Assistant Professor of Causal inference at The Pioneer Centre for SMARTBiomed

A three-year position as Assistant Professor of causal inference within The Pioneer Centre for SMARTBiomed to be employed at Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, starting on 1 November 2024 or as soon as possible hereafter.

About the Centre: The Pioneer Centre for Statistical and computational Methods for Advanced Research to Transform Biomedicine (SMARTBiomed) will support a critical mass of researchers who focus on method and software development for analysis and inference from massive human data, advancing applications in medicine. The Pioneer Centre for SMARTBiomed will leverage large-scale, multimodal biomedical data combined with focussed innovation in statistical and computational methods including machine learning to advance our understanding, treatment, and prevention of human disease.

The Centre will be anchored at Aarhus University with hub sites at Copenhagen University and University of Oxford. Prof. Naomi Wray, Michael Davys Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford is the SMARTBiomed Director. The leadership executive team includes five co-PIs, Professor Chris Holmes, Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Oxford, Professor Cecilia Lindgren, Professor of Genomic Endocrinology & Metabolism, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, Professor Bjarni Jóhann Vilhjálmsson, Professor of Statistical and Psychiatric Genetics, National Centre for Register-based Research, Aarhus University and Associate Professor Erin Gabriel, Section of Biostatistics at the University of Copenhagen.

SMARTBiomed is funded by the Danish National Research Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Lundbeck Foundation, the Carlsberg Foundation and the Villum Foundation. Funding has been secured to support a 10-year research plan. SMARTBiomed will support researchers who focus on method and software development for analysis of, and inference from, human health-related data, advancing applications in medicine. We will create a vibrant international community of researchers, both virtually and in-person, providing an exciting environment of collaboration to attract early-career researchers from a wide variety of fields, working as a team towards unified goals.

The core mission of SMARTBiomed is development of statistical and computational methods focussing on causal inference (theme lead: Erin Gabriel), risk prediction (theme lead: Bjarni Vilhjálmsson) and machine learning (theme lead: Chris Holmes). This broad focus is ring-fenced by questions relevant to common complex diseases/disorders (specifically cardiometabolic, brain and reproductive traits), and ring-fenced by big data types that are newly emerging for exploitation (‘omics, longitudinal – usually electronic health record or biobank - and clinical imaging data) Bridging omics and clinical big data within the Centre acknowledges a vision that translation of research advances from omics-based research will be facilitated by close integration with, and knowledge of, clinical data.

Information on the centre can be found at: https://smartbiomed.dk



About the Section of Biostatistics
The Section of Biostatistics carries out independent research in biostatistical applications and methods; it undertakes teaching of students at various educations, undergraduate as well as postgraduate, and it offers biostatistical advice to staff and students in all disciplines of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. The section is internationally renowned for a high research level, especially within time-to-event analysis, while other competence areas include e.g. causal inference, latent variable modelling and prediction models. The section aims to maintain a strong position in these areas, but also wants to expand into new areas of biostatistical research. The underlying idea is to produce high-level methodological research that is relevant in practical applications.

More information on the Section of Biostatistics can be found at: https://biostat.ku.dk/.



Job description
You must participate in the interdisciplinary and dynamic research environment within the Pioneer centre. Here the main duties will be to conduct causal methods research at an international level, take active part in the teaching at all levels at the centre and to co-supervise students at the PhD level within the centre. In addition, the successful applicant is expected to independently, and as a part of the centre, to work on attracting funding for the next stage of their career. Some travel between the hubs will be required, but longer stays for research work within interdisciplinary groups are strongly encouraged, and thus, joint affiliations are possible.

The assistant professor’s responsibilities will primarily consist of:

• Manage own academic research and administrative activities.
• Conduct research in line the goals of SMARTBiomed.
• Contribute to evolving the research priorities of SMARTBiomed.
• Support the collaborative infrastructure of the SMARTBiomed.
• Lead write-up of research papers pertaining to their own work and collaborate in the preparation of research publications. Ensure, where appropriate, that software research outputs are provided to ensure maximum utility.
• Lead ideas for new research projects and apply for grant funding.
• Present papers at conferences or public meetings.
• Supervise students and research assistants
• Contribute with teaching in the Section of Biostatistics
• Contribute to the administrative activities of SMARTBiomed and the research group of appointment.

Profile
The successful applicant should have a PhD in Biostatistics or a closely related area (e.g., mathematics, statistics, computational biology). Furthermore, applicants must document a strong record of original scientific research in theory and applications of causal inference at an international level. This should be documented through publications, statistical software or other tangible activities. It is also important to demonstrate the ability to do interdisciplinary research, with specific interest in applications in common complex disease or an interest in application in common complex diseases in the future. Finally, all candidates are expected to document their experience with all facets of university teaching and supervision. In addition, we look for good interpersonal and communication skills.



Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen.



Terms of employment
The employment as Assistant Professor is a full-time and fixed-term position for 3 years. Starting date is 1 Novmeber 2024 or as soon as possible hereafter.

Salary, pension and other conditions of employment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant organisations. Currently, the monthly salary starts at 38,575.98 DKK/approx. 5,100 EUR (April 2024 level). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % to your pension fund.

Foreign and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions if they hold a PhD degree and have not lived in Denmark the last 10 years.

The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020.



Questions
For further information please contact Erin Gabriel by email: [email protected].

Foreign applicants may find this link useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility).



Application procedure
Your application must be submitted in English by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. Furthermore, your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (Max. one page)
2. CV incl. education, work/research experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
3. A certified/signed copy of a) PhD certificate and b) Master of Science certificate.
4. List of publications
5. Research plan
6. Teaching portfolio (If applicable)

Application deadline: 1 September 2024, 23.59pm CET.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the above mentioned requirements.



The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorised recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor. Once the assessment work has been completed, each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender, nationality, race, religion or sexual orientation. Appointment will be based on merit alone.