PhD in environmental epidemiology and ageing - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Description of the workplace
The research group Active and Healthy Ageing conducts research and education at the doctoral level in the field of ageing and health. We represent many different disciplines and professions - gerontology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, nursing, public health science, sociology, psychology and epidemiology. The research group is led by professor Susanne Iwarsson, located at the Health Sciences Center in Lund, affiliated with the interdisciplinary Center for Ageing and Supportive Environments (CASE), which engages senior and junior researchers at four of the university's faculties. 

We are now looking doctoral student who will be placed at the research group Active and Healthy Ageing and affiliated with Björk's research group EPI@LUND at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, which focuses on epidemiological population-based studies. The project is linked to  LUPOP - Lund University Population Research Platform.

At the Department of Health Sciences, we safeguard a good work environment and a workplace that is perceived as developing and stimulating for all employees.

What we offer
Lund University is a public authority which means that you receive specific benefits. Read more on the University website.

Duties and responsibilities
The education at postgraduate level is intended to lead to a doctoral degree in medical science, specializing in gerontology. The doctoral project is based on register data and the use of epidemiologic methods.

The planned studies will be carried out within the research projects Register RELOC-AGE, OLE and LivE-COVID-19 funded by the Swedish Research Council, the Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte) and the Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS). The studies within the doctoral project will generate new knowledge about the associations between the indoor and close outdoor living environment, relocations and health and well-being along the ageing process. The project also includes studies during the Covid-19 pandemic. The studies will address the impact of background factors as well as factors that affect such relationships over time.

The supervisors represent epidemiology, gerontology and public health. With the support of the supervisors, the doctoral student will participate in the planning of studies within the project, data collection and data management, as well as analyze and report the results in scientific articles in English. The doctoral student project will then be summarized in English and presented in a doctoral dissertation. The doctoral student must complete the required courses at doctoral level, actively participate in seminars and other relevant activities and become acquainted with literature relevant to the research area. Furthermore, active participation is included in the transfer of knowledge to various target groups within and outside the research community. Travel both domestically and internationally is included. Research stays at another university may also be relevant.

The doctoral student is expected to participate in activities and assignments within the two research groups where the current research projects are based, as well as those at the Department of Health Sciences and CASE. Participation as a student representative in preparatory and decision-making bodies, both within the research environment and the department as well as within the faculty and the university in general, will be encouraged. Other tasks may also occur.

Qualifications
The requirements for the position are:

• Knowledge and experience in epidemiologic studies; medical, health science, and public health research areas.
• Previous experience of the Swedish and Nordic infrastructure for population research, e.g. cohorts linked with population and health data registers.
• Very good computer literacy, including documented experience of working with statistical programmes (for example STATA, R, SPSS)
• Very good knowledge in spoken/written English

The following are considered merits for the position:  

• Expressed interest in research within gerontology and ageing.
• Experience, interest or aptitude for extensive quantitative data processing, including geographical and statistical analysis. (This is especially important for applicants with limited quantitative education in undergraduate education.)
• Good knowledge in spoken/written Swedish, other Scandinavian language or stated ambition and strategy for learning Swedish.
• Experience of working in the fields relevant to the project. 
• Experience of interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Ability to work independently, as well as in a team.

Further information
Employment is a full-time, fixed-term position of 4 years, in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance (HF), Ch. 5 Sec 7. Starting date September 1 or according to agreement.

According to Ch. 5 Sec 2 HF, those who are employed as doctoral students shall primarily devote themselves to their own education. However, an employee may to a limited extent work with education, research and administration. 

Eligibility
Students with basic eligibility for third-cycle studies are those who- have completed a second-cycle degree- have completed courses of at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits are from second-cycle courses, or- have acquired largely equivalent knowledge in some other way, in Sweden or abroad.

Read more about "Admission to our PhD programme"

Basis of assessment
The employment of doctoral students is regulated in the Swedish Code of Statues 1998: 80. Only those who are or have been admitted to PhD-studies may be appointed to doctoral studentships.  In addition to devoting themselves to their studies, those appointed to doctoral studentships may be required to work with educational tasks, research and administration, in accordance with specific regulations in the ordinance.

Type of employment
Limit of tenure, four years according to HF 5 kap 7§.