Open positions in Paediatric Respiratory Epidemiology in Berne

Please apply to:

Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM)
Claudia E. Kuehni
MD, FMH Paediatrics / Paediatric Pulmonology
Professor of Paediatric Epidemiology
Mittelstrasse 43
3012 Bern
Phone +41 31 631 35 07
kuehni@ispm.unibe.ch

Two PhD student positions and a PostDoc position

The PhD students are usually employed for 3 years to learn all the skills for becoming an independent researcher in Clinical epidemiology/Paediatrics/ Paediatric Pulmonology, and to publish at least 4 excellent first author paper in their area.

• PhD student 1  will work on Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, using a detailed dataset from the Swiss national PCD registry  (N=130, rich dataset), and the international PCD cohort study (N=>3000) and collaborating closely with the COST Action BEAT-PCD.
• PhD Student 2 will work on common respiratory symptoms (wheeze, cough, ENT symptoms) in the general population, using several population –based datasets and cohort studies from Switzerland and the UK.
• The PostDoc will focus mostly on asthma and cough, supervise the students, write scientific manuscripts,  do the more demanding statistical analyses, co-lead the group, become more and more independent etc.

What we are looking for: young enthusiastic people with a strong wish to understand why some children fall ill and others do not, and to know what we can do to improve their situation. Ideally the people should have:

• a medical background; a few years clinical experience in Paediatrics, Paediatric Pulmonology or a comparable field. They will profit much more from the PhD study than new University graduates will do.
• a lot of experience in /or a strong wish to learn complex statistical analysis techniques.
• independent critical thinking
• thoughtful and careful work
• mother tongue German or French preferred, plus excellent English…

What we offer:

• a salary according the Swiss  National Science Foundation (about CHF 3500 to 4000 /month for a PhD student; about 7000/month for a postdoc)
• excellent courses on epidemiology, biostatistics, and clinical and public health epidemiology from the graduate schools of the University of Bern
• careful personal coaching in all aspects necessary to become a successful independent researcher in Paediatric Epidemiology
• Integration in a lively research group with another postdoc and 3 other PhD students working in Paediatric epidemiology (2 on PCD, 2 on asthma, 1 on CF). Be part of a larger research group (about 30 people) focusing on other paediatric diseases (childhood cancer, cerebral palsy, growth hormone deficiency, renal failure, etc)
• Close collaboration with clinical research projects  and the paediatric lung function lab in the nearby (100 meters distance) University children’s hospital (Prof. Dr. Philipp Latzin)