Our research lab in Mathematical Modeling for Program Science at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions (MAP), St. Michael’s Hospital (SMH) is recruiting for a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Post-Doctoral Fellow (PDF) in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Program Science. Our lab develops data-driven mathematical models as experimental frameworks for the strategic design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of public health programs to control HIV/STI epidemics. We generate new, actionable knowledge in the service of HIV/STI prevention and care at a population-level. The research program is led by Dr. Sharmistha Mishra, in close collaboration with the HIV Clinical Prevention Unit and the Centre for excellence in Economic Analysis (CLEAR) at SMH, and with investigators, community-based organizations, and public health programs across Canada and in the following countries: India, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, and South Africa. We collaborate with investigators in Canada (in particular, the Center for Global Public Health, University of Manitoba); United States (Key Populations Program, Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Johns Hopkins University); and United Kingdom (Imperial College and Bristol University). Our lab members and collaborators are passionate about making a difference with their unique skills and perspectives within a diverse team, and are working together on what they love to do.

We are recruiting a motivated PDF with exceptional analytic, critical thinking, scientific writing, and leadership skills to independently lead projects within a growing team of mathematical modelers, statisticians, epidemiologists, and students. The fellowship involves leading observational epidemiology projects in collaboration with communities and persons with lived experience, such as persons living with HIV; and with investigators, public health teams, program implementers, and community members in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) and across socio-cultural contexts. The CIHR-funded projects led by the PDF will leverage a range of existing survey and program implementation data to break new ground in the parameterization and calibration of mathematical models of HIV/STI transmission in Canada, Kenya, and Ukraine. Specifically, the candidate will have the opportunity to develop new methods to quantify sexual networks among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Canada and how networks influence the predicted impact of HIV/STI prevention interventions; to evaluate the potential impact of key population programmes in Kenya; and to examine the potential influence of political conflict on the organization and practice of sex work in Ukraine. The fellowship will involve short- and medium-term travel to LMIC where our wider team of collaborators and knowledge-users are based - to lead activities directly related to projects and engage in research capacity-building activities with partners. Candidates should be enthusiastic about collaborative and interdisciplinary research, supporting ongoing projects in the lab, and training and mentoring students. Successful candidates will demonstrate excellent scientific communication skills, and have expertise in statistical methods in epidemiology.

This is a 1 year fellowship with opportunity for renewal for up to 3 years, and is designed to provide advanced analytic, interdisciplinary mentorship, and networking opportunities for exceptional candidates to lead into their independent scientific careers in academia, public and global health, or industry.

FELLOWSHIP ACTIVITIES:
• Design and conduct observational epidemiology projects including nested case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies from retrospective study, programmatic, or administrative data; including proposing and executing a statistical analysis plan
• Lead systematic reviews and meta-analyses or synthesis of parameter inputs or calibration targets for mathematical models of HIV/STI transmission, including generating probability distributions
• Conduct statistical analyses, including but not limited to: casual inference methods; generalized linear models, mediation analyses, latent class analyses, principal component analyses, cluster analyses; multi-level modeling
• Lead, prepare, and present findings via peer-reviewed publications, scientific and stakeholder presentations; and technical reports and evidence briefs tailored to different audiences
• Effectively design and manage projects and organize competing priorities in order to deliver projects within established time frames
• Chair research meetings (in-person or virtual)
• Lead, co-lead, and participate in research operating grants
• Support research processes (e.g., produce background material for grant submission, review research ethics applications and subcontracts)
• Communicate with research, policy, program, and community partners
• Facilitate and provide mentorship to partners in LMIC during manuscript writing and analyses workshops via research capacity-building activities
• Train and co-supervise students

QUALIFICATIONS:
• A PhD in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Health Economics, and/or related discipline
• Advanced analytical skills and advanced proficiency in the use of at least one statistical software program (R preferred; Stata, SAS, Python) – required
• Excellent scientific writing and editing skills – required
• Prior experience in designing study tools, cleaning raw data, complex data analyses – required
• Minimum 3 peer-reviewed publications and/or reports to policy-makers, non-governmental agencies, etc. where the candidate contributed to >75% of the writing as first author or co-author (submitted publications acceptable) – required
• Previous experience in protocol development, grant writing, and making presentations to scientific audiences – required
• Demonstrated experience in grey literature search, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses – required
• Experience with multiple study design formats including cross-sectional surveys, cohort studies, case-control studies, and demonstrated understanding of various sources of biases in data – required
• Demonstrated understanding of various complex survey sampling strategies (including respondent-driven and cluster sampling) – required
• Training or experience with casual inference models, structural equation modeling, mediation analyses, cluster analyses – required
• Excellent verbal communication skills – especially in communicating complex analytics to a variety of stakeholders – required
• Excellent written communication and documentation of code and analyses – required
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team in a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment – required
• Experience in HIV/STI research – an asset
• Collaboration in, or experience working with, mathematical modeling studies (especially economic evaluation or infectious disease transmission models) - an asset
• Previous work in LMIC for fieldwork and to support data-collection – an asset
OTHER SKILLS:
• Aptitudes for accuracy, reproducibility, and details
• Work collaboratively with internal team members (including students), external stakeholders, and with persons with lived experience and communities affected by HIV/STIs and other infectious diseases
• Motivated, self-starting, with strong time management and project coordination skills
• Ability to understand and interpret complex study analysis plans
• Enthusiasm for self-directed learning and to adapt new analytic approaches relevant to research questions
• Ability to multi-task, work accurately and effectively under pressure, meet deadlines, and remain composed in high-pressure situations
• Experience working or volunteering in low and middle-income countries – preferred
• Flexible to work beyond the job description at times as work demands
• Logical, excellent decision making and independent problem-solving skills
• Superior organizational skills to manage and prioritize workload

APPLICATION NOTES: Please apply via the SMH portal and include (i) a cover letter outlining why this position is of interest, including relevant training, skills, and career goals as an attachment; (ii) and an updated CV as an attachment.

Please email your transcript (unofficial or official) from all graduate training; an example of your writing (e.g. first author publication); and a snippet of code written for prior analyses, in any statistical language directly to Kristy Yiu (yiuc@smh.ca).

RELEVANT SMH/LKSKI WEBSITES:
• MAP: http://stmichaelshospitalresearch.ca/research-programs/urban-health-solutions/
• Sharmistha Mishra: http://stmichaelshospitalresearch.ca/researchers/sharmistha-mishra/
• CLEAR: http://www.hubresearch.ca/
• HIV Clinical Prevention Unit: http://stmichaelshospitalresearch.ca/researchers/darrell-tan/

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