phd-student in health economics

The research will be conducted within LUHTAR, the newly established interfaculty and interdisciplinary research unit on Health Technology Assessment at KU Leuven. Within LUHTAR, various academic disciplines are active, with expertise ranging from health economics, decision-making, ethics, statistics, and epidemiology to medicine and the legal aspects of health technology. The researcher will also be part of the broader Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy and the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, within which a wide range of academic activities, teaching, and training are offered.
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Project

This project will investigate the impact of involuntary childlessness and infertility on people’s health and well-being, how this disease burden can be meaningfully quantified for health policy, what the implications are for equitable healthcare resource allocation, funding of MAR treatments and it will aim to produce an objective assessment of the added social value of new fertility treatments (e.g., egg freezing). To this end, various exclusive and already collected international datasets will be used. The recruited researcher will gain broad expertise in methods of health economic evaluation, HTA and decision science and be involved in timely health policy discussions. The results will be written in article format and published in international scientific journals, and presented at international scientific conferences. If desired, the researcher can also be involved in teaching health economics (seminars) within the Faculty of Medicine.

Profile

• Master degree obtained at least with ‘distinction’
• preferably in a relevant discipline such as (applied) economics, psychology, medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, etc. 
• strong in analytical thinking
• sufficient foundation in statistics and quantitative skills
• strong written communication skills
• experience with health economics and HTA is an advantage (but not a requirement).

• an interest in (in)fertility

Offer

An initial one-year contract as a full-time scientific staff member within LUHTAR. If necessary, part-time positions are also possible. The candidate will receive intensive supervision from specialists in health economics and clinical experts, and will be able to attend training sessions and conferences related to the subject of the research. He/she will receive an attractive salary, be provided with their own office/laptop/etc. within the Department of Public Health at KU Leuven and will be part of a dynamic team of young researchers specializing in health economics, HTA, and medical decision-making.

The initial contract is meant to serve as the basis for a four-year doctoral study, subject to a positive evaluation.

As an employee, the staff member is entitled to numerous benefits associated with employment at KU Leuven (e.g., a wide range of free courses and training, bicycle and bicycle allowance, train subscription, etc.).

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Jeroen Luyten, tel.: +32 16 37 46 80, mail: [email protected].

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