Vacature: PhD Candidate Clinical Epidemiology and Nephrology
Deze vacature is aangeleverd door het LUMC 
Do you want to conduct research on the treatment of kidney disease with a direct impact on clinical practice? Are you excited about working with big data together with an international team of successful researchers in nephrology? Then we have the perfect opportunity for you!
About your role
Worldwide, 10% of the population suffers from chronic kidney disease, and this number will increase in the near future due to the rise in risk factors such as diabetes and obesity. Therefore, it is important to understand which individual will benefit from treatment. During this PhD you will contribute to various projects that contribute to this goal.
In nephrology, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) plays a major role in identifying patients with kidney disease who need treatment. However, more than ten different equations have been developed to determine eGFR. Changing to a different equation has major consequences: the most recent equation reclassifies more than one-third of patients with kidney disease to less severe stages, which may lead to less intensive care. Until now, it is unclear whether this is justified, and which eGFR equation results in the best outcomes for the patient. Therefore, one of your projects aims to clarify this issue and change the decision-making process in clinical practice.
In this project, you will work with large datasets of patient information from clinical practice, and you will demonstrate which eGFR formula is best able to identify which patients need which treatment. You will have the opportunity to work with an international team, including renowned researches in nephrology. Moreover, you will receive excellent one-on-one guidance from a successful research team, and space to develop your skills and expand this research to other interesting questions about the effectiveness and safety of treatments for patients with kidney disease.
About you
- You have a passion for conducting high-quality research with direct impact on the treatment of patients with kidney disease;
- Excellent collaboration skills that you will use in an international team;
- Affinity for programming with large datasets (> 3 million patients) in R;
- Interest in prediction and causal models;
- Knowledge of treatments for patients with kidney disease in clinical practice;
- We would also like to meet you if you are not a 100% match with these points, but have the enthusiasm to learn!
Our offer
Getting better by breaking new ground; that’s our mission. This applies not only to healthcare, but also to our employees. In order to be able to continue to learn and develop, we offer internal and external training. You are also entitled to an end-of-year bonus (8,3%), holiday allowance, sports budget and bicycle scheme. In addition you can make use of our pension scheme at ABP, where LUMC pays no less than 70% of your pension premium, causing your net salary to be higher.
See all employment conditions of the LUMC.
About your workplace
You will work together with a group of enthusiastic researchers in a stimulating environment in the department of Clinical Epidemiology at LUMC. Additionally, you will closely collaborate with nephrologists and epidemiologists from both within and outside LUMC. There are also possibilities to perform your PhD research at top institutions abroad.
You will receive direct supervision from Dr. Edouard Fu, who is currently conducting research at Harvard, focusing on finding the best treatments for patients with kidney disease by combining big data with advanced causal methods. He has won various awards for his research and is very enthusiastic about teaching you his tricks of the trade!
More information
- You will be given an employment contract for the production of a PhD thesis for the duration of the program with a maximum of four years. The salary amounts to € 2,789 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,536 in the last year with fulltime employment (scale Pro, CLA UMC).
- Starting date preferably between May and September 2023
- Applications from employment/recruitment agencies will not be considered.
Application
Applications can be submitted through this website: https://www.lumc.nl/en/about-lumc/werken-bij/vacancies/b.23.mb.jh.54-phd-kandidaat-klinische-epidemiologie-en-nefrologie/
Contact information
Dr. Edouard Fu – postdoc, Department of Clinical Epidemiology LUMC
edfu@bwh.harvard.edu
Datum plaatsing: 25 april 2023