About the Role
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 center at the University of Washington. 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, Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Cost Effectiveness and E?ciency; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations. Our vision is to provide policymakers, donors, and researchers with the highest-quality quantitative evidence base so all people live long lives in full health.
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 Researcher on the Vaccine and Vaccine Preventable Disease team , with a primary focus on modeling global, national, and local patterns of vaccine coverage. This work will support a new grant that is focused on developing agile techniques to produce robust and policy-relevant vaccine coverage estimates and analyses thereof. The Researcher will be a crucial member of this agile and dynamic research team using established modeling tools and developing new approaches to producing detailed estimates that will empower policymakers and donors to make optimal decisions about allocating funds and prioritizing interventions.
POSITION PURPOSE
As a member of the Vaccine and VPDs team, this full-time individual will develop, test, and implement methods and analytical processes necessary for producing national-level estimates for a broad suite of vaccines, geospatial estimates for a subset of core vaccines, contextual analyses to aid in policy decisions, and other related analyses. The Researcher will be responsible for learning and implementing existing models; working with other team members to conceptualize and implement methodological innovations; enhance the speed, reliability, and reliability of these models; and adapt the methods and outputs of these models in response to specific requests from key stakeholders and policymakers. The Researcher will have a strong command of R.
The Researcher will be integrally involved in producing, critiquing, improving, and disseminating results. Our researchers work with senior research leads and external collaborators and take part in the intellectual exchange about how to improve upon the results and disseminate the results. On the Vaccine and VPDs team, the individual will be expected to interact successfully and describe complex concepts and materials concisely to a wide range of stakeholders, including high-level individuals in government or non-governmental organizations. After presenting results, the researcher will be responsible for incorporating necessary feedback into updates and running models to formulate results.
The Researcher will 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. Overall, Researchers are critical members of agile, dynamic research teams. This position is contingent on project funding availability.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Develop a core understanding of vaccine methodology and its components.
Under the guidance of experienced scientists and/or faculty, carry out quantitative analyses and statistical modeling to produce results designated on a given timeline as part of collaborative research projects.
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.
Review, assess, and improve results and methods.
Apply computational and statistical tools and algorithms for the preprocessing, analysis, and visualization of source data.
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. Co-author 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 REQUIREMENTS
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 REQUIREMENTS
Proven interest and some experience in a given disease, risk, key indicator, methodological area, and the related data sources and scientific underpinnings.
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 at least one statistical programming language (e.g., R, Python, Stata, SAS, SQL) with R strongly preferred.
Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
Ability to work both independently and in collaboration with a team.
A long-term interest in a research scientist position contributing to the overall mission of our research.
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/careers/dei
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Track record of success in co-authorship on scientific papers, presenting results, and representing research at meetings.
Knowledge of machine learning, data mining, and analytic techniques.
Familiarity with data sources and key concepts relevant to the estimation of vaccine coverage.
Familiarity with the analysis and manipulation of spatial data sources.
Knowledge of spatial modeling techniques, such as small area estimation and/or model-based geostatistics.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Weekend and evening work sometimes required.
This position is open to anyone authorized to work in the U.S. The UW is not able to sponsor visas for staff positions.
Ofice is located in Seattle, Washington. This position is eligible to work fully remote in the U.S.; work schedule required to overlap 50% of IHME office hours, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific Time.
Application Process: The application process may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.