Epidemiology

The Epidemiology Group was re-established in 2005 with the appointment of Professor Gary Macfarlane as the Chair of Epidemiology. Other senior academic staff are Dr Gareth Jones (Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology and deputy head of group) and Dr Sohinee Bhattacharya (Lecturer in Obstetric Epidemiology). A full staff list is available from our staff pages.

The group is predominantly focused on research and there are 3 distinct, but complementary programmes of work:

In addition, we have an affiliated programme in Oral Health Epidemiology based in the University of Aberdeen Dental school, lead by Dr Tatiana Macfarlane.

One area of specific interest, across the research programmes, is chronic pain. This work is conducted within the Aberdeen Pain Research Collaboration which involves scientists from across the Institute of Applied Health Science; from the Musculoskeletal research collaboration within the Institute of Medical Sciences; and clinicians from NHS Grampian. In 2010, our work on Musculoskeletal Research was awarded European League Against Rheumatism "Centre of Excellence in Rheumatology" status.

Epidemiology Courses

We run a one-week Intensive Course in Applied Epidemiology, annually, in the first full week of March. These are very popular courses and numbers are limited to 25 delegates. For further information visit the ICAE homepage.

For those within the University we also teach epidemiology modules as part of MSc programmes:

Opportunities

There are a number of opportunities for work within the Epidemiology Group. Interested persons should contact epidemiology@abdn.ac.uk in the first instance, marking their e-mail for the attention of Professor Macfarlane or Dr Jones.
  • PhD degree: We are always keen to hear from well qualified and highly motivated potential PhD students. If you are interested in joining our PhD programme, please send us an email including your curriculum vitae. We receive many contacts per year and will only consider those who fit well within at least one of our research themes - so make clear that you do so in your covering letter. Potential students should be aware, however, that most of the sources of funding for our PhD students only provide fee support at the level for UK and/or European Union based students.

  • Internships: there are some positions available for undergraduate or postgraduate students who wish to join us on an internship. These give students the opportunity to work on a research project, contribute to publications and participate in training events. We have a memorandum of understanding with the University of Bremen under the ERASMUS-mobility programme but will also consider students from elsewhere.

  • Postgraduate training: we have a track record of hosting post-MD students from the Institute of Postgraduate Medicine in Sri Lanka, who undertake one-year training programmes.

  • Sabbaticals: scientists or clinicians who are interested in joining us for a defined period of sabbatical study and whose research interests are linked to those of the group should contact us to discuss possibilities. There are a limited number of fellowships available within the Institute of Applied Health Sciences and the School of Medicine and Dentistry and we support applications for fellowships of mutual benefit.

Vacancies

We are currently seeking to appoint a Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology.  The successful candidate will be expected to develop his / her own research portfolio within one of the Epidemiology Group research programmes, and to contribute to teaching within the Group, including formal lectures and postgraduate research student supervision.  Interested candidates should contact Professor Gary Macfarlane or Dr Gareth Jones to discuss the position, on epidemiology@abdn.ac.uk

We are also seeking to appoint a Research Fellow to work in the Musculoskeletal Research Programme. If you are interested in such an opportunity please contact Dr Gareth Jones (epidemiology@abdn.ac.uk)