Researcher (Temporary/Project), Environmental, Occupational, and Dietary Risks

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills, and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research organization at the University of Washington (UW). Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice. IHME carries out its mission through a range of projects within different research areas including the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Cost Effectiveness and Efficiency; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations.

IHME is committed to providing the evidence base necessary to help solve the world’s most important health problems. This requires creativity and innovation, which are cultivated by an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment that respects and appreciates differences, embraces collaboration, and invites the voices of all IHME team members.

IHME has an excellent opportunity for a Temporary Researcher on the Environmental, Occupational and Dietary Risks team with joint collaboration from an IHME team that focuses on neurological and other non-communicable diseases. This role will study environmental and behavioral risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. Responsibilities will include assessment of all available quantitative data through formal systematic review and then use of established modeling tools and creation of novel code to estimate how different risk factors impact Parkinson’s disease burden. Researchers working on risk factors provide comprehensive assessments of the magnitude of exposure, relative risk, and attributable burden of disease.

You will be integrally involved in producing, critiquing, improving, and disseminating results. You already have a command of epidemiology, statistics, disease modeling, or related interests, and we will help you develop an understanding of our core research and methodology. Our Researchers work with senior research leads and external collaborators and take part in the intellectual exchange about how to improve upon and disseminate the results.

You are expected to interact successfully with a wide range of partners and to describe complex concepts and materials concisely. As part of this project, you will collaborate with multiple teams at IHME as well as external experts, present results to stakeholders, and draft results for peer review. Overall, Researchers are critical members of agile, dynamic research teams.

This position is contingent on project funding.

Responsibilities:

• Develop a core understanding of risk factor epidemiology and its components. For this role, these include an epidemiological understanding of Parkinson’s disease and its risk factors and the methods used to assess how risk factors impact health burden.

• Under the guidance of senior research staff and faculty, carry out quantitative analyses and statistical modeling to produce results designated on the timeline established for this grant.

• Extract data from various sources and databases. Format, transform, review, and assess data sources to determine their relevance and utility for ongoing analysis. Understand key data sources and variations in these across and within countries.

• Apply computational and statistical methods to estimate statistical relationships between risk factor exposure and health outcomes.

• Create, test, and use relevant computer code (R and Python).

• Maintain, modify, and execute analytic machinery that generates results.

• Document code and analytic approaches systematically so that analyses can be replicated by other team members.

• Lead discussion in research meetings about results and analyses to vet, improve, and finalize results.

• Contribute to creation of presentations, manuscripts, and funding proposals. Coauthor paper(s).

• Maintain scientific awareness and intellectual agility with data, methods, and analytic techniques.

• Other duties as assigned that fall within reasonable scope of research team.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, statistics, biostatistics, math, economics, , quantitative social sciences, or related discipline plus 1 year of related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Additional Qualifications:

• Demonstrated interest and some experience in a relevant topic area, along with familiarity with associated data sources and scientific context.

• Experience/understanding of meta-analysis and systematic literature reviews

• Strong analytic, critical thinking, and quantitative skills.

• Ability to professionally and effectively communicate and work with other staff at all levels in order to achieve team goals for the analyses and related outputs.

• Results- and detail-oriented individual who can initiate and complete tasks under tight deadlines and changing priorities both independently and in a team environment. Flexibility with hours and workload is key.

• Working ability with R and Python programming language.

• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.

• Ability to work both independently and in collaboration with a team.

• A commitment to working alongside others at IHME to illuminate the health impacts of systemic racism and to work within IHME to make our organization more diverse and inclusive. See IHME’s DEI statement here: https://www.healthdata.org/about/dei.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Proven interest in environmental and/or behavioral risk factors or neuroepidemiology and the related data sources and scientific underpinnings.

• Track record of success in co-authorship on scientific papers, presenting results, and representing research at meetings.

• Experience working collaboratively with external stakeholders and meeting grant deadlines.

Conditions of Employment:

• Weekend and evening work sometimes required.

• This position is open to anyone authorized to work in the US.

• Working internationally is only allowed for IHME sponsored work that requires in -country participation.

• Office is located in Seattle, Washington. This position is eligible to work fully remote in the US; work schedule required to overlap 50% of IHME office hours, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific Time as agreed upon between employee and supervisor.