Research Assistant

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is one of the world’s leading public health universities. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.

This is an 18 month Research Assistant position, with the successful candidate embarking on a PhD programme at LSHTM. It is anticipated that the role will lead to a further 18 month funded opportunity at Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR), in Germany, subject to MPIDR terms and conditions.

The role is based within the Mortality and Inequalities Research Group at LSHTM with close partnership with the Department of Digital and Computational Demography at MPIDR. José Manuel Aburto (LSHTM) and Emilio Zagheni (MPIDR) will supervise the successful candidate. 

This position is an excellent opportunity for highly-motivated and qualified candidates to work with an international team on developing cutting-edge novel demographic, statistical and computational methods in estimating, modelling and forecasting measures of health, well-being, and human mortality using traditional and new forms of data, with a focus on developing and low-income countries. 

The successful applicant will spend 18 months at LSHTM and enrol in the PhD programme, with fees funded by LSHTM for the duration of the programme.  It is anticipated that the role will lead to a further 18 month funded opportunity in residence at MPIDR, in Germany, which would be subject to MPIDR terms and conditions. The successful candidate is expected to enrol in the MPIDR IMPRS-PHDS programme from the beginning of their doctoral training at LSHTM, which provides further opportunities for training and networking. They will be working within a vibrant community of research degree students and researchers at both institutes. 

The post-holder must have a relevant first (or postgraduate) degree in the field of social or health sciences, bio/statistics, epidemiology or demography. Relevant experience in mathematical demography, statistics or other discipline with strong quantitative components to estimate population and/or mortality profiles is also essential. Further particulars are included in the job description. 

The post is full-time 35 hours per week, 1.0 FTE and fixed-term for 18 months. The post at LSHTM is funded by a Wellcome Career Development Award and is available immediately. 

The salary will be on the LSHTM salary scale Grade 5 in the range £39,432 - £45,097 per annum (inclusive of London Weighting). The post will be subject to LSHTM terms and conditions of service.  Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year, pro rata for part-time staff. In addition to this there are discretionary “Wellbeing Days”. Membership of the Pension Scheme is available. The post is based in London at LSHTM.

Applications should be made on-line via our jobs website. Online applications will be accepted by the automated system until 10pm of the closing date. Any queries regarding the application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk.

The supporting statement section should set out how your qualifications, experience and training meet each of the selection criteria. Please provide one or more paragraphs addressing each criterion. The supporting statement is an essential part of the selection process and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that the application will not be considered. An answer to any of the criteria such as "Please see attached CV" will not be considered acceptable. 

Interviews are likely to be held in October 2025. Please note that if you are shortlisted and are unable to attend on the interview date it may not be possible to offer you an alternative date.