Senior Biostatistician - Rollins School of Public Health

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The NIH-funded PROMISE project is seeking a full-time PhD-level statistician for a newly funded project dedicated to (1) identifying geospatial and temporal patterns of hospital encounters for overdoses and other drug-related harms during pregnancy and the post-partum period, and inequities in these patterns; and (2) identifying structural determinants of these patterns and inequities in these patterns. PROMISE is led by Drs. Michael Kramer and Hannah Cooper. A Community Advisory Board of people with lived experience, and partnerships with participating state health departments, will help guide the project and support high-impact dissemination.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develops and analyzes a variety of research data using statistical methods.
• Assists researchers in developing appropriate study protocols and computer analyses.
• Manages computer systems, writes programs, and trains others in the use of systems.
• Keeps abreast of the latest statistical modeling and computing tools.
• Participates in the development and selection of appropriate statistical methods and tests, sample size calculations and creation of randomization schedules.
• Prepares statistical method sections for inclusion in study protocols.
• Reviews the design and content of database designs and data edit checks.
• Develops and validates SAS programs to support statistical analyses.
• Provides interpretations of statistical results, and prepares the relevant statistical sections for study reports.
• Creates and maintains biostatistical documentation, including descriptions of methods, SAS programs and results.
• Prepares electronic files using appropriate formats for submission to regulatory agencies.
• Participates in the development of standardization procedures for statistical functions.
• Reviews and audits statistical analysis plans, SAS programs, and statistical reports including tables, listings, and figures.
• Provides guidance to more junior biostatisticians.
• Evaluates and proposes new statistical methods for data analysis.
• Assigns and monitors activities of other project personnel.
• Assist in setting priorities of work to be done.
• Provides support and serves as a resource to biostatisticians, programmers, and data analysts.
• Participates in training of less senior biostatisticians and other team members.
• Provides input into the evaluation of their team members.
• Reviews and helps prepare statistical and database management sections of NIH grant applications and other externally supported proposals prior to submission.
• Writes statistical methods section of manuscripts for publication.
• Writes and/or revises quantitative, epidemiologic, and medical sections of manuscripts.
• Helps estimate budgets for biostatistical support for larger, more involved clinical studies (NIH program project grants, multicenter clinical trials etc).
• Monitors data collection, institutes procedures to assure data quality and guarantees study protocols are followed appropriately.
• Performs related responsibilities as assigned.

ADDITIONAL JOB DETAILS:

This full-time position will have the following responsibilities:

• Supervise an MPH-level analyst, as they identify and secure databases to measures features of the risk environment, and develop relevant measures. 
• Supervise an MPH-level analyst as they identify and secure state hospital discharge databases, needed to create measures of drug-related harms during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Create related standard operating procedures for data processing. 
• Harmonize discharge databases across participating states and develop a codebook/crosswalk of original and harmonized variables. 
• Develop the patient-centered longitudinal hospital discharge cohort databases for each state, including creating extensive metadata documentation for them, and conducting rigorous quality checks and analyses of variable distributions.
• Conduct Bayesian analyses of the distributions of drug-related harms during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and of the distributions of implementation activities for laws governing drug use in pregnancy.
• Conduct Bayesian and difference-in-differences regression analyses of relationships between features of the risk environment (including measures of the enforcement of laws governing drug use in pregnancy) and drug-related harms among pregnant and postpartum people, overall and by race/ethnicity, insurance status, and rurality/urbanicity.
• Implement best practices for regression analyses - identify appropriate outcome distributions and model links, identify and resolve multicollinearity, apply bootstrapping and matching/weighting techniques as needed.
• Ability to research modelling techniques as needed under the guidance of project MPIs. 
• Contribute to manuscripts – draft methods and results, create tables and visual displays, review manuscript discussions to ensure alignment with presented data and results. Respond to journal requests for model revisions. 
• This position will report to the project Principal Investigators, Drs. Michael Kramer and Hannah Cooper.  
  
• Opportunities abound for ongoing professional development, including leading papers and conference presentations as a first author and co-author, and participating in journal clubs and work in progress seminars organized by the CORAL center.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• A master's degree in statistics, biostatistics, computer science, or a related field and three years of experience as a biostatistician, preferably in an academic setting, OR an equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience.
• Proficiency in modern high level statistical languages such as S-PLUS or SAS and in database management.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• PhD in biostatistics or an equivalent degree
• Strong data management in SAS and analysis skills in SAS, R, or STATA
• Fluency in Bayesian and geospatial methods and in DID
• Interest in reproductive justice and/or harm reduction 

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