PhD Position in Generative AI in Health Technology Assessment (HTA)

EURAXESS Ireland; Utrecht; Hybrid; EUR 36,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Holiday pay

Year-end bonus

Job summary

Utrecht University is offering a PhD position to map and evaluate GenAI use across the HTA lifecycle for medicines, integrating policy questions with research methods. You will work with ZIN, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and UU experts in AI in healthcare, contributing to the HTA evidence base.

The role includes collaboration with policy officers and other PhDs, teaching contributions, and development of evaluated GenAI tools for HTA assessors.

Qualifications

• MSc in pharmaceutical or (bio)medical sciences, health economics and/or HTA.
• Ability to learn and apply quantitative and qualitative methods within HTA.
• Interest in cross-disciplinary work within HTA.

Responsibilities

• Map GenAI use across the HTA lifecycle of medicines.
• Assess how GenAI tools extract, harmonise and analyse HTA reports.
• Collaborate with UU and policy officers; contribute to HTA teaching.

Skills

English communication

Dutch language advantage

NVivo

R

SAS

Education

MSc in pharmaceutical or (bio)medical sciences, health economics and/or HTA

Tools

NVivo

R

SAS

Job description

Organisation/Company Utrecht University Research Field Medical sciences » Medicine Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 30 Sep 2026 - 21:59 (UTC) Country Netherlands Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Not Applicable Hours Per Week 40.0 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

How can generative AI (GenAI) support Health Technology Assessment (HTA) of medicines? HTA bodies and technology developers are already experimenting with GenAI, but systematic evidence on where it adds value and where its risks lie, is lacking. In this PhD project you will map current and future GenAI use across the full HTA lifecycle, from horizon scanning to reassessment, and translate these insights into concrete, evaluated tools for HTA assessors.

Your job

Possible work topics include:

• Mapping current and anticipated use of GenAI across the HTA lifecycle of medicines. This may include horizon scanning and early dialogue through initial assessment, real-world evidence generation and reassessment. You will focus on how international HTA bodies anticipate it will shape their activities in the coming years.
• Assessing the extent to which GenAI tools can reliably extract, harmonise, and analyse information from national and EU HTA reports, and identifying the conditions required to scale this across jurisdictions.
• Developing how GenAI can may link the methodological needs of HTA bodies to existing and newly developed methods, in a system that is useful in practice.
• Examining how health technology developers are using GenAI in the preparation of national and EU HTA submissions, and what this implies for how HTA bodies assess GenAI-supported submissions.

To study these questions, you will use a variety of methods, including comparative document analyses, quantitative descriptive and association studies, complex systems analyses, automated extraction data analysis and methods-needs matching.

Your PhD position is part of the Academic Research Network HTA, a collaboration between the National Health Care Institute (Zorginstituut Nederland (ZIN)), Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Utrecht University (UU). The Network aims to bridge HTA research and policy by supporting specific HTA research projects closely linked to policy questions. You will work closely with other PhDs in this network and interact regularly with the HTA policy officers at ZIN. Your work will also involve close collaboration with academic experts from UU and (inter)national experts in generative AI in healthcare. Finally, you will be expected to contribute to HTA teaching for bachelor and master students.

We are looking for a candidate who meets the following criteria:

• an MSc in pharmaceutical or (bio)medical sciences, health economics and/or HTA, epidemiology, data sciences or another relevant field;
• the ability and enthusiasm to learn and apply quantitative and qualitative methods within HTA;
• an interest in cross-disciplinary work within HTA;
• good oral and written communication skills in English are essential; knowledge of Dutch is considered a big advantage, particularly for communication with Dutch HTA and policy stakeholders;
• the ability to work independently, reflect critically on your work, and take initiative and responsibility for your projects.

We consider it a plus if you have experience with:

• data analyses: qualitative (e.g. NVivo) and quantitative (e.g. R, SAS);
• using GenAI, for instance Large Language Models (LLMs) for the extraction and analysis of data as part of health research.

Additional Information

• a position for 18 months, with an extension to a total of four years upon a positive assessment in the first 18 months;
• a gross monthly salary ranging from €3,204 in the first year to €4,051 in the fourth year in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University also offers a range of its own schemes for employees. This includes arrangements for professional development , various types of leave, and options for sports and cultural activities . You can also tailor your employment conditions through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage you to keep investing in your personal and professional development. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

Selection process

At Utrecht University, we strive to be a place where everyone feels at home. We value colleagues with different backgrounds, perspectives and identities, including differences in culture, religion or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, disability and age. We are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute. Read more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion. If you have any questions about accessibility, for example regarding your workplace David de Wiedgebouw , the application process or your work, please contact us via our HR contact page.