The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research center at the University of Washington focused on expanding the quantitative evidence base for health. A core research area for IHME is the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) enterprise. A systematic, scientific effort to quantify the comparative magnitude of health loss due to diseases, injuries, and risk factors by age, sex, and geography over time, the GBD is the largest and most comprehensive effort to date to measure epidemiological levels and trends worldwide. The GBD’s aim is to provide policymakers, donors, and researchers with the highest-quality quantitative evidence base to make decisions that achieve better health.

IHME currently hosts the Malaria Modeling Consortium (MMC) Secretariat, which coordinates research activities by independent modeling groups. Researchers will be integrally involved in producing, critiquing, improving, and disseminating results of the MMC. Researchers must develop an understanding of modeling methodology and must already have a strong command of either epidemiology, statistics, disease modeling, or related interests. The individual will work with senior research leads and take part in the intellectual exchange about how to improve upon the results and in creating papers and presentations that help share the results with broader audiences.

IHME has an exciting opportunity for a Researcher. The individual will be expected to interact successfully with a wide range of stakeholders and to describe complex concepts and materials concisely. Overall, the Researcher will be a critical member of an agile, dynamic research team. This position is contingent on project funding availability.

Responsibilities include:

Research command and analyses
• Communicate with MMC Modeling teams, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation malaria team, and malaria elimination partners (e.g. Clinton Health Access Initiative, MACEPA) in order to best understand the nature, key characteristics, and context of the MMC projects and engage in critiques of the analytic results.
• Coordinate ongoing projects of the MMC Modeling teams, and communicate with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation malaria team to refine project objectives and assure research fulfills those objectives.
• Develop and keep current an understanding of MMC’s research into the global burden of malaria, malaria elimination, and malaria eradication.
• Help to implement the infrastructure required to coordinate data sharing for MMC projects.
• Develop and maintain relationships with designated collaborators. Respond to and, as appropriate, integrate feedback from collaborators into the analyses. Work directly with collaborators to understand data to which they have access, and to in turn help them understand the methods being applied. Help to manage and orchestrate joint strategies for analysis.
• Effectively communicate and work with other staff at all levels in order to achieve team goals for the analyses and related outputs.
• Contribute and develop ideas for new research projects.
• Manage analytic processes and estimation to deadlines, participating fully in planning, implementation, and recalibration of efforts.
• He/she will write papers and contribute to methodological advancements over time.
• Lead IHME projects on malaria elimination. Design and implement the software required to evaluate activities related to malaria stratification, malaria drug policy, novel vector-based interventions, or maintaining malaria elimination.
• Address specific methodological challenges to improve the science of malaria elimination. When developing solutions to the methodological challenges, they will design implementation approaches that can be widely applied by non-experts with modest instruction.
• Create diagnostics and quality review mechanisms that help to track, monitor, and manage complex analytic processes.
• Help in the development of IHME software designed to simulate malaria transmission dynamics and control. Create, test, and use relevant computer code (in R or C++). Maintain and distribute completed software, as needed.

Publication and dissemination
• Write and lead publication of research findings in international peer-reviewed journals and other publications.
• Present papers at national and international conferences to disseminate research findings.
• Represent the MMC at external meetings, seminars, and conferences.

General responsibilities
• Lead discussion in research meetings about results and analyses in order to vet, improve, and finalize results.
• Document code and analytic approaches systematically so that analyses can be replicated by other team members.
• Support project leaders in the development of new funding proposals
• Become a fully contributing member of the MMC overall, lending help and support where needed, participating in mutual intellectual critique and development with colleagues, and acting as a mentor to more junior staff contributing to the research process.

Minimum qualifications:
Master’s in public health, epidemiology, statistics, biostatistics, or related field plus three years’ related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Disease and/or risk-specific expertise, including familiarity with data sources and epidemiology.
• Demonstrated interest in the research described.
• Experience of and demonstrated success in modeling using at least one of the following programming languages: R, C++.
• Excellent analytical and quantitative skills.
• Ability to undertake research projects with limited guidance.
• Excellent communication skills, including track record of success in writing for publication, presenting research proposals and results, and representing research groups at meetings.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, team-oriented research environment with a focus on producing innovative, policy-relevant results.
• A theoretical and practical understanding of disease modeling.

Desired qualifications:
• PhD in public health, ecology, epidemiology, statistics, biostatistics, or related field.

Further Information: See IHME’s website: www.healthdata.org

To Apply: Please apply through the UW Hires Website and enter Req 156804.

For Postdoctoral Fellowship roles: http://apply.interfolio.com/51309