research units within universities and hospitals
throughout Britain.  Our staff includes doctors, statisticians,
nutritionists, computer programmers, research assistants and nurses, survey
workers, secretarial and clerical staff. 

Programme 1. Fetal Growth and Cardiovascular Disease/Non-Insulin Dependent
Diabetes
The unit published the first evidence of a link between low birthweight and
the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and non-insulin dependent diabetes
in adult life.  Over the past 15 years our objectives have been to confirm
this finding in other populations and to elucidate the mechanisms
underlying the associations.  The ultimate aim is to develop the evidence
to inform public health measures to prevent disease.

Programme 2. Maternal Nutrition and Fetal Growth
The principal objectives of this programme are to determine whether
maternal diet and body composition during pregnancy are related to
long-term outcomes in the offspring, to identify how maternal nutrition,
physique and other influences affect fetal growth, and to collaborate in
animal studies examining fetal adaptations to undernutrition, and the
long-term consequences of these adaptations.

The research programme in India
The concept that fetal undernutrition is an important factor in determining
health throughout life, has perhaps its greatest relevance for developing
countries, where maternal undernutrition, and hence fetal undernutrition,
remain common.  The main focus for the Unit's developing country work is
India, where the average birthweight is 800 g lower than in the UK.  We
have had a programme of research there since 1991.  

We collaborate with hospitals in 5 centres: Pune (Poona), Mysore, Mumbai
(Bombay), Vellore and New Delhi.  The projects include retrospective
studies, based on old birth records, in which we measure disease outcomes
or risk factor levels in men, women and children for whom there are data on
maternal size and body composition, or whose measurements at birth were
recorded.  The cohorts in Vellore and Delhi have particularly detailed
data, with longitudinal growth measurements throughout infancy, childhood
and adolescence.  More recently, we have set up prospective studies, to
examine the effects of maternal metabolism and diet on fetal growth.  We
are following up the children born in these studies, to look at the
evolution of cardiovascular risk and glucose/insulin metabolism, and the
interaction between fetal and post-natal growth on these outcomes.  The
latest project is a double blind randomised controlled trial of
pre-conceptual dietary supplementation with micronutrient-rich foods among
women living in the slums of Mumbai.

The statistical expertise within these collaborative groups varies.  Some
have no statistical support while others have experienced statisticians on
their teams.  The input required from the Southampton statistician varies
accordingly.  He/she may do the entire statistical analysis and be teaching
basic SPSS or Stata in one centre, while in another centre be required to
develop sophisticated methods of longitudinal data analysis.  At some
times, members of the Indian teams visit Southampton for prolonged periods.
 However much of the work is done in India itself, and the post holder will
spend a total of up to 4 months away per year, in stretches of 3-6 weeks.
Although India is a land of great hospitality, this requires a strong
constitution, the ability to work in strange surroundings and take the
initiative, to be satisfied with quite basic creature comforts at times,
and to be self-motivated and self-reliant 

We have set up an organisation called Sneha (website: www.sneha-India.org)
whereby the centres co-operate, and share expertise and data.  Sneha holds
an annual conference, where the groups meet together to update each other
and plan future research.  The postholder will be expected to attend this,
and help the various groups to prepare data and visual aids for the meeting.
Isabel Reading MSc
Statistician
 MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit
 (University of Southampton)
 Southampton General Hospital
 Southampton
 SO16 6YD
Tel: 023 8077 7624