LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE FACULTY OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND POPULATION HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY Clinical Epidemiologist (Ethiopia) FURTHER PARTICULARS THE SCHOOL The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice. Founded in 1899 by Sir Patrick Manson, the School has expanded in recent years at its two main sites on Keppel Street and Tavistock Place. The School s multidisciplinary expertise includes clinicians, epidemiologists, statisticians, social scientists, molecular biologists and immunologists, and we work with partners worldwide to support the development of teaching and research capacity. Research income has grown to over 85 million per year from national and international funding sources including the UK government, the European Commission, the Wellcome Trust and philanthropic sources. Education programmes have grown to more than 1,000 London-based Master s and Research students, 2,900 studying Master s by distance learning and 1,000 on short courses and continuous professional development. We have also launched a series of free online courses, and more than 15,000 people registered on the first of these, Ebola in context. Our staff, students and alumni work in more than 150 countries in government, academia, international agencies and health services. The School is highly ranked in various university league tables. It was named the world s leading research-focused graduate school in the Times Higher Education World Rankings in 2013. In 2014, it was ranked in the top 10 universities in the world for citation rate by the new EU-supported U-Multirank database, fourth in the world for impact in medical sciences by the Leiden Ranking and third in the world for social science and public health in the US News Best Global Universities Ranking. According to the results of the UK government s Research Excellence Framework, published in December 2014, the School was ranked second overall (after the Institute for Cancer Research) on the key measure of impact. THE FACULTY The Faculty of Epidemiology & Population Health (EPH) houses a large group of epidemiologists, demographers, statisticians and nutritionists working on issues of major public health importance in the UK and globally. EPH has approximately 400 staff members organised into four research departments. Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology Department of Medical Statistics Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology Department of Population Health
The Faculty has a teaching programme consisting of ten MSc courses: Epidemiology, Demography and Health, Medical Statistics, Public Health in Developing Countries (run jointly with the Faculties of Infectious & Tropical Diseases and Public Health & Policy), Nutrition for Global Health, Reproductive & Sexual Health Research, Veterinary Epidemiology (run jointly with the Royal Veterinary College), Global Mental Health (run jointly with Kings College London - Institute of Psychiatry) and the Distance Learning courses in Epidemiology and Clinical Trials. The Faculty also has approximately 120 research students studying for an MPhil, PhD or DrPH degree. The Dean of Faculty is Professor John Edmunds. THE DEPARTMENT The Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (Head: Dr Veronique Filippi) has over 80 academic staff who conduct research on the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases of public health importance. Work is carried out both in developing countries and in industrialized countries including the United Kingdom. Research ranges from ecological studies of variations in disease frequency in different populations, through observational case-control and cohort studies to define risk factors for disease, to randomised controlled trials to test the impact of specific preventive and curative interventions. The Department has major field research programmes in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, Brazil and Europe and numerous collaborative projects in other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Major interests are in the epidemiology and control of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis and other mycobacteria, malaria and other tropical parasites, hepatitis, measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases, respiratory diseases and gastro-intestinal infections. The Department is home to the MRC-funded Tropical Epidemiology Group, and a large research programme on maternal and perinatal health. The Department includes both medical and statistical epidemiologists, and there is considerable interest in methodological work, including research on statistical methods, transmission models, genetic epidemiology and immune-epidemiology. There are strong collaborative links with other Departments across all three Faculties, including with the Clinical Research and Immunology Departments. The Department has an active research degree-training programme, with over 40 PhD students. Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance network (CHAMPS) at Haramaya University, Oromia, Ethiopia The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance network (CHAMPS, http://champshealth.org/) is a new global health surveillance network funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, aimed at understanding the causes of child deathd in developing countries, particularly sub-saharan Africa and South Asia. The Emory Global Health Institute, which houses the U.S. office of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI), is the lead partner in the network and has worked with the London School of Hygiene to identify a suitable site in Eastern Ethiopia. The vision for this network is to establish 20 sites over 20 years to provide surveillance data, through investigation of child deaths, to inform interventions to reduce child mortality in the highest burden areas. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia covers 1.1 million km 2 and includes almost 100 million people, of which 14 million are children (under 5 years). Haramaya University is one of the oldest Universities in Ethiopia, with its first intake in 1954. It is about 17km from the city of Harar, 40km from Dire Dawa (where there is a regional airport), and 510km East of Addis Ababa. The College of Health and Medical Sciences is based on a campus in Harar
