Research Associate in Heat and Health Modelling

About the role:

Are you a statistically skilled researcher interested in the health impacts of extreme heat and climate change? Join EUROASIS, a major European consortium funded through an EU Horizon grant, and contribute to interdisciplinary research spanning climate science, epidemiology, statistics and public health.

Based at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment and the School of Public Health, you will help improve understanding of temperature-related harms and evaluate innovative solutions for heat resilience.

What you would be doing:

You will develop a coherent research programme on the role of climate change in health impacts during heatwaves. Your work will include assembling, harmonising and analysing climate and health datasets; estimating heat-related mortality and morbidity burdens across European and international settings; and developing advanced statistical models where open or granular health data are limited.

You will create a methodological pipeline for heat-related health impact assessment across European cities and develop evidence-synthesis models that integrate different data sources to quantify the impact of heat on health.

What we are looking for:

We are looking for a motivated and collaborative researcher with a strong statistical background and expertise in epidemiological and environmental health data. In particular, we are looking for candidates who demonstrate:

• A PhD in statistics, epidemiology, environmental health or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research, industrial or commercial experience.
• Practical experience within a research environment and/or a record of publication in relevant, refereed journals.
• Experience with epidemiological data designs, such as cohort and case-crossover studies.
• Experience with Bayesian hierarchical models and associated software.
• Knowledge of the interface between climate science and health impacts, and ideally knowledge of climate attribution research.
• Strong statistical skills, including regression models, distributed lag non-linear models, hierarchical models and/or machine learning, together with proficiency in R.
• Excellent data-wrangling skills for environmental and climate datasets, including downloading, manipulating and linking data with health datasets.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present findings clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences and to write for publication.
• The ability to review recent literature, prioritise your work in response to deadlines, and work flexibly and cooperatively as part of a team.

What we can offer you:

• The opportunity to work at the forefront of interdisciplinary research connecting climate science, epidemiology, statistics and public health.
• The chance to contribute to research on heat-health hotspots, heat-health impact models and the attribution of health burdens to anthropogenic climate change.
• Collaboration with investigators and partners across Imperial, external climate attribution groups and the wider EUROASIS consortium.
• A stimulating and supportive research environment at the Grantham Institute and the School of Public Health.
• Opportunities to publish in high-quality journals, present at national and international meetings, and contribute to consortium deliverables.

Further Information

The position is available to start as soon as possible.

The successful candidate will be based at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment and the School of Public Health at Imperial College London. They will join the EUROASIS consortium and work closely with Dr Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, Imperial colleagues and external research partners.

This is a full-time post. This role is for a fixed-term contract for 3 years.

For further information about the role, please contact Dr Garyfallos Konstantinoudis g.konstantinoudis@imperial.ac.uk

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