PhD Student at Kenya Medical Research - KEMRI

Vacancy No. CGHR/215/09/21

Job Description

We are seeking to fill the one PhD position with a PhD project nested in the main MiMBa pregnancy registry project. The PhD project could either focus on specific clinical research component such as assessment of congenital anomalies and neurodevelopmental assessment of infants exposed in-utero to antimalarials or focus on the methodology for record linkage from women to mother to child to explore prenatal exposures on birth and child outcomes. The successful applicant will be encouraged to develop a PhD proposal based on these opportunities in the first 6 month of the programme with the support of the supervisory team.

Location: Centre for Global Health Research, KEMRI, Kisumu
Reporting to: Study Principal Investigator(s)

Expectations of the PhD Candidate

1. This will be a three-year, full-time, research PhD registered with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), UK
2. The PhD student will be based and domiciled in KEMRI/CGHR with travel to LSTM in the UK at specified time for related training and administration purposes. 
3. The PhD student will develop a research proposal nested within the MiMBa Pregnancy Registry project, lead the conduct of specific component of field work related to the PhD project and/or methodology work under the guidance of the supervisory team.

Support for the PhD Candidate

1. This is a fully funded PhD opportunity.
2. Items covered by the scholarship include

• Salary and other emoluments/ benefits
• PhD registration fees
• Cost of a training attachment at LSTM: airfare, visa fees, accommodation and subsistence
• Cost of dissertation research / field work

Eligibility

1. Must be citizens or permanent residents of Kenya
2. Masters degree or the equivalent from a recognised University, relevant to the area of study (medicine, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics or related field) and fulfilment of PhD entry requirements of LSTM. It is the policy of LSTM to consider only applicants that hold a first class, or high upper second-class Honours degree (or equivalent) in an area relevant to the MiMBa Pregnancy Registry project. Where an applicant does not meet this requirement (e.g. they hold a lower second class undergraduate degree), they may be eligible to apply if they also hold a master's degree with an awarded distinction or equivalent (in an area relevant to their proposed PhD) and are able to provide an award certificate and transcript for both qualifications. Unfortunately, we are unable to consider masters qualifications that have not yet been awarded.
3. Willingness to commit 100% (full) time and effort to the PhD
4. Previous publications related to the research themes of the project will be an added advantage
5. Knowledge and skills relevant to the PhD topic (e.g. experience in malaria research or related fields, pharmacovigilance, pharmacoepidemiology)
6. Personal motivation of the candidates as demonstrated by their motivation letter and responses during the interview
7. A candidate already registered for a PhD or holding another fellowship will only be considered if they are willing to drop their current commitments. 

Application Procedure
The following documents should be included in the application

1. Current curriculum vitae (use the NIH template for pre-doctoral fellows available on https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm)
2. A motivation letter (max 1000 words). This should cover your academic and professional background, any experience relevant to this project and position, why you want to undertake a
3. PhD, what do you hope to gain from this PhD and your plans after the PhD.
4. Name and contacts of two referees, one should be your current supervisor. Referees should be senior academic and/or professional persons who are currently or have recently been responsible for supervising you. Friends and family are not acceptable.
5. A commitment letter from current employer guarantying study leave and salary support during the training