PhD Studentship - HEKIMA Project

Join KEMRI’s HEKIMA Project as a PhD Fellow and dive into health economics and malaria prevention. You’ll conduct research in Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi, analyze cost-effectiveness, and publish groundbreaking papers. This fully-funded fellowship offers training in Europe, career mentoring, and a chance to shape healthcare policy. If you hold a Master’s in Health Economics and are passionate about research, we encourage you to apply.

Overview

Location: KEMRI/CGHR, Kisumu and field sites in Homa Bay, Siaya counties.
Reporting to: Study Principal Investigator(s)

The Kenya Medical Research Institute in collaboration with Research Council of Norway, though HEKIMA Project, which aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for post-discharge malaria chemoprevention (PDMC) in young children across Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi. Work Package 1 (WP1) of the project focuses on determining whether mAbs offer a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to the current pill-based PDMC treatment with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP). This involves assessing costs for health systems and families, assessing the cost-effectiveness and modelling the budget impact of mAbs compared to standard of care and other PDMC delivery options; lastly, the work may include scenario-based calculations for large-scale implementation. WP1 includes one PhD position, based at KEMRI/CGHR in Kisumu, with enrollment in the PhD program of the Medical Faculty of the University of Bergen (UiB), Norway, to develop expertise in health economics and malaria prevention.

HEKIMA Project Partners

• Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Kisumu, Kenya
• The Research Unit of Excellence (TRUE), Blantyre, Malawi
• Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
• University of Bergen (UiB), Bergen, Norway

Hosting Institution: Kenya Medical Research Institute/Centre for Global Health Research (KEMRI/CGHR), Kisumu, Kenya

Registering Institution: University of Bergen (UiB), Norway

Duration: 3 years

Financing Support and Career Development

The PhD fellowship includes

• Stipend support for the duration of the PhD, in accordance with KEMRI regulations
• A training attachment at a European partner institution, with an additional stipend for the months spent abroad, in Norway, for coursework (up to 30 ECTS) and defense
• Health insurance and student permit fees where applicable,
• Training on research ethics, methods, data management, and scientific writing,
• Personal development and career mentoring opportunities.

The objectives of this studentship:

1. The PhD candidate will conduct and coordinate data collection for the economic evaluation included in the HEKIMA project in Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi;
2. Perform costing analyses and different economic evaluation analyses comparing mAbs with DP and possibly other interventions for post-discharge malaria chemoprevention;
3. Publish at least three peer-reviewed scientific papers as part of the PhD requirements, summarize and discuss them according to UiB requirements in a thesis, and defend the thesis.
4. Engage with the relevant research group at UiB, and project stakeholders in the study countries, including policymakers, funders, and implementing partners.

Eligibility

• Kenyan citizenship is required
• A Master’s degree in health economics; if the degree is not yet completed at the time of application, all requirements to obtain it must be fulfilled and the masters’ thesis needs to be submitted before uptake of the new position; certification for completion should be provided within three months after starting the new position.
• Experience with costing studies, health economic evaluations or related modeling methods is an advantage
• Experience in mathematical or epidemiological modelling
• Knowledge of health systems in low- and middle-income countries is an advantage.
• Strong commitment to research and academia, demonstrated through a personal statement
• Availability for international travel
• Availability for full-time engagement in the project (100%, 3 years)