Call for applicants for a PhD or postdoctoral position
School of Public Health, University of Haifa
One PhD or postdoctoral appointment is offered in Public Health on a research project related to the fields of medicine, psychology, public health, and medical sociology. The project is entitled: “Pain-depression interaction and the role of medical cannabis to ease symptoms among chronic pain patients: an experience sampling method study”. The project is led by Dr. Sharon Sznitman at the School of Public Health, University of Haifa.
Project description:
Medical cannabis (MC) is a multimodal rapidly effective treatment that has the potential to treat multiple symptoms and conditions such as pain and depression concurrently. However, there is currently a lack of evidence to develop clinical guidelines in the realm of MC treatment in pain-depression comorbidity. The study will use an intensive longitudinal assessment design known as experience sampling method (ESM) to examine associations between chronic pain, depression severity and MC use. The knowledge gained will move the research field towards a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying associations between pain and psychological responses and explore the potential clinical efficacy and risks of targeting the endocannabinoid system for pain relief and comorbid depression. The proposed study will provide an ecologically valid evidence-base that reflect the actual experiences of people who use MC to treat symptoms of chronic pain.
Appointment details:
The PhD or postdoc candidate will be responsible for collecting data, data management, statistical analysis and dissemination of results (including writing up of results and preparing papers for English peer-review publications). The selected applicant will receive a monthly stipend or salary and the amount will depend on the rank of the position offered and experience of candidate. The candidate will be hired for a minimum of 2 years and maximum 4 years. The review process will begin on 1st of Feb, 2019. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.
Aspiring candidates should be strongly motivated and fulfil the following criteria:
- Experience in quantitative research methods
- Advanced language skills in Hebrew and English, both speaking and writing
- For postdoctoral positions, a strong record of publishing (e.g. first author of peer reviewed English language article/s published in international academic journal) is expected
Candidates should send their application in English by email to: sznitman@research.haifa.ac.il with the following subject: applicant for a research position (family name of the applicant). The following documents should be attached:
- A curricula vita
- A cover letter discussing your motivation to apply for this position
- If applicable, one or more recently published papers (where you are the first author) that are most relevant to the above-described position