PhD Studentship with Integrated Studies

Bayesian Statistics in Health Economics

School of Mathematics and Statistics, and School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield

To start September 2010

Applications are invited for a full-time PhD studentship with Integrated Studies, within the Centre for Bayesian Statistics in Health Economics (CHEBS) at the University of Sheffield, a collaboration between the School of Mathematics and Statistics, and the School of Health and Related Research. The student will be based in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, working under the supervision of Dr Jeremy Oakley, and will be co-supervised by Mr John Stevens at the School of Health and Related Research.

The field of health economics is developing rapidly with the increasing emphasis being placed on value for money by health care providers world wide. In the UK, the National Institute for Health Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been charged with advising the National Health Service on cost effectiveness. There are various statistical challenges in assessing the cost-effectiveness of any treatment, and the use of Bayesian methods has become increasingly popular. Current research themes of interest in CHEBS are described here, and the PhD project will be drawn from one of these or related themes. The student will be able to choose his or her topic within the first year.

In the first year, the student will do the MSc in Statistics with Medical Applications, run by the School of Mathematics and Statistics in collaboration with the Medical Statistics group at the School of Health and Related Research. Following satisfactory completion of the MSc, the student will continue with study towards a PhD in years 2-4.

Applicants should have a good honours degree (I or IIi) in Mathematics or Statistics. Applicants who already have an MSc in statistics may apply for a standard PhD studentship without MSc study in the first year.

The studentship includes fees for UK and EU students, and a tax-free stipend of £13,650 increasing annually in line with the national minimum stipend rate. In years 2-4, the student will also receive an
additional stipend of £3,000 annually.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Jeremy Oakley (j.oakley@sheffield.ac.uk).

To apply for this studentship, please follow the procedures described here. Please indicate clearly in your application that you are applying for the CHEBS PhD Studentship with Integrated Studies.