Careers

Description:

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research center at the University of Washington. Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and   practice. IHME carries out its mission through a range of projects within different research areas including: the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Costs and Cost Effectiveness; Local Burden of Disease; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations. Our vision is to provide policymakers, donors, and researchers with the highest-quality quantitative evidence base so all people live long lives in full health.

IHME is committed to providing the evidence base necessary to help solve the world’s most important health problems. This requires creativity and innovation, which is cultivated by an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment that respects and appreciates differences, embraces collaboration, and invites the voices of all IHME team members.

IHME has an excellent opportunity for a Postdoctoral Scholar to join the Clinical Informatics team. The Clinical Informatics team processes inpatient, outpatient, and claims data for over 55 countries, representing 3 billion clinical encounters over 30 years. The team’s primary objective is to produce population-level rates of disease or injury by year, sex, and age for a national or subnational location for use in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and other IHME projects.

We are looking for someone ready to advance their career in global health research. As a Postdoctoral Scholar you will be a lead on your research team by contributing to research design and training and mentoring junior staff. IHME researchers analyze and produce key estimates for their assigned research team and assess all available relevant quantitative data – including those on causes of death, epidemiology, and a range of determinants such as education and income – from surveys, vital registration, censuses, literature, registries, and administrative records.

You will be integrally involved in producing, critiquing, improving, and disseminating results. You are someone that is capable of keeping your team on track to meet deadlines and research objectives. You have experience with the publication process, and at IHME, you will build out your portfolio with several peer-reviewed papers. You thrive in a collaborative work environment and are capable of working on multiple projects concurrently while meeting deadlines. You keep current of recent scientific, engineering, and technical advances and are able to translate these into your research. This position is contingent on project funding availability. Anticipated start date is Summer 2021.

Postdoctoral Scholar appointments are initially for 12-months with opportunities to renew. Appointment not to exceed 5 years, including postdoctoral experience(s) at other institutions. 

Postdoctoral scholars are represented by UAW 4121 and are subject to the collective bargaining agreement, unless agreed exclusion criteria apply. For more information, please visit the University of Washington Labor Relations website.

Responsibilities

• Develop a core understanding of Clinical Informatics methodology and its component analytical pipelines and dependencies.
• Independently carry out quantitative analyses and participate in reciprocal research projects. Interpret and vet results from team members, formulate conclusions and communicate with research team leaders.
• Characterize, vet, and develop data integration plans for complex, non-standardized data sets from international collaborators to be used in epidemiological and statistical analyses.
• Develop and implement new computational and statistical methods that address missing and incomplete data.
• Serve as both first author and collaborator in creating internal and external presentations, manuscripts, and funding proposals. 
• Provide ideas and content for the development of internal trainings. Teach established trainings.
• Other duties as assigned that fall within reasonable scope of research team.

Conditions of employment:

• Appointment to this position is contingent upon obtaining satisfactory results from a criminal background check.
• Weekend and evening work sometimes required.

Qualifications

Required

• PhD, MD or foreign equivalent in public health, epidemiology, statistics, biostatistics, math, economics, quantitative social sciences, or related discipline. While clinical experience is not required, advanced understanding of clinical disease epidemiology and the complexities of diagnostic coding is required.
• Excellent analytic, critical thinking, and quantitative skills.
• Results and detail-oriented individual that can initiate and complete tasks under tight deadlines and changing priorities both independently and in a team environment.
• Experience devising and executing statistical modeling techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly recognize problems in results and identify root causes in data, methods, and code.
• Ability to devise error-checking protocols for existing and new datasets.
• Ease in designing, executing, and troubleshooting code in one or more languages. R or Python required.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills required, including track record of success in co-authorship on multiple scientific papers, presenting results, and representing research at meetings.
• Ability to work both independently and in collaboration with a team.
• A long-term interest in an academic position contributing to the overall mission of our research.   
• Experience mentoring and developing junior employees on soft and technical skills.
   

Application Instructions

Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, a brief statement (500-word limit) outlining research interests and one letter of recommendation via Interfolio 

Apply Now
 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.
 

Commitment to Diversity

The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).