Recently, a large new national research project has started on acute stroke diagnostics in the ambulance (prehospital triage). This research project (called CROSSROADS) is carried out by 3 University Medical Centers (UMC’s) in The Netherlands (Amsterdam UMC, Maastricht UMC+ and UMCG) and is subsidized by the Netherlands Heart Foundation. Specifically, two new technical instruments will be tested that allow ambulance nurses to quickly and accurately diagnose acute stroke in the home setting. The two instruments are based on electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial doppler (TCD). The companies behind the instruments (TrianecT and NovaSignal, respectively) and two ambulance services (in Amsterdam and Maastricht regions) are also participating the study.
For the CROSSROADS study, we at the UMCG are looking for an enthusiastic researcher. As a PhD student, you will be primarily employed to conduct the economic evaluation of the triage tools. This includes collecting (economic) data, analyzing the data and writing scientific articles. You will also collaborate with colleagues from Canada who support in data analysis.

As prior education for this position, a (Research) Master is a requirement, preferably in Medicine, Epidemiology, Business Administration, Economics or Health Sciences. Candidates completing their Masters in the near future are also invited to apply. We are looking for candidates with an interest in economic evaluations of health interventions. Affinity with scientific research - especially economic scientific research - is highly recommended. Good organizational and contact skills are essential for this position, as is an accurate and independent working manner. Good oral and written expression skills in Dutch and English are required.

The UMCG has a preventive Hepatitis B policy. The UMCG can provide you with the vaccination, should it be required for your position. In case of specific professions a ‘Certificate of Good Conduct is required.

We offer a full-time contract (36 hours per week) for a period of four years in the Department of Epidemiology. The desired hire date is as soon as possible. The first year is a probationary period, after a positive evaluation the position will be extended for three years. An annual appraisal will take place every year. The salary is maximum € 3.677,- (PhD salary scale) depending on education and relevant experience and based on full-time employment. In addition, the UMCG offers 8% vacation allowance and 8.3% year-end bonus. The terms of employment are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Medical Centres (CAO-UMC).

Neurologie

The doctoral student will be assigned to Department of Neurology and Epidemiology at UMCG, but there will be close collaboration with Department of Neurology within UMCG and the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Groningen (RUG).

Department of Neurology (UMCG)
The Neurology Department of the University Medical Center's core mission is to provide specialist care for patients with complex and/or rare diseases. The Department of Neurology also has this top referral function, especially for the care of patients with stroke neurotraumatology and movement disorders. For the treatment of stroke patients, UMCG serves as a tertiary treatment center for the Northern Netherlands region.

Department of Epidemiology (UMCG)
The Epidemiology Department of the University Medical Center has as its central theme "Life course epidemiology of chronic diseases" and is thus at the center of one of UMCG's main research themes, namely Healthy Ageing. More details can be found in the annual report, available at http://www.rug.nl/research/epidemiology/.

Department of Operations (RUG, Faculty of Economics and Business)
The cutting edge (inter)disciplinary research of the Operations department is currently built around the themes of supply chain integration, resilience, health care operations, production planning & control, asset management, sustainability, operations, transport and energy supply, and is regularly published in top tier journals, see: https://www.rug.nl/feb/organization/departments/operations/research.