LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
FACULTY OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND POPULATION HEALTH
DEPARTMENT OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY
FURTHER PARTICULARS
LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is one of Europe’s leading schools of Public
Health and a leading postgraduate institution worldwide for research and postgraduate
education in global health.
Part of the University of London, the London School is the largest institution of its kind in Europe
with a remarkable depth and breadth of expertise encompassing many disciplines. The School
was ranked one of the top 3 research institutions in the country in the Times Higher Education’s
'table of excellence', which is based on the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). In 2009,
the School became the first UK institution to win the Gates Award for Global Health.
The School’s environment is a rich multicultural one: there are almost 4000 students from 100+
countries following 22 taught masters courses delivered either in London (~650) or through
distance learning (~2700), and undertaking research degree training (~400). Over 40% of these
students are from non-European countries. The largest growth has been in distance learning
students (>40% over 3 years), though the London-based student population (where
accommodation limits growth) is at its highest level ever. Alumni are working in more than 180
countries. The School has about 1500 staff drawn from over 60 nationalities.
There are research collaborations with over 100 countries throughout the world, utilizing our
critical mass of multidisciplinary expertise which includes clinicians, epidemiologists,
statisticians, social scientists, economists, molecular biologists, immunologists,
ophthalmologists, anthropologists, virologists, pharmacologists and nutritionists. At any one
time around 100 School staff are based overseas, particularly in Africa and Asia. We have a
strong commitment to partnership with institutions in low and middle income countries to
support the development of teaching and research capacity.
The School has expanded greatly in recent years. Its research funding now exceeds £67M per
annum, much of it from highly competitive national and international sources. The commitment
of staff to methodological rigour, innovative thinking and policy relevance will ensure that the
School continues to occupy a leadership position in national and global health, adapting quickly
to new challenges and opportunities.
Mission
To improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve
excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into
policy and practice.
THE FACULTY
The Faculty of Epidemiology & Population Health (EPH) houses a large group of
epidemiologists, demographers, statisticians and nutritionists working on issues of major public
health importance in the UK and globally. EPH has approximately 330 staff members organised
into four research departments.




Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Department of Medical Statistics
Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology
Department of Population Health
The Faculty has a teaching programme consisting of ten MSc courses: Epidemiology,
Demography and Health, Medical Statistics, Public Health in Developing Countries (run jointly
with the Faculties of Infectious & Tropical Diseases and Public Health & Policy), Nutrition for
Global Health, Reproductive & Sexual Health Research, Veterinary Epidemiology (run jointly with
the Royal Veterinary College), Global Mental Health (run jointly with Kings College London Institute of Psychiatry) and the Distance Learning courses in Epidemiology and Clinical Trials. The
Faculty also has approximately 149 research students studying for an MPhil, PhD or DrPH
degree. The Dean of Faculty is Professor Laura Rodrigues.
THE DEPARTMENT
DEPARTMENT OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY (NCDE) is the main focus of
research on the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases at the London School of Hygiene &
Tropical Medicine. While most of our studies have been in the UK or other high income
countries, we have a growing programme of research on non-communicable diseases in low and
middle income countries, including India and parts of the former Soviet Union. Research
interests range from genetic susceptibility to disease, through metabolic and endocrine disease
mechanisms to personal behaviours and the population health effects of changes in national
diets and drinking behaviours. Themes include determinants of ethnic variation in disease risk;
adverse drug reactions; epidemiology of ageing; foetal and childhood origins of adult disease;
determinants of reproductive outcomes; cardiovascular disease; growth factors and cancer risk;
natural history of genital human papillomavirus (HPV); time trends in cancer survival; noncommunicable diseases in low and middle income countries. The Department has considerable
methodological strength and experience, particularly in the analysis of genetic association
studies and the conduct and analysis of large scale longitudinal cohort and record linkage
studies. We work closely with colleagues in other Departments and Faculties and have excellent
collaborative links with researchers in other institutions around the world. Funding comes from
a wide variety of sources including the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and
Cancer Research UK. The Department Head is Professor Liam Smeeth.
