Senior epidemiologist (M/F)

Type of contract: Full-time and determined duration contract (CDD)

We are currently looking for a senior epidemiologist- Ref° 643 in environmental and occupational health (m/f) for our department “Health Protection”- Service Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence for a temporary position on a full-time basis- 2 years contract.

The senior epidemiologist will be involved in the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC program).

ABOUT THE LABORATOIRE NATIONAL DE SANTÉ

The LNS is a major player in Luxembourg’s healthcare sector, serving the country’s patients, doctors and hospitals. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Social Security, the LNS is a multidisciplinary public institution organized around six medical departments, two of which are designated as national diagnostic centers for human genetics and pathology respectively. The LNS employs around 400 highly qualified staff with diverse backgrounds. The main purpose of the LNS is to develop analytical activities and scientific expertise relating to the prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of human diseases; to act as a national control or reference laboratory; and to carry out forensic missions. The LNS also collaborates with the University of Luxembourg and other biomedical research institutions, both nationally and internationally, on research and teaching activities.

In particular, in the field of diagnostics, the LNS covers the following fields of application: medical biology, microbiology, forensic medicine, environmental medicine, morphological and molecular pathology, and clinical genetics, as well as sequencing for rare diseases, oncology and pathogens.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT HEALTH PROTECTION

The LNS is a major player in Luxembourg’s healthcare sector, serving the country’s patients, doctors and hospitals. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Social Security, the LNS is a multidisciplinary public institution organized around six medical departments, two of which are designated as national diagnostic centers for human genetics and pathology respectively. The LNS employs around 400 highly qualified staff with diverse backgrounds.

The Department of Health Protection supports public health and health care for problems caused or aggravated by the environment, including indoor pollution, occupational context, consumer products, and food. We fulfill this mission through servicing including expert advice, through education and applied research. Our main stakeholders are the hospitals, the ministries and the services for occupational medicine in Luxembourg. The Service “Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence” hosts the medical, epidemiological and toxicological expertise in the domains of environmental and occupational health/medicine with an expanding team of eight members. The Service supports the new National Service of Environmental Medicine, launched 17 November 2022 at the Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch (CHEM). It also sets-up and carries out the epidemiological public health surveys in environmental and occupational health for Luxembourg. Furthermore, the Service is an active partner in the PARC program. The Service “Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring” Service, also part of the Health Protection Department, hosts the laboratory expertise. This Service carries out laboratory analyses – chemical and microbiological – in dust, air, and surface samples (ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation). In parallel, this Service analyses the concentrations of substances or their metabolites directly in human medical samples, for example blood, urine, hair. The Service measures not only human biomarkers of exposure (ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 15 189 accreditation), but is expanding its portfolio of human biomarkers of effect relevant in the pathways of disease development and progression. The third Service in the Department, the Service “Food Monitoring” will integrate the new Food and Feed Administration in 2025. A departmental administrative team and a departmental quality coordination team also support the Services and the department head.

ABOUT THE PARC PROGRAM 

PARC (the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals) is a 7-year science-policy Research & Innovation program that was launched in May 2022 and is co-funded by the European Union. PARC aims to develop next-generation chemical risk assessment to protect human health and the environment and to support the EU Chemical Strategy for Sustainability and the European Green Deal`s “Zero pollution” ambition with new data, knowledge, methods and tools, expertise and networks. The program involves 200 partners from 28 countries and the EU, including national and EU agencies as well as affiliated research organisations working in environmental, occupational and/or public health. At a national level, LNS is a key partner in several work packages, in particular human biomonitoring and exposure carrying out human epidemiological studies in the general and occupational populations. During the PARC program period, Luxembourg will participate in four epidemiological surveys: (i) a general population survey involving 300 parent-child pairs, which will include questionnaires, biological samples, and indoor environment assessments; (ii) an occupational survey targeting healthcare workers, which will involve questionnaires, biological samples, and occupational hygiene samples; (iii) an occupational survey for waste management workers, also involving questionnaires, biological samples, and occupational hygiene samples; and (iv) an early-life study on chemical exposure to persistent organic pollutants (including PFAS) in breast milk, including various follow-ups of 300 newborns. Other surveys may be defined at a later stage by the PARC program. In addition, LNS is partner in project related to the derivation of health-based guidance values supporting the evaluation of monitoring data and chemical risk assessment.

Your responsibilities: 

As a senior epidemiologist working on the PARC program, you will report directly to the Senior Epidemiologist in Environmental and Occupational Medicine/Health of the Service Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence. Specifically, your responsibilities will include:

• Setting up and conducting the early-life study on chemical exposure, which includes developing the study protocol, designing questionnaires, creating standard SOPs, and obtaining national ethical approval;
• Serving as the deputy project-lead for this study within the PARC program, including managing technical reporting and other related tasks;
• Supporting the senior epidemiologist in conducting the other national epidemiological surveys within the PARC program;
• Derivation of health-based HBM guidance values and indoor air guideline values for prioritized substances based on human data within the PARC program, to support chemical risk assessment;
• Exploring research questions and conducting further data analysis from surveys of the previous European partnership, HBM4EU, which is now being continued under PARC;
• Performing statistical analysis for the mixture risk assessment of occupational human biomonitoring data;
• Publishing your research in international peer-reviewed journals and presenting findings at international conferences;
• Participating in various working groups and meetings within PARC related to epidemiology, health impact, and statistical data analysis.

This list of tasks should not be considered exhaustive. Missions may vary depending on the specific needs of PARC / the role of the Department in PARC.

Your profile: 

• PhD Degree in public health, epidemiology, bio-statistics, biomedicine or equivalent is required;
• Proven track in setting up and carrying out different types of epidemiological surveys and reporting on epidemiological surveys in peer-reviewed scientific journals;
• Very good knowledge of statistical software (SPSS, STATA, R, etc.);
• A Master’s degree in bioengineering, (bio)medical sciences, or an equivalent field that provides a deep understanding of biological and (patho)physiological processes in (human) organisms will be considered an asset.
• Prior experience in managing epidemiological databases will be considered an asset;
• Perfect fluency in English (oral and written) is required and fluency in French and/or German (oral and written) will be considered an asset.

Key skills:

• Strong organizational and analytical skills and structured way of working;
• Strong writing skills for scientific journals and technical reports;
• Excellent team working, networking and communication skills;
• Result and client-oriented mindset;
• Ability to generate the necessary information from the working context to report to and interact with upper management levels and supporting services.

We offer:



• A highly competitive salary
• A dynamic unit in full expansion and developing new activities at request of its stakeholders
• An international and multidisciplinary environment
• Continuous training possibilities