LCNTDR is hiring a research assistant!
Applications are invited for the post of Research Assistant to join The London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research (LCNTDR) located the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (School of Public Health) at Imperial College, London.
This post is funded by the Childhood Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) as part of the evaluation team of the Geshiyaro project, which aims to break the transmission of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and schistosomiasis (SCH) in Southern Ethiopia. The LCNTDR, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the impact of water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) in conjunction with mass drug administration (MDA), implemented by World Vision Ethiopia and the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), respectively.
The overall aim of the project is to develop a scalable and cost-effective model of interventions for the interruption of transmission of STH and SCH leading to the cessation of MDA for disease control in Ethiopia. The primary outcome is to reach a 2% or less prevalence of STH (by species) and SCH in individual communities, as diagnosed by qPCR, 24 months after stopping MDA after three rounds of annual treatment.
Duties and responsibilities
Key objectives of the evaluation team are to evaluate the impact of WaSH and MDA on the interruption of transmission of STH and SCH in a focal geographic area of Ethiopia. This is measured through parasitological (baseline and endline mapping, as well as annual longitudinal sentinel sites), treatment coverage (both through biometric registration and independent validation surveys), WaSH coverage (through cross-sectional WaSH assessments) and qualitative research (focus group discussions).
As the postholder you will be responsible for the development of data collection forms in Survey CTO, harmonisation of large data sets and the analysis of data (operational, epidemiological, behavioural and treatment) relevant for the research project. You will also develop operational reporting framework and tools for project activities and visualise results and data to generate insight.
The research will be undertaken with LCNTDR, and at times, there may be a requirement to visit EPHI in Addis Ababa and the project site in Sodo in Ethiopia. The project will benefit from the translational focus of the Department and Centre, and the close existing links it has with public health bodies in Ethiopia, and academic partners in Ethiopia.