THE LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND POLICY
HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH UNIT
Lecturer or Research Fellow in Health Economics
Thank you for requesting further information about this position. Please find below:
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Further information about the School
Job Description
Person Specification
We encourage you to apply for this post online at our website jobs.lshtm.ac.uk.
The reference for this post will be RG02. Online applications will be accepted by the
automated system until midnight on 11 May 2010.
The closing date for application is: 11 May 2010.
1. Advertisement
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Lecturer or Research Fellow in Health Economics
We require a talented health economist with excellent skills in health economic evaluation.
The post provides an opportunity to work on a large, innovative project at a London-based
university with an extensive programme of work in Health Economics. LSHTM performed
outstandingly in the recent Research Assessment Exercise; between 65% and 80% of its
research was assessed as world leading or internationally excellent.
This research project will assess the cost-effectiveness of different elective surgical
procedures (for example alternative prostheses for primary hip replacement). This project is
nested within an important national research programme that examines the value of patientreported outcome measures. The cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) will exploit a large
database (500,000 patients) that records measures of health status before and after elective
surgical procedures. The postholder will be required to address important methodological
issues in CEA that arise when assessing health gain using observational data. The
successful candidate will lead the dissemination of the health economic aspects of the study.
The post will be based jointly in the Health Services Research Unit (HSRU) at the LSHTM,
and the Clinical Effectiveness Unit, a collaboration between the HSRU and The Royal College
of Surgeons of England. The postholder will collaborate closely with other health economists
and statisticians both at LSHTM and externally (e.g. from the University of California at
Berkeley).
The successful candidate will have previous experience in undertaking health economic
evaluation. For an appointment at lecturer level, applicants must have a PhD in Health
Economics (or similar), whereas for an appointment at research fellow level a masters
degree in Health Economics (or similar) is essential. This post provides an excellent
opportunity for the successful applicant to extend a programme of methodological and empirical
research of high policy-relevance. For the lecturer post, the postholder would be encouraged to
develop their own research agenda and to attract further funds.
This post is for 2 years. The salary will be on the Lecturer scale (£41,312 - £45,553 per
annum inclusive) or Research Fellow scale (£35,370 – £40,188 per annum).
We encourage you to apply for this post online at our website jobs.lshtm.ac.uk. The
reference for this post is RG02. Online applications will be accepted by the automated
system until midnight on 11 May 2010. Applications should include a CV and the names
and email contacts of 2 referees who can be contacted immediately if shortlisted. Potential
applicants are encouraged to contact Richard Grieve (richard.grieve@lshtm.ac.uk) for an
informal discussion. Any queries regarding the application process may be addressed to
jobs@lshtm.ac.uk Please quote reference RG02.
.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicines is committed to being an equal
opportunities employer.
2. Further information about London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is Britain's national school 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), ahead of the London School of
Economics, Oxford, Imperial and University College, London. The institution also
achieved the largest increase in ranking compared with 2001, of any of the top 10
institutions in the RAE rankings. 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 1300 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, molecular biologists and
immunologists. At any one time around 80 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
m£60 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
The School's mission is to contribute to the improvement of health worldwide
through the pursuit of excellence in research, postgraduate teaching and
advanced training in national and international public health and tropical
medicine, and through informing policy and practice in these areas."
The Department of Public Health and Policy (http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/php/)
The aim of the Department of Public Health and Policy is the improvement of global
health through research, teaching and the provision of advice in the areas of health
policy, health systems and services, and individual, social and environmental
influences on health. Interests and activities embrace the health needs of people
living in countries at all levels of development.
The Department is the largest multi-disciplinary public health group in Europe, with a
total of over 220 staff including epidemiologists, public health physicians,
economists, policy analysts, anthropologists, sociologists, historians, psychologists,
statisticians and mathematicians.
The Department's research programmes, with an annual spend of over £7m, focus
on public health problems of importance both globally and in the UK, and build on an
extensive network of collaborations. The research programmes exploit
multidisciplinary and multi-method approaches, generate new knowledge for specific
contexts and test transferability to different settings, and engage with policymakers
and providers of health care to ensure research is relevant and translated into
practice.
The Department's teaching programmes encompass both London-based and
distance learning MSc programmes. Around 130 students every year take the
London-based MSc in Public Health, following a general public health stream or
focusing on health services management, health promotion, environmental health,
health services research, or health economics. A further 100 or so students follow
MSc programmes which are cross-departmental - the MScs in Public Health in
Developing Countries and Control of Infectious Diseases. A joint programme with the
London School of Economics, the MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Financing,
offers the opportunity for around 40 students each year to focus on the disciplines
relevant to health policy. Around 800 students worldwide follow the Department's
MSc Public Health by distance learning.The Department has a thriving research
degree programme, of around 140 students.
In keeping with its focus on the interface between scientific research, policy and
practice, department staff are engaged in a very wide range of policy-influencing
roles, including membership of key government advisory groups, leadership of
professional bodies, membership of research funding bodies, and provision of expert
advice to global health institutions.
Health Services Research Unit (http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/hsru/)
The aim of HSRU is to carry out research that helps to improve the quality,
organisation and management of health services and systems. This extends from
establishing what care should be provided and how services should be organised,
through assessing the quality of existing services, to how improvements can be
brought about. Most of our research is in high income countries and, in particular, the
UK. Our staff reflect both the multi-disciplinary (epidemiology, sociology, psychology,
economics, history, statistics, health policy) and multi-professional (nursing,
medicine, pharmacy) nature of our work. We provide economics input to the NICE
National Coordinating Centre for Cancer, and undertake a wide range of empirical
and methodological work in health economic evaluation.
Establishing what care should be provided and how services should be organised
involves primary evaluative research (on particular health care interventions and
policies), reviews of existing research evidence and modelling possible options. In
addition to specific projects, we run the Clinical Effectiveness Unit (CEU)
at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
(http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/surgical_research_units/ceu). The CEU is a national centre
of expertise in methods, organisation, and logistics of large-scale studies of the
quality of surgical care. It has fostered collaborative links with professional
organisations and other relevant bodies within the NHS, the Department of Health,
and the Healthcare Commission. The CEU has a long-standing involvement in the
development and introduction of patient-reported outcome measures in surgical
practice. Currently, it is carrying out the Patient Outcomes in Surgery (POiS) Audit
https://www.poisaudit.org.uk/. This audit is comparing outcomes reported by
patients treated in Independent Sector Treatment Centres with a number of selected
NHS hospitals. This work is being extended as part of large national project
evaluating the introduction of patient-reported outcome measures following elective
surgery.
Researchers in the Department of Public Health and Policy benefit from excellent
collaborative links within LSHTM for example with the world renowned group of
statisticians working in the Medical Statistics Unit (http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/msu/)
3. Job description
Lecturer in Health Economics
The Post
Duties of the post
i.
Research
•
Design a series of cost-effectiveness analyses of different types of
prostheses, for example for primary hip replacement
•
Analyse data on health status after different elective surgical procedures
using appropriate methods of case-mix adjustment

