PhD position in PharmacoEconomic modeling

A 48 months vacancy for a PhD position is available in the group of Prof. Dr. Talitha L. Feenstra, Professor in PharmacoEconomics at the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen. We offer a stimulating research environment in the field of health economic evaluation and health technology assessment.

What are you going to do?

The research is aimed to contribute to the project “CAREPATH” which stands for “Collaborative action and research for engagement, persistence and adherence in treatment & health. This is a IHI-funded 5 year international research project. The current vacancy concerns a 48 month appointment as an employed PhD researcher for 100% (1 fte). 

The project aims to develop a toolbox that supports patients with chronic diseases in taking their medicines in a way that is supporting their health as much as possible. Special focus goes to Cardiovascular Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, and Obesity and medicines that are used for the prevention and treatment of these conditions. In Groningen, we lead the workpackage dedicated to Economics and Policy and are responsible for the Health Technology Assessment of the CAREPATH toolbox. This involves both an assessment of current care, as well as development of policy scenarios and evaluation of the expected results of these scenarios. 

Your role will be to contribute to scenario analyses and evaluations. Together with a second PhD candidate, other team members at the university of Groningen (Tanja Fens and Talitha Feenstra), as well as international partners, you will work on building and applying health economic decision models to support the economic evaluation of the CAREPATH treatment strategies. You will collaborate with people in Spain and Sweden to estimate model-parameters using observational data and then apply these models in economic evaluations. 

We are looking for enthusiastic and talented candidates with

Essential qualifications

• A MSc. degree in a quantitative discipline, for instance Applied Mathematics, Econometrics, or Operations Research or in Epidemiology or Health Services Research with a proven affinity and ability for quantitative research.
• Capacity to think analytically and creatively
• Fluency in English - written and oral.
• Good communication skills and ability to work with people from different countries and backgrounds.

Preferred qualifications

• Previous hands-on experience with the analysis of real-world healthcare data.
• Familiarity with relevant software (R, Python).
• Previous research experience including publication/reporting.

• 232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.
• End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.
• Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.

At the University of Groningen (UG), researchers from all fields of academia and technology are working on academic challenges and societal questions. Lecturers prepare their students for meaningful careers within or outside the academic world. Interdisciplinary research and teaching, sharing of knowledge, collaboration with businesses, government institutions, and societal organizations are aspects that are of the utmost importance to this European top university. The UG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working climate that invites you to add your value.

The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) provides teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines, from physics and biology to artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, and pharmacy. In close collaboration with partners from industry, healthcare, and society, we contribute to the urgent challenges of our time, such as energy, sustainability, digitization, and medical technology. Our community is open and informal, with more than 7,000 students, 1,000 PhD students, and 1,400 staff members from all over the world. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Science and Engineering, visit rug.nl/fse. 

You will join our international group consisting of a Professor, 3 parttime PostDoc researchers, 5 PhD students and a varying number of masterstudents. This group is part of the research unit PharmacoTherapy, - Epidemiology and – Economics (PTEE), with PIs and PhDs in all of these areas, as well as in statistics and in metabolomics please see the PTEE webpages for more information.

Do you have any questions or need more information?

Questions about the content of the job?
Talitha Feenstra (Full Professor): T.L.Feenstra@rug.nl

Questions about your application process?
Talitha Feenstra (Full Professor): T.L.Feenstra@rug.nl