HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY, EDINBURGH
DEPARTMENT OF ACTUARIAL MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS
GENETICS AND INSURANCE RESEARCH CENTRE
Salary: GBP 15,735 - 19,197
Two three-year posts are available in the newly-established Genetics and
Insurance Research Centre of the Department of Actuarial Mathematics and
Statistics. The posts would be particularly suitable for anyone with
experience in actuarial mathematics, mathematical genetics, medical
statistics or epidemiology, but applications from well-qualified
candidates in related areas are welcomed.
The Genetics and Insurance Research Centre (GIRC) was set up in 1999 in
the Department of Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics at Heriot-Watt
University, Edinburgh. The development of human genetics and genetic
testing has enormous implications, not only for medicine, but also for
the way in which health care, long-term care and all kinds of insurance
are funded, and it is essential that these outcomes are researched at a
time when major policy decisions are being considered by governments all
over the world. The GIRC's remit is to develop mathematical and actuarial
models to estimate the costs of genetic knowledge to individuals, to
insurers and to service providers.
The GIRC has funding from a number of insurance companies, under the
aegis of the Association of British Insurers. It is completely autonomous
and independent: all its work will be in the public domain, and it is
overseen by a broadly-based steering committee on which geneticicts,
actuaries, bioethicists and genetic interest groups are represented.
The four main strands of the GIRC's project are:
- to develop mathematical models of single-gene disorders, and their
effect on insurance and service costs;
- to develop methods of modelling multifactorial genetic conditions;
- to develop actuarial models of all kinds of personal insurance,
incorporating genetic knowledge; and
- to develop links and collaborations with geneticists, epidemiologists
and health economists.
The department has pioneered research into genetics and insurance.
Examples of past and current work are:
- the costs of adverse selection in life insurance, if insurers are banned
from using genetic test results;
- the impact of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast/ovarian cancer genes on critical
illness insurance; and
- Alzheimer's disease, long-term care and the ApoE gene.
The work of GIRC will all be publically available, in the form of a
series of research reports and published articles.
For further information or an informal dicussion, please contact the
director of the Centre, Dr A S Macdonald (tel: + (44) (0) 131 451 3209
e-mail: [log in to unmask]). Closing date 15 October 1999.
Application forms can be obtained from:
The Personnel Office
Heriot-Watt University
Riccarton
Edinburgh
EH14 4AS
Please quote reference number 166/99/E.
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