PhD Studentship - Department of Epidemiology & Population Health - LSHTM
Title: Statistical methods in pharmacoepidemiology using large general practice databases
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is pleased to invite applications for a PhD studentship in statistical pharmacoepidemiology, funded for 3 years by Amgen Ltd, starting at a mutually convenient date in 2009. The studentship is open to UK and other EU citizens and covers tuition fees and a generous living allowance, subject to eligibility requirements. The Department of Epidemiology and Population Health is multi-disciplinary and encompasses epidemiologists, medical statisticians, medical demographers, nutritionists, social scientists and public health practitioners.
The project concerns design issues and statistical methods in pharmacoepidemiology, i.e. the study of the use and effects of drug treatment in large populations, both as regards effectiveness and safety. Although this can be viewed as an application of epidemiologic methods to pharmaceuticals, the ways in which pharmaceuticals are prescribed, utilised, marketed and regulated can potentially increase the risk of bias in observational analyses. Thus this field poses challenges that often require special solutions in both study design and statistical analysis. Taken together with the large databases which are now available, such as the General Practice Research Database, the complex and dynamic context of pharmacoepidemiology gives rise to fascinating and unique statistical challenges.
One or two specific drug safety issues will be identified for which data are available from large observational registries and randomised trials. These data analyses will drive the development of appropriate applied methodology for research into drug safety issues. A specific emphasis will be on the quantification of individual patient risk of adverse drug reactions, counterbalanced by individual patient estimates of treatment effectiveness.
Besides the supervisory team at LSHTM (including Dr James Carpenter and Professor Stuart Pocock) the student will also interact with statistical epidemiologists at Amgen in the London area (who incidentally once worked and trained at LSHTM).
Funding Notes:
Applicants must have an MSc (or equivalent) in statistics. Some knowledge of epidemiology and clinical trials is desirable but not essential: an aptitude for applied methodological research in statistics is more important.
The award is only available to UK and EU nationals who have been assessed as having home fee status. An outline of the rules governing fee status can be found on the UKCISA website: www.ukcosa.org.uk/student/fees_student_support.php.
Applicants are encouraged to email or telephone James Carpenter (+44 (0) 20 7927 2033) for an informal discussion.
Applications must be in writing and must clearly state which studentship you are applying for. When completing the application form, please reply to the 'Tuition Fees' and 'Maintenance' (Living Costs) questions stating you are applying for the Medical Statistics PhD studentship in statistical epidemiology; do not include an overview of your proposed research topic.
Applications should consist of:
- Research Application Form
- Research Applicant Reference Forms
- Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form
- a full, original, transcript of the applicant's academic record
- a CV/resume
Application forms are available from the LSHTM Registry, or from:
www.lshtm.ac.uk/prospectus/howto/research_app_form_2009-10.pdf
Please also Email James Carpenter, email: [log in to unmask] to confirm you have submitted an application.
Please send applications to:
Registry, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP, United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 (0)20 7299 4646, fax: +44 (0)20 7323 0638 or e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Closing date for application: Friday 26th June 2009.
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