Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mental Health Epidemiology and Assessment Methods: The DEPRESSD Project

McGill University and Jewish General Hospital; Montreal; Remote; CAD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A collaborative project is seeking a full-time Postdoctoral Fellow to lead research on depression screening tools. The role involves project leadership, statistical analysis, and teamwork. Ideal candidates will have a PhD in relevant fields and strong coding and communication skills. This fellowship is intended for two years, with flexible start dates and potential for remote work.

Qualifications

• PhD in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Quantitative Psychology or related field.
• Interest in clinical and methodological aspects of research.

Responsibilities

• Leading projects and preparing manuscripts for publication.
• Developing and maintaining code for analyzing DEPRESSD datasets.
• Participating in writing statistical analysis plans and grants.

Skills

Excellent coding skills

Excellent communication skills

Teamwork

Education

PhD in Epidemiology

PhD in Biostatistics

PhD in Quantitative Psychology

Job description

The DEPRESsion Screening Data (DEPRESSD) Project is a collaborative endeavor, set up by Drs. Brett Thombs and Andrea Benedetti, to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of depression screening tools and answer other important mental health research questions using individual participant data meta-analyses (IPDMAs). The DEPRESSD Project includes almost 400 investigators from 60 countries who have contributed datasets. DEPRESSD investigators publish studies on screening tool accuracy, statistical methods for IPDMA, and other methodological and meta-research studies that advance work on screening questionnaires and their application.

Trainee-led DEPRESSD studies have been published in top journals, including (1) studies on the accuracy of the PHQ-9 (Levis et al., BMJ, 2019; Negeri et al., BMJ, 2021), the PHQ-2 (Levis et al., JAMA, 2020), the EPDS (Levis et al., BMJ, 2020), and the HADS-D (Wu et al., BMJ, 2021); (2) statistical research evaluating models for IPDMA of ordinal screening questionnaires, modelling missing data for IPDMA, estimating sample parameters from incompletely reported data, and using optimal test assembly methods to create short-form measure; and (3) meta-research on bias from data-driven cutoff selection, selective cutoff reporting, using depression screening tools for prevalence estimation, the comparative performance of commonly used major depression diagnostic interviews,adherence to reporting standards in diagnostic accuracy studies, and factors influencing data contribution in IPDMA studies, among others (52 total DEPRESSD studies; 5,159 citations).

We are currently seeking a full-time Postdoctoral Fellow to join the team.

The tasks of the Postdoctoral Fellow will include:

• Leading projects and preparing manuscripts for publication
• Developing and maintaining code for analyzing DEPRESSD datasets
• Participating in writing statistical analysis plans and grants
• Working within a team of research assistants, students, and other fellows and providing support to the group

The ideal candidate will meet the following qualifications:

• PhD in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Quantitative Psychology or a related field
• Interest in gaining skills in combined clinical and methodological aspects of research
• Excellent coding skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work as part of a team

Salary and Duration: Salary to be negotiated based on relevant experience and training. This is intended to be a two-year fellowship with second year contingent upon mutual agreement.

Start Date: Flexible

Location: Ideally in Montreal but remote work could be considered.

To apply: Interested candidates should submit (1) a letter of interest, (2) reprints or preprints of representative published articles, (3) a curriculum vitae, (4) an unofficial transcript, and (5) contact information for three references to Nadia González Domínguez, the DEPRESSD Project Coordinator.

The position will remain open until filled.