THE POST
JOB DESCRIPTION
Post: Research Fellow in Pharmacoepidemiology (Full time)
Responsible to: Dr Ian Douglas
Grade: Academic Pathway Grade 6 (Research Fellow)
This post combines two main elements; 1) a research project to assess the effects of
glitazone antidiabetic drugs on the risk of Parkinson’s disease and 2) the development of
distance learning teaching material in pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance.
Description of the research project:
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder in which the brain is
affected by a number of disease processes, one of which is inflammation. Recent in vitro
and animal experiments suggest that a class of medication currently used to treat
diabetes, glitazones (GTZs), may also be effective against the onset and progression of
PD by reducing the inflammation in the brain associated with the disease process. GTZs
have been used for >10 years in the United Kingdom to treat diabetes, and we believe
that they may have slowed or prevented the onset of PD in people who have taken
them. We will therefore look at a cohort of people with diabetes and compare people
taking GTZs with people taking other diabetes treatments to see if those receiving a GTZ
were less likely to develop PD. The findings of this study will help determine whether
GTZs and drugs with similar actions may be useful in the treatment of PD. It is
anticipated the post-holder will also investigate other potential drug effects using a
range of methodologies, including the self-controlled case series.
Distance learning material development
LSHTM has a strong track record of delivering post-graduate award-bearing training in
pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance. To date, the training programme has
been entirely face to face with students attending classes in London. We are now
developing a parallel teaching programme to be delivered by distance learning and the
post-holder will be responsible for working with learning technologists to develop new
material, with guidance from the current teaching faculty.
Responsibilities
Research
1. Undertake a cohort study investigating the association between exposure to
glitazone antidiabetics and Parkinson’s disease
2. Develop/contribute to funding applications in the area of
pharmacoepidemiology
3. Undertake other relevant research and the analysis of electronic health records.
This will include study design, planning analytical protocols, extraction and
preparation of data, and undertaking analyses.
4. Lead and contribute to peer reviewed publications.
5. Present research findings to internal and external audiences.
Teaching
1. Develop distance learning teaching material in pharmacoepidemiology and
pharmacovigilance, in conjunction with subject area experts
2. Contribute to the teaching of epidemiological and statistical methods for our
post-graduate students and short courses
3. Undertake appropriate training in teaching methods as required by the School
Citizenship
1. Contribute to general activities of the Department, Faculty and School that help
to promote the objectives of the School
Any other duties that may be required which are consistent with the nature and grade
of the post.
Person specification
Essential qualifications and skills
1. A relevant post-graduate degree at Masters or PhD level (e.g. epidemiology).
2. A post-graduate qualification in pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance
or comparable experience
3. Experience of extracting data from and conducting large scale analyses of
datasets derived from UK primary care electronic health records using
multivariate regression techniques
4. Experience of writing peer reviewed publications
5. Ability to work well as part of a team
6. Detailed knowledge of Stata
Desirable
1. Experience of using the self-controlled case series study design
SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT
The appointment is available immediately on a full-time basis for a period of 2 years in
the first instance. The salary will be made on the School’s Academic Research Fellow
scale £36,018-£40,904 per annum depending on qualifications and experience.
The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Membership of
the Universities Superannuation Scheme is available.
APPLICATIONS
Applications should be made on-line at our website at jobs.lshtm.ac.uk. The closing date
is 20 November 2013 and the reference for this post is RF-PE. Online applications will be
accepted by the automated system until midnight on of the closing date. Any queries
regarding the application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk or telephone
0207 927 2837.
The supporting statement section should set out how your qualifications, experience
and training meet each of the selection criteria. Please provide one or more paragraphs
addressing each criterion. The supporting statement is an essential part of the selection
process and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that the application will
not be considered. An answer to any of the criteria such as "Please see attached CV" will
not be considered acceptable. Please note that if you are shortlisted and are unable to
attend on the interview date it may not be possible to offer you an alternative date.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal opportunities
employer.