LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
(University of London)
FACULTY OF EPIDEMIOLOGY & POPULATION HEALTH
DEPARTMENT of INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY
THE SCHOOL
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 around 3500 students from
100+ countries following 24 taught masters courses delivered either in London or through
distance learning, and about 400 undertaking a research degree. Over 40% of these
students are from non-European countries. Alumni are working in more than 180 countries.
The School has about 1600 staff drawn from over 74 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.
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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 John Edmunds.
THE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (head; Carine Ronsmans) conducts
research on the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases of public health importance
and also on maternal and neonatal health. Work is carried out both in developing countries
and in industrialized countries including the United Kingdom. Research ranges from
ecological studies of variations in disease frequency in different populations, through
observational case-control and cohort studies to define risk factors for disease, to
randomized controlled trials to test the impact of specific preventive and curative
interventions.
The Department has major field research programmes in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia,
Ghana, Brazil and Europe and numerous collaborative projects in other countries in Africa,
Asia and Latin America. Major interests are in the epidemiology and control of HIV and
other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis and other mycobacterium, malaria and
other tropical parasites, hepatitis, measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases,
respiratory diseases and gastro-intestinal infections. The Department is home to the
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Tropical Epidemiology Group, and a large research programme on maternal and neonatal
health. The Department includes both medical and statistical epidemiologists, and there is
considerable interest in methodological work, including research on statistical methods,
transmission models, genetic epidemiology and immuno-epidemiology. There are strong
collaborative links with other departments within the Faculties of Infectious and Tropical
Diseases, particularly the Clinical Research and Immunology Departments.
THE POST
Job Description
Post:
Research Assistant in Epidemiological Methods
Grade:
G5 Research Assistant (60%)
Responsible to:
Professor Joy Lawn, Saving Newborn Lives, IDE, EPH
Job summary
The post holder will be a Research Assistant in Epidemiology with interests in newborn
health and survival within the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at LSHTM.
The post will be based within LSHTM working closely with Professor Joy Lawn and
collaboratively with the Saving Newborn Lives team, associated with Save the Children US.
Saving Newborn Lives is in the third 5-year phase of grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, to increase and institutionalise attention at global level for newborn care and to
catalyse and measure the scale up of high impact interventions in 7 countries (Bangladesh,
Ethiopia, India, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, and Uganda).
This post is suitable for a candidate wishing to do a PhD. Acceptance for the course of
study will be subject to the School’s normal academic requirements. It is also subject to
approval from your line manager and the Faculty Research Degrees Director of
arrangements to ensure sufficient time is allocated to the duties of the post and the
requirements of PhD study.
Responsibilities
Research
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Work as part of the Saving Newborn Lives team, and support the technical work of Joy
Lawn, who acts as Senior Adviser Evidence and Policy.
Help update global databases and analyses for newborn health, survival and care, and
help disseminate these outputs.
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Contribute to drafting and reviewing reports, presentations, and communications outputs
as required
Assist with drafting manuscripts for peer reviewed journals to be published in a range of
target journals
Ensure the effective use of resources within the funder’s specified timeline.
Ensure regular communication and updates for the Washington DC Saving Newborn
Lives team.
Collaborate with the line manager as required
Teaching
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Contribute to teaching of epidemiological methods for our post-graduate students and
short courses such as by assisting with practical classes.
Citizenship
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Contribute to the general activities of the Department, Faculty and School that help
promote the objectives of the School
To act at all times in accordance with the highest professional standards, and to ensure
that these are maintained in the delivery of all aspects of research and teaching.
Understand and convey complex, specialist or conceptual issues not immediately
understood by those outside the area of work e.g. prepare lectures, write procedures on
complex subjects.
Any other work considered appropriate by the Department Head and Dean of Faculty.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
 MSc in Public Health or equivalent
 Interests in reproductive, maternal and child health with a focus on newborn health
 An aptitude for both applied and methodological research
 Statistical programming experience, particularly in STATA
 Good inter-personal skills with an ability to work co-operatively in a multidisciplinary
setting
 Excellent presentation and teaching skills
 Demonstrated productivity in public health research
 Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
 Meticulous and accurate in all aspects of work
 Resourceful and able to act on own initiative
 Interested in research and a commitment to quality in the research process
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Desirable Criteria
 Publications in peer-reviewed journals
 Experience in advocacy and communications, web design, twitter etc
 Experience of medical statistics in epidemiological research
 Experience in global or national health policy and systems
 Other relevant post-graduate qualifications
SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT
The appointment is available immediately up to end of February 2015. The appointment will
be made on LSHTM’s Research Assistant scale (£31,376 - £33,945 pro rata per annum).
The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Membership of the
USS pension scheme is available.
APPLICATIONS
Applications should be made on-line at our website at jobs.lshtm.ac.uk. The closing date is
29 September 2013 and the reference for this post is SNL-RA. Online applications will be
accepted by the automated system until midnight on of the closing date. For informal
enquiries about the post please contact Professor Joy Lawn (joy.lawn@lshtm.ac.uk). Any
queries regarding the application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk.
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.
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