Last application date Sep 01, 2024 00:00
Department WE02 - Department of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics
Contract Limited duration
Degree Master of Statistics, or Master of Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering (each with a strong statistics or data science component), or equivalent.
Occupancy rate 100%
Vacancy type Research staff
The Causal Inference research lab at Ghent University is seeking a highly motivated and talented PhD student to join its team. Ghent University has a long tradition of research in causal inference since the mid 90's, and now has a vibrant causal inference community comprising over 20 statisticians dedicated to advancing this field.
This PhD position is one of multiple positions being opened in connection to Advanced ERC Grant ACME ‘Assumption-lean (Causal) Modeling and Estimation’. In an era where the focus on causal inference is increasingly turning away from modeling towards quantifying population-level intervention effects, there is a risk of oversimplifying causal queries and of neglecting the rich history and efficacy of statistical modeling techniques. This ERC project aims to bridge this gap by leveraging the flexibility and power of statistical models to accurately represent intervention effects or facets of the causal data-generating mechanism, integrating it with recent insights from debiased machine learning and causal inference. Besides laying foundations for a novel paradigm for causal/statistical modeling, this project seeks to enhance the robustness and efficiency of debiased machine learning methods. This PhD project will primarily focus on the foundations of an assumption-lean modeling paradigm, with a strong focus on the analysis of repeated measures outcomes, in interaction with fellow researchers on this project.
We are looking for a highly creative and motivated PhD student with the following qualifications and skills:
Your main tasks will include:
The PhD position will begin at the earliest beginning of October 2024. Send your CV, transcripts of study results, a motivation letter of maximum 1 page (highlighting why you believe you are a suitable candidate for the position, why you want this position, and what relevant skills you have developed), and at least two reference contacts to Stijn.Vansteelandt@ugent.be, with the subject ‘Application: PhD Stat ACME’. The transcripts of study results at the time of application are not necessarily official (yet), but these will be required upon recruitment.
Please note that starting July 1st, there will be continuous evaluation of the candidates until the vacancy is filled. The application may therefore be closed before the deadline stated here.
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Stijn Vansteelandt (Stijn.Vansteelandt@ugent.be).
Ghent University is one of the top 100 universities in the Dutch language area, with more than 44,000 students and 15,000 staff members.
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