Jobs & Fellowships

Growth and Development Fellowship

Post-doctoral Research Fellowship in Microbiome, Infections and Childhood Growth and Development

The Centre for Global Child Health at The Hospital for Sick Children offers an exceptional post-doctoral research fellowship in a variety of population health topics including, the microbiome, infections, and childhood growth and development in populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Applications are now open.

Successful applicants will take a lead role in the design and execution of quantitative research studies covering a wide range of population health topics including the development of the early infant and maternal microbiome, risk factors for infection and/or microbial dysbiosis, and the influence of early life exposures (i.e., infection, exposure to medicines, etc.) on outcomes including linear growth and cognitive development of children in LMICs. Fellows should be able to apply advanced quantitative analysis skills to population derived datasets (i.e., biological and clinical data from longitudinal cohorts). Applications will also be accepted from researchers from laboratory science backgrounds if they have established skillsets in quantitative data analysis. Fellowships will be full-time, based at The Hospital for Sick Children’s Research Institute and Centre for Global Child Health, and for a duration that is flexible (2 to 3 years).

We will be accepting applications from candidates who meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. Have completed* a doctoral graduate degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, nutritional sciences, or related discipline; AND, have demonstrated exemplary recent scholarship (i.e., first author publications, conference presentations, and/or successful grant applications) within one or more of the following areas of focus: epidemiology, human nutrition, reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH), or related discipline. Experience analyzing multi-dimensional or ‘omics’ data would be considered a major asset. Candidates with training in laboratory sciences will be considered if they have demonstrated an interest and experience in quantitative data analysis.
2. Have completed a medical degree (e.g., MD, MBBS, etc.); AND, have completed a post-graduate degree in a quantitive discipline (e.g., MSc Epidemiology, MSc Biostatistics, or related discipline); AND, have demonstrated significant research scholarly progress (i.e., first author publications, conference presentations, and/or successful grant applications).

*Exceptional applicants who have a scheduled PhD thesis defense date within 4 months of the application will also be considered.

While fellows must be capable of working independently, mentorship will be provided by a primary supervisor (faculty at SickKids) and at least one other scientist and/or senior research staff at the Centre for Global Child Health. Additional learning opportunities in the broad area of global child health will be provided throughout the 2 to 3-year advanced training opportunity.

The Centre for Global Child Health will provide competitive salary support for the entire duration of the 2 to 3-year appointment. Information regarding the Centre for Global Child Health can be found at: www.sickkids.ca/globalchildhealth/

To apply, please submit the following documentation:

• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Letter of intent (LOI): LOIs should summarize the applicant’s interest and most relevant research activities (e.g., published papers) in the area of the microbiome, infections, and/or childhood growth and development in populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The LOI should also include a description of the applicant’s career goals. Finally, if applicants are keen to explore a particular research question, this should be made clear in the LOI. Letters of intent should not exceed a length of 2 pages, single-spaced.
• References: The names and contact information for between 2 to 3 referees will be requested before an offer of employment is extended. Referees should be able to speak to the candidate’s research skills in the area of the microbiome, infections, and/or childhood growth and development.

The CV and LOI should be merged into one document and saved as a portable document format (pdf) file before submission. Application packages should be saved with your name and the date of submission (i.e., lastname_firstname_Month_DD_YYYY) in the filename.

Applications should be submitted to childgrowth.fellowship@sickkids.ca with the applicant’s name and “C-GCH Fellowship 2020” in the subject line (e.g., First name Last name – C-GCH Fellowship).

Questions can be directed to:  childgrowth.fellowship@sickkids.ca