PhD fellowship in big data analysis within the SmartSleep program

Sections of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Department of Public Health

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

University of Copenhagen

We are offering a PhD fellowship in functional data analysis and machine learning on smartphone tracking data commencing as soon as possible.

Our group and research

The PhD fellow will be jointly appointed with the Sections of Epidemiology and Biostatics and will be part of an interdisciplinary and dynamic research group in Complexity and Big Data (https://publichealth.ku.dk/about-the-department/section-epidemiology/research-epi/complexity-and-big-data/). We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in an international research environment. Application and development of novel methodology is one of our core strengths.

Project description

The PhD project will be part of the ongoing SmartSleep program (www.smartsleep.ku.dk), which aims to explore health consequences of nighttime smartphone use. We have developed and tested a SmartSleep app, which automatically tracks screen activation and accelerometer data round-the-clock. Such smartphone mappings provide a unique opportunity to utilize high-resolution objective information on smartphone activity to document smartphone interrupted sleep during the entire sleep span. The PhD project will be aimed at identifying and characterizing clusters in the functional data arising from the temporal trajectories of nighttime smartphone use based on smartphone tracking data in approximately 10,000 people and associate these to validated measures of sleep problems and sleep medication in the national drug prescription registry. The candidate will be involved in both the methodological development aimed at combining functional data analysis with modern methods of machine learning and artificial intelligence and in the data handling and applied analysis of the millions of data points in the SmartSleep data material.

Principal supervisor is Professor Naja Hulvej Rod, Section of Epidemiology, [email protected], tel. 35 32 67 35 and Principal co-supervisior is Associate Professor Andreas Kryger Jensen, Section of Biostatistics, [email protected], tel. 35 33 35 28.

Start: May 1st 2020

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

• Carry through an independent research project under supervision
• Complete PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS points
• Participate in active research environments including a stay at another research team
• Obtain experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Teach and disseminate your knowledge
• Contribute to grant applications within the project
• Write a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

We are seeking a highly motivated and productive candidate with a Master’s degree in Statistics, Applied Statistics, Biostatistics, Computer/Data Science or related fields. Previous involvement in research projects is an advantage.

Complex computational methods are needed to conduct the analyses described in the project and documented experience of advanced computational statistics using e.g., R or Python is a prerequisite for the position. Previous experience with or applied knowledge of topics such as functional data analysis, artificial neural networks, latent class models, supervised and unsupervised clustering methods, high-dimensional data analysis and modern machine learning will be acknowledged.

It is also a prerequisite for the PhD fellowship that the candidate can be and is not already enrolled as a PhD student at the faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Place of employment

The place of employment is at Sections of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Terms of employment
The employment as PhD fellow is full time and for 3 years.

It is conditioned upon the applicant’s success­ful enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant prior to employment.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2019) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree. Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agree­ment between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary begins around 27.362,94 DKK /approx. 3.650 EUR (April 2019-level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact Professor Naja Hulvej Rod [email protected], tel. 35 32 67 35 or Associate Professor Andreas Kryger Jensen, Section of Biostatistics, [email protected], tel. 35 33 35 28.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Submit your application via the link below no later than 29 March 2020. Applications submitted after this date will not be considered.

The application must be written in English and should consist of the following:

• Motivated letter of application (max 2 pages). Please briefly describe your previous research experiences and interests and what attracts you to the position in terms of both the topic and the academic work.
• Curriculum vitae detailing education, work, research and teaching experiences, conference presentations, publication record, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
• Documentation of knowledge on advanced computational methods, e.g. a list of methods you have worked with and in which context.
• Official transcripts of examination results.
• A certified/signed copy of degree certificate(s).
• Contact information for two reference persons.

Application deadline: 29 March 2020, 23.59pm CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicant will be assessed as described in the Ministerial Order on the Job Structure of Academic Staff at Universities of 11 December 2019.

Interviews are expected to be held in week 17 and 18.

The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences comprises approximately 7500 students, 1500 PhD students and 3200 employees. The Faculty advances the field of health sciences through its core activities: research, teaching, knowledge sharing and communication. With basic research fields ranging from molecular studies to studies of society, the Faculty contributes to a healthy future through its graduates, research findings and inventions benefitting patients and the community. The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

Kilde: Jobnet.dk