PhD Position Title

PhD candidate Risk-based prevention for melanoma skin cancer in the Netherlands

PhD Position Summary

Job description
We are looking for a PhD candidate interested in developing and applying new methodologic strategies in melanoma skin cancer prevention research. During the PhD project, you will collect your own data and use existing databases to study causal factors and predictors for melanoma skin cancer development and prognosis. You will work within interdisciplinary teams, closely collaborating with the departments of Health Promotion, Methodology and Statistics, and Dermatology at the Maastricht UMC+.

Key responsibilities

• Active data collection.
• Working with large datasets of scientific data and real-world data.
• Preparing analysis plans and performing advanced statistical analysis.
• Scientific communication, such as writing scientific articles and giving presentations.
• Writing a PhD dissertation.

The PhD candidate will be supervised by members of the Department of Epidemiology at Maastricht University. The project is embedded within two research institutes of Maastricht University: Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI) and Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction (GROW).

The PhD candidate will also be involved in teaching activities within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, such as the Bachelor of Medicine, Health Sciences, and European Public Health.

Project background
Melanoma skin cancer is an invasive and life-threatening disease affecting an estimated 330,000 people worldwide in 2022, with an increasing incidence each year. Effective prevention is of major importance. A risk-based approach is preferred, targeting prevention strategies to persons at increased risk. However, the prediction of a person’s risk and the causal and contextual factors that impact the effectiveness of prevention strategies remain unclear.

Conducting randomized controlled trials to study the effectiveness of preventive interventions is not feasible, amongst others, due to the large timeframe from exposure until the development of the disease. In this project, therefore, novel epidemiological and statistical methods will be used to study causality and risk prediction of melanoma skin cancer using observational data.

Project aims

• To study the cost-effectiveness of risk-based prevention for melanoma skin cancer.
• To study causal and contextual factors contributing to melanoma skin cancer development.
• To validate and further develop prediction models for identifying persons at risk for melanoma skin cancer.
• To gain insight into current prevention practices by comparing available guidelines for prevention & screening with usual care of melanoma skin cancer.

Eligibility and requirements

Requirements
We are looking for an enthusiastic PhD candidate with excellent Dutch communication skills, a curious attitude, perseverance, and resilience. Being able to plan and organize well is a requirement, as well as being a team player who easily connects with researchers and health professionals from other disciplines. The PhD candidate should have an affinity for epidemiology, especially advanced methods and statistical analysis, and view applying and advancing epidemiological methods as an exciting challenge. Affinity or prior experience with the topic melanoma skin cancer and cancer research is an advantage.

Qualifications

Proficient in use of English language and good English writing skills.

A master’s degree in Epidemiology, Biomedical Sciences, Biostatistics, Arts-Klinisch Onderzoeker, Medicine, or a related field.

Experience in working with R (or another relevant statistical software package).

Excellent analytic and problem-solving skills.

Ability to work independently as well as in a team.

Effective communication skills.

Our Offer

As PhD candidate Risk-based prevention for melanoma skin cancer in the Netherlandsat Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:

• Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale P according to UFO profile PhD, with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €2901,00 and €3707,00 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
• An employment contract for a period of 12 months with a scope of 1,0 FTE. Upon a positive evaluation, an extension of 3 years will follow.
• At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model.
• As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students.
• Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as ‘acknowledge and appreciate’.

The terms of employment at Maastricht University are largely set out in the collective labor agreement of Dutch Universities. In addition, local provisions specific to UM apply. For more information, click here.

Application Deadline

Jan 8, 2025

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