IQS, a founding member of Universitat Ramon Llull, is made up of two university faculties: IQS School of Engineering and IQS School of Management; IQS Executive Education which offers specialized training to professionals and companies; the IQS Tech Transfer division which carries out research, innovation and technology transfer for industry and companies; and by IQS Tech Factory which promotes entrepreneurship and supports the creation of new scientific-technological companies.

With more than 100 years of teaching experience, IQS is a benchmark university center, committed to responding to the continuous challenges that the social, economic, technological and industrial context poses.

Our vocation and commitment is the comprehensive training of people with attitudes, knowledge and skills that drive them towards their personal and professional development.

We promote scientific and technological knowledge, business transformation and the progress of society.

At IQS we are looking for professionals committed to these values.

PhD position offered at the Institut Químic de Sarrià-Universitat Ramon Llull (Barcelona)

Description

We are seeking a highly motivated graduate student with a master’s degree in health science with interest in data analysis or any field related to data science who has a keen interest in health science areas. Previous experience or training in psychology is welcome.

You will be part of the Applied Data Analytics and Modeling IQS (ADAMIQS) research group at IQS School of Management, Universitat Ramon Llull (IQS-URL), ranked #21 in the 2024 QS World University Ranking by subject in Business and Management Studies (#1 in Spain).

The candidate must show a strong research interest to pursue a PhD with the objective: EVALUATING QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS ALONG WITH LEUKEMIA TREATEMENTS.

You will have the unique opportunity to join a team working on a European project called project ALL-TARGET: Precision medicine randomized trial for patients with relapsed or refractory T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia based on a functional approach by the Accelerate Together Rare Cancer Treatment (ATTRACT) call.

This project, which is developed in collaboration with different hospitals and research centers such as Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, is at the forefront of precision medicine research.

Research topic

The ALL-TARGET project aims to validate the added value of a precision medicine strategy for patients with relapsed or refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) by running a randomized prospective pragmatic trial in 6 European countries. Apart from the clinical trials, other relevant outputs of the project include the definition and the evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Assessment of HRQoL has become increasingly important in oncology because it has the great potential to provide valuable outcomes to support clinical decision-making further, potentially shaping the future of leukemia treatments. In addition, understanding HRQoL can help identify and inform supportive therapy needs both during and beyond treatment cessation.

Therefore, the research goal is to define and measure the evolution of patients’ HRQoL during treatment using data from electronic records provided by medical experts and from a mobile application used by patients to share and interact with other patients. This challenge is developed by an interdisciplinary team of psycho-oncologists, data analysts, patient advocates, and T-ALL researchers.

Required Qualifications/Skills

Candidates must not hold a PhD yet and meet the following requirements:

•Have a master’s degree or equivalent in health science with interest in data analysis or any field related to data science who has a keen interest in health science areas.

•Be proficient in English and have good communication and team skills.

Additional Merits

Candidates having any of the following merits will be valued highly:

•Knowledge of psychology.

•Experience with patient associations.

•Experience in programming and data analysis such as for example in Stata, R, MATLAB, and/or Python.

Selection process

Deadline: for applications: 21 June 2024. Pre-selection and interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis.

Application documents

1. Academic record: You must submit the academic transcripts of your qualifications (undergraduate and postgraduate studies).

2. At least one recommendation letter.

3. Cover letter explaining how the candidate’s experience aligns with the ADAMIQS Research Group’s fields of research and the ALL-TARGET Project (max. 800 words).

Working Conditions and Entitlements

Selected candidates will receive a salary of 17.000€ as PhD student per year from September 2024 to September 2026 (3 years) to join the European ATTRACT Project ALL-TARGET. Moreover, selected candidates will be enrolled in a PhD program at Universitat Ramon Llull.