Research Assistant/Associate

1.  Position: Research Assistant/Associate

2.  Institution and program

The Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH, www.hsph.edu.vn) was formally established in 2001 as the sole university in Vietnam for developing modern public health as an agent of change for protecting human health through training and research. During the past decade, HSPH has made remarkable progress in offering degree programs in public health (BSc, MSc, and PhD) and hospital management (MSc), as well as in translating research findings to inform policy.

The Center of Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER) (http://cenpher.hsph.edu.vn/english/) is a newly developed research unit at HSPH. The mission of CEPHER is to study the impact of environmental, ecological, cultural, socio-economic, and demographic factors on health and well-being using the integrative approaches of Ecohealth/One Health. Our special focus is on South East Asia with links to analogous issues in Africa. We focus on the link between health and agriculture, infectious and zoonotic diseases, chemical pollution, food safety and nutrition. Research is conducted at different levels of organization (molecular, individual, and population) and from lab to the field. Our ultimate goal is to promote
understanding of health issues related to ecosystems and to use research outputs to inform policy to change and improve health of the most vulnerable populations.

3.  Research project

Vietnam is a hot spot of (re)emerging infectious diseases (EID). Recent examples of SARS, Avian influenza, and other EIDs such as dengue and rabies show that it is difficult to implement surveillance, prevention and control in the changing world. The latter is characterized by climate change, rapid population and economic growth and environmental degradation. One of the main challenges is that we do not fully understand how diseases emerge, are transmitted and move in the population, making prediction and response difficult. However, Vietnam has had decent surveillance systems of infectious diseases for many years. Despite fault inherent to any surveillance data, exploration and in-depth analyses of this data would provide interesting information for disease prediction and control.

4.  Job Description

The research assistant/associate will learn and utilise statistical analyses of disease data to understand the dynamics of infectious disease in terms of spatial and temporal occurrence, as well as mortality and morbidity mapping. He or she will investigate the determinants of dynamics of disease in particular environmental change, such as climatic change, socio-economic status, population growth, immigration, economic growth, etc and will help to determine how these can be used for disease surveillance, prediction, and control.

5.  Responsibilities

-  Use statistical analysis methods learned from colleagues at IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Dévelopment), University of Pittsburgh and SwissTropical and Public Health Institute (SwissTPH) and to understand infectious disease dynamics.
-  Help to teach these skills to colleagues at CENPHER, and help determine how these analyses can be used for disease surveillance, prediction, and control strategy.

6.  Qualification Requirements for Program Assistant/associate

-  BS, MSc degree in applied mathemathics, statistics, public health, biology, veterinary, economics or other related field.
-  Strong interest in applied mathematics
-  Good English writing and verbal communication skills, computer experience including word processing, spreadsheets and PowerPoint.
-  Strong statistical background is preferred and knowledge in computer programming (R, STATA, SAS,…) is a plus but not required.
-  Ability to work independently and accurately in the work.

7.  Working place and benefits

-  Salary based on experience
-  Work at Hanoi School for Public Health 138, Giang Vo, Hanoi, Vietnam.

8.  Duration: full or part time (50%) work for 1 year, renewable with opportunities to do a PhD afterward. It is expected that the person will develop an independent research theme on analyses of dynamics of diseases.

9.  Application and further information

Applicants are invited to send through email

-  A letter of motivation
-  A curriculum vitae
-  Copies of main diplomas
-  Names and addresses of two reference persons

To: Nguyen Viet Hung,
Center of Public Health and Ecosystem Research - Hanoi School of Public Health
138, Giang Vo, Hanoi.
T:  (+84) 4.62733162, F: (+84) 4.62733172, Mobile: (+84) 973445050
Email : [email protected]
Website: www.hsph.edu.vn
http://cenpher.hsph.edu.vn/english/

Deadline for sending applications: 31 August 2013