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Call for Post-Doctoral (Post-Doc) Fellowship Applications (2nd Call)

Entity

Aga Khan University

Location

Nairobi, Kenya

Introduction

“Scaling Up Research in SSA Countries in Infectious Diseases: African-European Training Network in Integrated Health Informatics and Data Sciences – BRIDGE NETWORK Project” 

Background

About the BRIDGE NETWORK Program (Project details: https://doi.org/10.3030/101145734)
BRIDGE NETWORK is a consortium of 12 leading African and European institutions aiming to train the next generation of experts in integrated health informatics and data sciences applied to infectious diseases domain.  Jointly funded by the European Union and the Global Health EDCTP3 , the program is led by Ghent University and aims to establish five Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Benin, and South Africa. These CoEs will serve as data hubs for cutting-edge research, world-class training in health data harmonization and analytics, and innovative solutions to tackle infectious diseases that continue to claim millions of lives across the African continent.

The BRIDGE NETWORK Training Program will provide: 
  • Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships training 14 experts to lead innovative research in data sciences bridged to health informatics and applied to infectious diseases.
  • Postgraduate Certifications awarding at least 20 certifications per participating country through a mix of online learning and practical field mentorship, and world-class collaboration by partnering with renowned worldwide institutions.

Application fields:
  • Title: Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Integrated Data Science and Health Informatics (Research PhD)(Scope: Infectious Diseases)

Language of application:
  • All applications MUST be submitted in English.

Recruiting  institutions
  • Applicants need to be from either Rwanda (addressed to Rwanda Biomedical Center – RBC) or Kenya (addressed to Aga Khan University -Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health) 

Target group:
  • Motivated Post-Doctoral Fellow specializing in data science and health informatics applied in infectious diseases and health systems domains. The fellow will undertake research on leveraging data sciences to address significant infectious disease challenges in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and will supervise PhD students within BRIDGE NETWORK. This position emphasizes data harmonization, analytical method development, and collaborative research in a networked, federated environment. This fellowship is ideal for candidates looking to apply advanced data science methodologies to real-world health data from SSA and lead innovative, data-driven solutions in infectious diseases research.

Number of scholarships:
  • 3 Post-doctoral fellowships in total from 2 countries distributed as follows: 2 from Kenya and 1 from Rwanda

Responsibilities

  • Lead and conduct high-level collaborative research on infectious disease topics within the BRIDGE NETWORK Centres of Excellence.
  • Drive research projects that integrate data science with health informatics to address infectious disease issues in SSA.
  • Contribute to developing data harmonization frameworks, including Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) processes, and master the “Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM)” methodology from the “Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI)” community.
  • Mentor PhD students and provide supervision on BRIDGE NETWORK activities within the SSA Country Health Data Hubs. The Country Health Data Hubs (formerly known as Centres of Excellence – CoEs) are 5 in total and distributed in BRIDGE NETWORK institutions as follows:
  • One in Benin located at the Institut Régional de Santé Publique -IRSP, Benin 
  • One in Kenya located at Aga Khan University –(AKU) Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health
  • One in Rwanda located at the Rwanda Biomedical Center -RBC (Scientific Lead)
  • One in South Africa located at university of Cape Town -UCT
  • One in Uganda located at Uganda National Institute of Public Health (UNIPH), Ministry of Health. 
  • Collaborate with local health institutions, European partners, Data sciences projects and other stakeholders to ensure knowledge exchange and strengthen local research capacity.
  • Generate scientific publications and disseminate research findings in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences (at least 3 publications expected per candidate).
  • Support the creation of interactive data dashboards and dissemination strategies to inform health policies and public health interventions.

Requirements

Eligibility criteria:
  • To be eligible, applicants should:
  • Be of Rwandan (1 candidates) or Kenyan (2 candidates) nationality.
  • Commit to dedicating at least 50% of FTE (up to 100%) of time to the fellowship.
  • Having a PhD in Data Science, Health Informatics, Computer Sciences, (Bio)Medical Sciences, Public Health or a related field with a focus on infectious diseases or public health data.
  • Witness that the PhD degree was awarded before the date of appointment to the position and have been obtained within the last 5 years (not above) from a recognized university.
  • Prove strong analytical skills with demonstrated experience in data harmonization, data wrangling, and statistical analysis.
  • Ideally have (as an asset) proficiency in statistical package such as SPSS, R, STATA, or SAS.
  • Ideally have (as an asset) proficiency in programming languages such as SQL, JSON, Python, R, or SAS
  • Witness familiarity with health data harmonizations techniques (OMOP, Others) , medical terminology and standardized vocabularies (SNOMED, ICD).
  • Ideally have (as an asset) a prior experience with federated data networks, real-world data analysis, and conducting multi-institutional studies.
  • Demonstrate records of scholarly research, including publications and conference presentations in health informatics, data science, or medicine/public health. Focusing on infectious diseases is an asset.
  • Having experience with ethical and regulatory aspects of clinical and health data management is an asset.
  • Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate across disciplines, institutions, and international partners.

How to apply
  • The application process contains two steps

First step:
  • Applicants must apply to the participating country to the BRIDGE NETWORK partners, namely :
  • From Kenya to Aga Khan University -Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health (Contact: Prof Dr Marleen Temmerman, MD, PhD -Director hr.recruitment@aku.edu)
  • From Rwanda  to Rwanda Biomedical Center -RBC (Contact: Prof Dr Claude Muvunyi Mambo, MD, PhD -Director General. E-mail: claude.muvunyi@rbc.gov.rw )
  • Documents to provide while applying for this first step:
  • Motivation letter to the BRIDGE NETWORK Coordinator, specifying 
  • The area of interest for your PhD research, ideally a high level topic title (with 10 lines maximum concept idea) in infectious disease where you leverage combined health informatics skills and data sciences techniques.
  • Copies of academic degrees (from the baccalaureate)
  • A letter of recommendation (from at least Associate Professor level) from the institutions attended by the applicant
  • Curriculum vitae, including when applicable, a list of scientific publications and justify any trajectory gap in CV if any.
  • Application Deadline for the First step: 15th July 2025.

Second step: 
  • BRIDGE NETWORK reserves the right of final pre-selection. Only the pre-selected candidates are asked to enter into the hiring process at the hiring institution (with supporting letter from BRIDGE NETWORK). 

What we offer:
  • We offer you a highly competitive contract fellowship stipend of definite duration for the period of 18 months if working 100% FTE or 36 months if working 50% (other FTE percentages in the range of 50-100 are also possible).
  • Your contract can start immediately after final selection
  • Opportunities for advanced training and professional development within the BRIDGE NETWORK program
  • Access to state-of-the-art data science tools and mentorship from a diverse, international team of experts
  • Opportunities to work in Country Health Data Hubs across SSA and collaborate with European research institutions.

To Apply

Applications together with detailed Curriculum Vitae, names of three referees, telephone contact, e-mail address and copies of certificates and testimonials should be sent to the Manager, Recruitment, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. P. O. Box 30270-00100, NAIROBI or by email to hr.recruitment@aku.edu. Applications by email are preferred.
Please indicate the title of the position on your application.​

Applications should be submitted latest by July 15, 2025