Position

Research Assistant

Department

Tuberculosis Group

Location

This post is based in OUCRU Ho Chi Minh City

Hours of work

Full-time

Tenure

This is a 1 year contracted position, including a 2 month probation period, with possibility of extension

Reporting to

Dr. Le Thanh Hoang Nhat, Lead of Data team

Vacancy reference

JD-0422-024

Background

The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) is a large-scale clinical and public health research unit, with sites offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam, Jakarta in Indonesia and Kathmandu in Nepal. In Vietnam, we are hosted by the Hospital of Tropical Diseases (HTD) in Ho Chi Minh City, and the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases (NHTD) in Hanoi. OUCRU-Nepal is hosted by the Patan Academy of Health Sciences, and in Indonesia we exist in partnership with the Eijkman Institute as the Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Programme (EOCRU). As a Wellcome Africa Asia Programme, we have received considerable support from Wellcome since our establishment in 1991.

OUCRU’s vision is to have local, regional and global impact on health by leading a locally driven research programme on infectious diseases in Southeast Asia. Priority is given to health issues important to the hospitals where we work, and to the countries as a whole where we operate: Vietnam, Indonesia and Nepal. All work is intended not only to benefit the patients seen daily at our host hospitals, but also to help improve patient care throughout Southeast Asia.

OUCRU employs approximately 320 people across Viet Nam and has an average annual budget of USD 12mil.

Please see more information on the OUCRU Website: www.oucru.org.

Job summary

The TB group’s major research interests are improving TB diagnosis and treatment by carrying out clinical trials of new diagnostic tests and therapeutic approaches. We also aim to understand how genetic variations in both host and pathogen influence disease presentations, treatment responses and outcomes. We are in collaboration with three hospitals in Vietnam (the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital and National Lung Hospital) and overseas institutions (Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Washington, California, Harvard, Melbourne, Radboud, Stellenbosch) to conduct clinical and laboratory studies.

The TB group currently consists of six small teams, including Data team. Data team currently consists of one PhD student, and one team leader. They are in charge of bioinformatics research and perform statistical analysis for various studies within TB group.

We are seeking a motivated and talented person who will contribute to the statistical support of the studies performed in the TB group.

Key responsibilities and tasks

More specifically, the tasks involve:

• to provide support in the writing of research proposals and protocols (e.g. doing sample size calculations)
• to prepare data sets for analysis, i.e. transform the collected data to a format that can be used for analysis
• to help writing analysis plans that describe the necessary steps in the analysis
• to write code to perform statistical analyses for studies in the group (mainly laboratory studies and observational studies), mostly using the R statistical program

Depending on qualifications, the research assistant may initially work under close supervision of the data team leader and receive thorough on-the-job training. Strong candidates will be encouraged to contribute to the methodological research in biostatistics/bioinformatics at TB group and to apply to the unit’s PhD program.

Selection criteria

Essential:

• BSc or MSc in i) mathematics or statistics, ii) health sciences or epidemiology with a strong interest in quantitative methods, or iii) a quantitative discipline with a strong interest in health care.
• Knowledge of the principles of statistical analysis
• Familiarity with statistical methods for complex data structures (e.g. survival data and repeated measurements)
• Knowledge in database management
• Experience of programming in R, Python or another programming language
• Appropriate English language skills (IELTS 6.5 or higher)
• Communication skills and the ability to explain statistical issues to researchers with a different background
• Analytical problem-solving skills, willingness to learn and develop, self-initiative, attention to detail

Desired:

• Experience in clinical research
• Knowledge of Git and GitHub
• Knowledge of machine learning and image processing (e.g. for CT scan/MRI)

Benefits

• Contracted salary: Negotiated (depending on actual experience and education).
• Optional insurance : In-patient and out-patient medical coverage; Personal accident insurance coverage
• Two months salary for annual bonus and clothes
• Annual leave 18 days/year for the first year, a maximum of 30 days
• Other responsibilities and benefits are based on Viet Nam Labor Law.

How to apply

Interested qualified candidates are invited to send their detailed resume and cover letter in English, including copies of relevant degrees, certificates, either by email or by post to the following address:

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit

Laboratory of Clinical Science

Hospital for Tropical Diseases

764 Vo Van Kiet, Ward 1, District 5, HCMC

Tel: 39237954

Email: hr@oucru.org

* We thank all applicants for their interest but only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview.

Contact person

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Phuc

Deadline for submission

10^th June 2022