Projeto: HIneC “When do health inequalities start? Understanding the impact of childhood social adversity on health trajectories from birth to early adolescence (AAC Nº 02/SAICT/2017-POCI-01-0145-FEDER—029567)

Prazo de candidatura: 1 de Junho a 16 de junho, 2020

Summary: 

The Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto (ISPUP) opens a call to hire a PhD Researcher under Sistema de Apoio à Investigação Científica e Tecnológica (SAICT) – Call nr 02/SAICT/2017 - Projeto de Investigação Científica e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico (IC&DT), funded by Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização through Fundos Europeus de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER/FNR) and through national funds (FCT/OE) (POCI-01-0145-FEDER—029567), under the scope of project HIneC “When do health inequalities start? Understanding the impact of childhood social adversity on health trajectories from birth to early adolescence” (AAC Nº 02/SAICT/2017 - Projeto Nº 029567), coordinated by Sílvia Fraga.

This research project is integrated in the Generation XXI study, a Portuguese birth cohort established in 2005, involving 8647 babies born in Porto. Little is known about the production of health inequalities in early life, particularly, when social inequalities matter most and when interventions may have potential to reverse negative consequences. Thus, when do health inequalities emerge is the main research question of this project.

1. Scientific Area:Health Sciences

2. Admission requirements:

The candidate must have:

1. PhD in the field of Public Health and a degree in Biomedical Sciences;
2. Excellent track record of publications in international peer-reviewed journals;
3. Experience with data analysis from cohort studies and knowledge on social to biological mechanisms demonstrated through publications in peer-reviewed journals;
4. Participation in scientific research projects and population health research;
5. Fluency in English and Portuguese, written and spoken.

Initiative, critical thinking and autonomy in carrying out scientific work will be highly valued. Background in social epidemiology and knowledge about health inequalities is highly desired. 

All national, foreign or stateless persons who hold a doctorate and a scientific and professional curriculum that reveals an appropriate profile to the activities above mentioned can apply to this call.

3. Activity Outline

The holder of the position will be part of the project team that aims to understand the production of social health inequalities during the first years of life, using data from the Portuguese birth cohort – Generation XXI. The researcher is also expected to lead the production of original work publishable in the form of full-text papers in international journals.

4. Workplace and supervision: Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto, under supervision of the project principal investigator Sílvia Fraga. Address: Rua das Taipas 135-139 4050-600, Porto, Portugal.

5. Applicable legislation:The hiring will be governed by the Decree-Law no. 57/2016, of 29 August, as amended by Law no. 57/2017, of July 19, which approves the doctorate hiring regime destined to stimulate scientific and technological employment for all knowledge areas (“RJEC”) and the Labour Code, approved by Law no. 7/2009, of 12th February, in its current wording.

6. Duration:Work contract with non-fixed term according to the Labour Code, with the expected starting date on July 2020. This contract cannot exceed the project’s duration.

7. Monthly Salary:The monthly salary is set in accordance with the provisions in RJEC, article 15, no. 1, corresponding to level 33 of the single salary scale approved by Portaria nº 1553-C/2008, de 31 de Dezembro at 2,128.34 Euros gross. The salary is paid 14 months per year.

8. Selection criteria:The selection methods are the Curriculum Vitae evaluation (90%) and an interview (10%), according to the Decree-Law no. 57/2016, of 29 August, as amended by Law no. 57/2017, of July 19. There will be a pre-selection based on the CV evaluation, and if needed, up to three candidates will be selected for an interview based on the CV score. The successful candidate must score at least 10 points (half of the total score) in both CV and the Interview.

8.1. Criteria for Curriculum Vitae evaluation (0 to 20 points):

a) Track record of international publications in peer-review journals in terms of number and quality (0 to 4 points);

b) Skills in advanced quantitative methods, especially dealing with longitudinal research, data from cohorts, and biological markers (0 to 4 points);

c) Specific knowledge for the theme of the project (lifecourse epidemiology, social epidemiology, social inequalities, social to biological mechanisms) (0 to 4 points);

d) Background in integrating multi and interdisciplinary teams of researchers (0 to 3 points);

e) Participation in scientific research projects (0 to 3 points);

f) Proficiency in English, written and spoken (0 to 2 points).

8.2. Criteria for interview evaluation (0 to 20 points):

a) Professional knowledge and skills to accomplish the work plan (0 to 9 points);

b) Motivation towards the research project (0 to 4 points);

c) Communication skills (0 to 3 points);

d) Professional attitude (0 to 4 points).

9. Members of the Jury:

Sílvia Fraga (PI, President)

Ana Cristina Santos (Member)

Cláudia de Freitas (Member)

10. Non-discrimination and equal access policy: ISPUP actively promotes a non-discrimination and equal access policy, wherefore no candidate can be privileged, benefited, impaired or deprived of any rights whatsoever, or be exempt of any duties based on their ancestry, age, sex, sexual preference, marital status, family and economic conditions, instruction, origin or social conditions, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, origin territory, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and union membership.

11. Documents Required:Applications must be formalized by an application letter along with the following documents: Curriculum Vitae, PhD certificate, motivation letter, a reference letter(s) (optional), and other relevant documents (if applicable).

Note: If the PhD degree has been awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, under the terms of Decreto-Lei n.º 66/2018, de 16 de Agosto. This Decreto-Lei approves the legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of Higher Education, and any formalities established there, must be completed by the application deadline.

Applications must be sent by email to “candidaturas@ispup.up.pt”, within the timeframe of the call, and please highlight the following reference in the subject field of the application email: “Postdoc Researcher – HIneC”.

12. Notification of results: Candidates will be notified by email and all relevant information will be published at the ISPUP website (http://www.ispup.up.pt).

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The minutes with the final classification were made available to the candidates. The minutes are posted at the Institute for the period determined in a public notice.