PhD student (Promovendus) Cardiovascular Epidemiology

The burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) on society is huge with >85 million people affected in Europe. The overall prevalence continues to grow due to unhealthy lifestyles and population aging. Heart failure (HF) is the final common pathway of all CVD and has a 5 year mortality rate of 20-50% despite significant advances in therapy. Currently, few biomarkers exist that can indicate risk of CVD, in particular HF. Within the context of a large international consortium, we aim to improve prediction and prevention of HF. Our aim is to better classify and mitigate the risk of CVD, in particular HF. Through access to large population-based cohorts data, we seek to identify novel omics and non-omics markers and apply traditional statistical methods as well as artificial intelligence-based modeling to better stratify the risk and tailor prevention strategies.

This project is a unique opportunity for someone seeking experience to work with a large collection of epidemiological datasets. The successful candidate will be working at the Department of Epidemiology and will be responsible for data collection, setting up new studies, analyses of large-scale datasets (also including genomic and proteomic datasets), and writing internationally peer-reviewed publications. This will result in an academic dissertation to obtain PhD degree.

At Erasmus MC we work hard to improve the care of today and the health of tomorrow. Pioneering, pushing boundaries and leading the way in research, education and care. We work with the latest equipment, techniques and care processes in a state-of-the-art building.

The candidate will be appointed at the department of Epidemiology and will work within the Cardiometabolic Epidemiology research line (prof. M. Kavousi). The department of Epidemiology is one of the world leading academic centers in Epidemiology. The department also hosts the Rotterdam Study: a unique long-term population study, which started in 1990 and currently follows more than 18,000 people aged 40 and older. The data collection within the study includes longitudinal data collected from questionnaires, extensive in-person measurements at the research center and advanced molecular and imaging data. The PhD candidate will work with the Rotterdam Study data within the context of an international consortium. There will be collaboration with data scientists, and (physician) researchers in the consortium. During her/his PhD, the PhD candidate will have the opportunity to follow relevant courses.

For more informaton about this positon, please contact prof. dr. Maryam Kavousi, professor of Population Cardiovascular Health, PI Cardiovascular Epidemiology, via m.kavousi@erasmusmc.nl.