The Centre for Biostatistics and Genetic Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Leicester has a three-year Medical Research Council Capacity-building PhD studentship to start in the 2008/9 academic year. The project will develop models for predicting the future cancer burden using data from various international cancer registries. A brief outline of the project is given at the end of this advertisement.
The successful applicant should have an strong statistical background and preferably an MSc in Medical Statistics or similar and an interest in developing statistical methodology.
The studentship will be under the supervision of Dr Paul Lambert ([log in to unmask]) and Professor John Thompson ([log in to unmask]). For informal enquiries and further details please contact one of the supervisors.
The studentship will cover full fees for UK/EU students, a research training support grant and conference allowence and a maintenance stipend (approximately £14,600 per year).
Applicants should send a statement of interest (no more than 1 page) and a CV with details of two referees to
Paul Lambert ([log in to unmask]) by Monday 11th February 2008.
Project Outline.
AIM: To develop and apply statistical models to estimate and predict the prevalence of cancer by simultaneously modelling incidence and survival using individual level data.
Predicting future cancer prevalence (the cancer burden) is a key issue in public health and is crucial for planning health services, allocating resources, assessing the potential impact of interventions and the economic impact of cancer. The burden of cancer in a population is dependent on the incidence rate, mortality due to the disease under study, mortality due to other causes and the proportion cured of the disease. For many cancers the cancer burden has increased over the last few decades, due to an ageing population, increasing incidence and improved survival. Many factors, most notably age, are related to both incidence and survival and it may be appropriate to model incidence and survival simultaneously when predicting the cancer burden. When making future predictions it is necessary to extrapolate both incidence and survival rates as well as obtaining reliable population forecasts and thus sensible and appropriate modelling methods are essential
This project will develop and apply models for estimating and predicting the future cancer burden using individual level data from various international cancer registries. This will involve simultaneous modelling of incidence and (relative) survival, with the survival model component allowing for the possibility of cure, in order to obtain estimates of the current and future cancer burden. The project will use both classical and Bayesian Methods with the latter used as a tool for fitting complex models and as a method of utilising external information on future trends. The methodology will be assessed by using retrospective analysis for registry data from three different countries for a wide range of cancer sites.
Dr Paul C Lambert
Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics
Centre for Biostatistics & Genetic Epidemiology
Department of Health Sciences
University of Leicester
2nd Floor, Adrian Building
University Road
Leicester LE1 7RH
Tel: +44 (0)116 229 7265, Fax: +44 (0)116 229 7250
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Homepage: http://www2.le.ac.uk/Members/pl4/
I have currently on a secondment at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm Sweden. Contact details are,
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Karolinska Institutet
PO Box 281
171 77 Stockholm
Sweden
Ph: +46 8 5248 3983
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