The role
This post offers an excellent opportunity for a Research Fellow or Senior Research Associate to join a multi-disciplinary research team based in Population Health Sciences in Bristol Medical School. The post is funded for 2 years in the first instance with an option for up to 60 months and will provide a valuable opportunity for obtaining research training and experience.

The post is jointly funded by an international study that aims to prevent hepatitis C and HIV among people who inject drugs in lower- and middle-income countries and the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation and Behavioural Science (HPRU-EBS).

The HPRU-EBS at the University of Bristol and UKHSA with partners in the University of West of England and University of Cambridge is one of 13 HPRUs across England. HPRUs undertake research in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to address priority areas to protect the public from health threats.

What will you be doing?
The international study consists of the implementation and evaluation of interventions to improve drug treatment and needle and syringe exchange programmes, and uptake of treatment for hepatitis C. The post-holder will undertake costing studies of implementation trials in several low- and middle-income settings, such as South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Kyrgyzstan, with the expectation of 1–2-week trips to study sites for data collection where possible. There will also be opportunities to develop health economic models such as decision trees or Markov models and work closely with colleagues to develop dynamic disease transmission models to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these interventions.

The post-holder will work closely with UKHSA colleagues, coordinated via the Evaluation and Epidemiological Science division to develop economic analysis to support a variety of cost-effectiveness analyses and support the wider aims of the HPRU programme. Ongoing economic evaluations include evaluating the potential of vaccination in alternative settings to reduce health inequalities in vaccine uptake, cost-effectiveness of Emergency department HIV and hepatitis opt out testing, HCV and HBV case-finding, and community interventions to increase uptake of HIV testing and PrEP access in underserved communities.

You should apply if
We are looking for an applicant with experience in undertaking economic evaluations and costing analyses, preferably with experience of health economics in low or middle-income countries. Applications should have an interest in interventions to prevent or treat infectious diseases among vulnerable and marginalised populations, and be keen to further develop their research skills. Applicants should have strong communication and IT skills and work effectively within a team environment.