Unisanté is a leading institution in Switzerland, dedicated to research, academic training, prevention, and healthcare. Known for its innovative approach, Unisanté promotes interdisciplinarity and the integration of diverse skills to address health challenges.
The recruited PhD student will be affiliated to the Doctoral School Life Sciences at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. The workplace location will be at the University Center of primary care and public health (Unisanté), Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, under the direction of Prof Guseva Canu, who coordinates the Swiss participation in the EU Horizon Health project INTERCAMBIO (https://intercambio-project.eu/).
INTERCAMBIO regroups 13 European research groups aiming at promoting mental and physical health of workers that undergo work environment transformations due to climate changes. The overall objective of this project is to develop and implement preventive interventions to favor and support new policies for occupational health. One way to assess the effectiveness of such policies and to better inform the decision-makers is to realize hypothetical intervention to test the effects of potential exposure reduction scenarios. This can be done using the causal inference methods, such as G formula, and implement it in the existing epidemiological cohorts. The prerequisite for this is to have a properly addressed occupational exposures to the hazards of interest.
One way to retrospectively assess and quantify occupational exposure is by using a job-exposure matrix (JEM). It typically involves a matrix or table that cross-references different job categories or industries with specific occupational exposures, such as chemicals, physical agents, or biological agents. The purpose of a JEM is to provide a systematic and standardized approach for estimating exposures in epidemiological studies, especially when individual-level exposure data are not available or are difficult to obtain. JEMs are often used in studies investigating the association between occupational exposures and health outcomes, such as cancer, respiratory diseases, or other occupational illnesses. Within INTERCAMBIO, we plan to develop several JEMs and use them in available national and European prospective cohorts. The project encompasses 11 work-packages (WP) and this PhD will interact with 6 of them.
Main missions and tasks:
- Finalization and validation of the Swiss JEM for Night Shift work
- Validation of the Swiss JEM using data of the Swiss Survey of Active Population
- Application of the JEM in a Swiss cohort of general population (SNS, CoLaus or SKIPOGH)
- Analysis of exposure-effect relationship for a selected cancer and metabolic disease outcomes
- Drafting and publication of an original article
- Finalization and validation of the Swiss JEM for Tobacco smoking
- Validation of the Swiss JEM using data of the Swiss Health Survey
- Application of the JEM in a Swiss cohort of general population (SNS, CoLaus or SAPALDIA)
- Analysis of exposure-effect relationship for a selected outcome: COPD, lung function
parameter, lung cancer - Bias quantification by comparing the effect size and dose-response relationship between the
health outcomes and exposure to tobacco smoking estimated using the Danish JEM and Swiss
JEM - Drafting and publication of an original article
- Elaboration and application of the European JEMs for heat and solar UV radiation
- Conduct of exposure measurement campaigns in Switzerland (in the construction, waste
- management/recycling, and transport sectors) [part of WP2, WP6, and potentially WP8]
- Participation to exposure modelling at the EU level [part of WP2 and WP3]
- Test and validation of the EU JEMs by comparison with available Swiss data
- Application of the EU JEMs in the EU cohorts for exposure-effect analysis of selected health
- outcomes using causal inference methods (G formula and G estimation) [part of WP9]
- Estimation of attributable fraction and burden of disease attributable to heat and UV exposure
- in Switzerland and its cost [part of WP10]
- Drafting and submission of at least two scientific articles
We look for a highly motivated candidate, graduated (Master degree) in public health, epidemiology, industrial hygiene, or exposure sciences, proficient in statistical analysis using advanced quantitative methods and having excellent communication skills (oral and written) in French and English. Knowledge of German will be an asset.
The application should be done via Unisanté portal https://emploi.unisante.ch/offre/1180-doctorante-fns before 15.02.2025. Only complete applications via the portal will be considered
Please contact Prof. Guseva Canu, should you have any question regarding this position at irina.gusevacanu@unisante.ch