town to facilitate training of students in nearby hospitals. This campus also hosts the office of the two Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems sites (HDSS). JOB DESCRIPTION Post: Location Responsible to Faculty: Department: Grade Clinical Epidemiologist Haramaya University, Oromia, Ethiopia Professor Anthony Scott Epidemiology and Public Health Infectious Disease Epidemiology Assistant Professor/Associate Professor The post-holder will work full-time at the CHAMPS site in Haramaya, Eastern Ethiopia and will be responsible to the Principal Investigator (PI) of the CHAMPS study, Prof Anthony Scott. The post-holder will work closely with other project specific staff (Microbiologist, Pathologist, Project Managers, Medical and Clinical Officers, Nurses, Demographic Surveillance staff, Social Science staff) to develop capacity to participate and maintain the site in the CHAMPS network. The core of the project is to develop laboratory, epidemiological and clinical surveillance for detection of infectious diseases in children who have died (through minimally invasive tissue sampling) and those with life-threatening illnesses. The Clinical Epidemiologist will be responsible for developing capacity for the surveillance programme, using standardised operating procedures defined in the CHAMPS protocols. In addition, the post holder will be expected to develop an individual research base in a related area depending on the existing skills and interests of the successful applicant. Key Responsibilities 1. Coordinate the development of a Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance network site in Kersa/Harar with the co-pi Dr Nega Assefa (Haramaya University). 2. Oversee all elements of the surveillance and research work needed to support site development, including operations, data management, demographic, clinical and laboratory surveillance, and collaboration with national and international partners. 3. Contribute to the clinical or public health service at the level and specialisation appropriate to training and qualifications. 4. Strengthen and support training, (establishing quality systems, etc) for the components of the surveillance system 5. Provide expert epidemiological advice to surveillance activities within the centre 6. Present or represent the CHAMPS study at scientific meetings 7. Lead new research projects within the scope of the CHAMPS project 8. Participate in CHAMPS network events and teleconferences 9. Develop a personal programme of research* within the scope of the CHAMPS project 10. Assist in the supervision of epidemiology and public health students at Haramaya University 11. Contribute to the academic life of Haramaya University through attendance and presentation at seminars, journal clubs etc.
12. Comparable duties as may be required by the PI and co-pis of the CHAMPS site in Haramaya. *It is anticipated that throughout the course of the project, the post-holder will use the opportunities of the large scale surveillance project to develop a personal scientific interest which will come to fruition through independent fellowship or project funding. PERSON SPECIFICATION Essential Assistant Professor Medically qualified with postgraduate training in epidemiology and/or public health PhD in epidemiology, public health or related field Must have a licence to practise medicine which is acceptable in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Clinical experience in the relevant field as specialty registrar or consultant Experience conducting epidemiological field research and implementing this with a team Substantial technical skills in epidemiology and public health surveillance Evidence of good organisational, administrative or computer skills, including statistical packages Proven ability to communicate effectively in English both verbally and written Associate Professor Medically qualified with postgraduate training in epidemiology and/or public health PhD in epidemiology, public health or related field Must have a licence to practise medicine which is acceptable in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Clinical experience in the relevant field as specialty registrar or consultant Experience conducting epidemiological field research and implementing this with a team Substantial technical skills in epidemiology and public health surveillance Evidence of good organisational, administrative or computer skills, including statistical packages Proven ability to communicate effectively in English both verbally and written Publication or other evidence of strong academic capability A substantial record of research and lead role in publications of world-class or internationally excellent quality in the field Ability to manage a team and the capacity to develop a new surveillance site Successful research grant applications commensurate with research experience and proof able to take responsibility for their delivery A growing international reputation, evidenced by presenting competitively selected research at international
Desirable Experience in infectious disease research and child health Experience working in a low or lowermiddle income country scientific or policy conferences and invitations to speak at international meetings or other universities Proven ability to teach at a postgraduate level and provide training to research teams Experience in infectious disease research and child health Experience working in a low or lowermiddle income country, working with and setting up surveillance systems Experience contributing to research grant applications SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT The post holder will be employed as an academic member of staff of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and will be based full-time at Haramaya University, Ethiopia. The post is available from 1 April 2017 and is funded until 30 June 2018. Further funding may be available after this date. The appointment will be made on the National Clinical Academic salary scale below the level of consultant: 33,597 to 56,495 per annum for the Assistant Professor post and 52,462 to 60,527 for the Associate Professor post, depending on qualifications and experience. Additional overseas allowances and benefits will be provided as appropriate. The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year, pro rata for part time. In addition to this there are discretionary Director s Days. Membership of the USS Pension Scheme is available.