PhD Student position in Climate Epidemiology and Public Health

Project background

We invite applications for a fully funded PhD position (4 years) at the Climate Epidemiology and Public Health research group at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) of the University of Bern (UniBe) in Bern, Switzerland. The student will be supervised by Prof. Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera and the research project will be developed within the newly funded NCCR CLIM+ program.

The NCCR CLIM+ supports Switzerland in the transformation towards a climate-resilient society. Together with stakeholders, the interdisciplinary NCCR CLIM+ research community tackles unexplored solution spaces to the climate crisis and develops a blueprint for actionable climate research worldwide. Bringing together expertise from 20 leading Swiss research institutions across natural and social sciences, the project combines fundamental and transformational knowledge to strengthen societal resilience to climate change. NCCR CLIM+ strives to implement equal opportunity in hiring. At NCCR CLIM+ we believe that diversity of thought, background and experience creates better research.

Within this PhD project, you will address how climate change affects healthcare infrastructure in Switzerland. In particular, the research will focus on unprecedented events (mainly heatwaves) and the collapse of the Swiss healthcare system. You will collaborate with stakeholders to identify the best hospital-based indicators, bottlenecks and tipping points to anticipate future overwhelming situations in hospital settings during extreme weather events and support the design of adaptation scenarios. Your work will include the use of nationwide healthcare and weather/climate data and the application of advanced epidemiological models and qualitative methods (i.e., interviews). You will be part of the NCCR CLIM+ programme and benefit from its extensive exchange and training in inter- and transdisciplinary research. You will be enrolled at the Climate Science Graduate School of Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern.

Duties and responsibilities of the PhD candidate

• Close interaction with researchers of the NCCR CLIM+ and with the hosting team.
• Contribute to the design and conduct of epidemiological analyses.
• Clean and analyse large observational databases.
• Participation in co-creation workshops with relevant stakeholders.
• Present own work at national and international conferences and workshops, and published peer-reviewed journals.
• Participate in teaching activities of the team.

Your profile

We seek candidates who hold a MSc degree in Epidemiology, Public Health, Biostatistics, Environmental Sciences, Climate Sciences, or a closely related field (ECTS 120-90). Previous experience with R programming, and health and weather data management and modelling is required. We encourage applications from enthusiastic and dedicated individuals with very good oral and written English communication skills. Command of one of the national languages is desired. You are motivated to work in an interdisciplinary and international working environment, have a collaborative mindset, and are motivated to interact with a diverse range of stakeholders.