Estimate revision rates and mortality after each surgical procedure

Collate information on the unit costs of different prostheses

Extend pre-existing cost-effectiveness models to accommodate new
estimates, in particular of health status following alternative prostheses.

Help manage and guide junior colleagues.

Write-up the findings in peer-reviewed and prestigious journals
•
Disseminate research findings through national and international conferences
•
Write grant proposals for future research funding
ii.
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iii.
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Teaching
Make a significant contribution to the teaching programme of the Department
of Public Health & Policy, (up to 15% of available time). This includes each
year organising a teaching module, giving several lectures, leading seminars
on two teaching modules a year and acting as a tutor to MSc students.
Contribute to research degree training, through membership of research
degree students’ Advisory Committees.
Undertake examination duties, for example writing exam questions.
Citizenship
participate in School activities, e.g. School Senate, ad hoc working groups.
contribute to activities that will help to achieve the Unit's objectives.
provide and update quarterly a personal page on the School’s website.
Research Fellow in Health Economics
The Post
Duties of the post
i.
Research
•
Design a series of cost-effectiveness analyses of different types of
prostheses, for example for primary hip replacement
•
Analyse data on health status after different elective surgical procedures
using appropriate methods of case-mix adjustment

Estimate revision rates and mortality after each surgical procedure

Collate information on the unit costs of different prostheses

Extend pre-existing cost-effectiveness models to accommodate new
estimates, in particular of health status following alternative protheses

Help write-up the findings in peer-reviewed and prestigious journals
•
Disseminate research findings through national and international conferences
ii.
•
Teaching
Make a significant contribution to the teaching programme of the Department
of Public Health & Policy, (up to 15% of available time). This includes leading
seminars on one teaching module a year and acting as a tutor to MSc
students.
iii.
Citizenship
•
•
contribute to activities that will help to achieve the Unit's objectives.
provide and update quarterly a personal page on the School’s website.
The postholder will work under the guidance of Dr. Richard Grieve (Senior Lecturer
in Health Economics). You will also work in close collaboration with Professors Jan
van der Meulen and Nick Black. If you have a further degree in Health Economics or
a related area, this post provides an excellent opportunity for you to develop your
career as an independent researcher.
Person specification: Lecturer (Grade 7)
Essential
 PhD in Health Economics or a related-discipline with a health economics
component
 Previous experience of designing and undertaking health economic evaluations
 Familiarity with undertaking statistical analyses
 Track record of publication in high-ranking peer reviewed journals.
 Excellent oral communication skills
Desirable
 Previous experience of managing small teams of researchers
 Previous experience of conducting model-based economic evaluations
 An interest in improving statistical methods in economic evaluation.
Person specification: Research Fellow (Grade 6)
Essential
 An MSc in Health Economics or a related-discipline with a health economics
component
 Previous experience of undertaking health economic evaluations
 Familiarity with undertaking statistical analyses
 Evidence of ability to write clearly
 Excellent oral communication skills
Desirable
 Proven ability to work unsupervised and to use his or her own initiative.
 Previous experience of conducting model-based economic evaluations
 An interest in improving statistical methods in economic evaluation.
Accountability
The post-holder will be based in the Health Services Research Unit and Clinical
Effectiveness Unit. The post-holder will be responsible to the Head of HSRU, and
through him/her to the Head of the Department of Public Health & Policy and,
ultimately, the Director of the School.
Salary and conditions of appointment
This post is for 2 years in the first instance. The salary will be on the Lecturer scale
(£41,312 - £45,553 per annum inclusive) or Research Fellow scale (£35,370 £40,188), depending on qualifications and experience.
The School's retirement date is 30 September following the 65th birthday. It is the
School's policy not to appoint candidates aged 65 or over.
Applications
We encourage you to apply for this post online at our website jobs.lshtm.ac.uk.
The reference for this post will be RG02. Online applications will be accepted by the
automated system until midnight on 11 May 2010.
If you are unable to apply online, please contact us at jobs@lshtm.ac.uk or
telephone 0207 927 2173.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.
Closing date for applications is 11 May 2010. Potential applicants are encouraged
to contact Richard Grieve (richard.grieve@lshtm.ac.uk) for an informal discussion.
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.
Interviews for short listed candidates will be held during the week commencing 17
May 2010.