The Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) delivers international postgraduate education, research and project services in the field of geo-information science and Earth observation using remote sensing and GIS. The aim of ITC’s activities is the international exchange of knowledge, focusing on capacity building and institutional development in developing countries and emerging economies.

The Department of Earth Observation Science (EOS) is a multi-disciplinary scientific team, specializing in spatial information extraction and data quality analysis. It covers mathematics, statistics, and information science for Earth observation.

Job specification

Project specification

Spatial epidemiology has emerged as an important research field in recent years to model and map the spatial distribution of diseases.  This can be used to further study the disease epidemiology and to plan interventions.

Analysis of disease data poses various challenges regarding both spatial data quality and the quality of the geostatistical models. Issues include: sensitivity and specificity (both of the health diagnostics and the environmental data), practical limitations on sampling, spatial resolution, temporal resolution and positional and attribute uncertainty.  Further issues relate to the manner in which data are aggregated in space, time, and space-time. The quality of models is constrained by model assumptions, computation and the quality of data.  Recently developed methodological and computational tools have not been applied widely in spatial epidemiology.

This project will bring a methodological and technical focus to spatial epidemiology and disease mapping, with particular emphases on the development and aggregation of Earth observation products in support of health studies and the application and development of geostatistical methods for epidemiological purposes.  The study will concentrate on schistosomiasis in Africa and there will be a strong drive to making the methodological and technical developments relevant to the application.

Main tasks

You will carry out and participate in research activities within the broader scope of acquisition and quality analysis of geo-spatial information. Research will focus on spatio-temporal mapping and modelling of disease, focusing on the development and aggregation of Earth observation products in support of health studies and the application and development of geostatistical methods for epidemiological purposes.  You will discuss and find solutions for information acquisition and quality analysis problems emerging within this context. You will contribute to MSc teaching and supervision in this field. You will participate actively in national and international professional societies and conferences.

Your profile

We seek a MSc-level graduate in natural science, geoinformation science or statistics who will be able to address the conceptual and technical challenges and is willing to link with both the applied literature and with epidemiologists.  Candidates with other relevant backgrounds will also be considered.

You should be willing to undertake international travel. You should be fluent in English, experienced in (technical) writing and possess good communication skills.You should be willing to undertake international travel. You should be fluent in English, experienced in (technical) writing and possess good communication skills.

Contact: Additional information about this position can be obtained from:

Dr Nicholas Hamm, (phone:+31 53 4874 330)

or

Professor Alfred Stein (phone: +31 53 4874 552).

You are also invited to visit our homepage: http://www.itc.nl

How to APPLY

Interested candidates are invited to send the application, detailed curriculum vitae and a letter elaborating the motivation for the application before 11 April 2014.

Please locate this vacancy on http://www.utwente.nl/vacatures/ and select ‘apply now’ to fill out the application form.

Our offer

A full-time PhD position in a challenging international environment. Salary and conditions will be in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) of the Dutch Universities. The duration of the contract is four years. The gross salary will range from € 2.083,00 in the first year to € 2.664,00 per month in the fourth year. Additionally, the University of Twente provides excellent facilities for professional and personal development.

The Organisation

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which drives change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university in the Netherlands; divided over six faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. The University of Twente has a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out pioneering research.

The Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) of the University of Twente provides international postgraduate education, research and project services in the field of geo-information science and earth observation using remote sensing and GIS. The aim of ITC’s activities is the international exchange of knowledge, focusing on capacity building and institutional development in developing countries and emerging economies.

Source: University of Twente