Post-doctoral scientist in epidemiology

The Centre for Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS, Inserm, Paris, France / joint unit with Université de Paris) is looking for a dynamic post-doctoral scientist to lead epidemiological research on children’s screen use. The successful candidate will be placed under the supervision of Dr Jonathan Bernard, an Inserm researcher, from the research team on the EARly Origins of Health (EAROH team, headed by Dr Marie-Aline Charles).

The EAROH team from the CRESS is internationally recognised for its leading-edge research on the early life factors involved in child health and development. This research relies on two epidemiological cohort studies following several thousands of children since birth: the EDEN mother-child cohort and the nationwide ELFE birth cohort. Furthermore, Dr Jonathan Bernard sustains a long standing collaboration with the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS, Agency for Science, Technology and Research) and Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH, National University of Singapore) which drive the GUSTO mother-child cohort, a study similar to EDEN and ELFE.

The successful candidate will dedicate his or her research to the iSCAN project, funded for four years by the French National Agency for Research (ANR, 2021-2024). This project aims to examine the impacts of screen use on the child’s cardiometabolic, adiposity and neurodevelopmental outcomes. It has four axes, with the first three axes involving all three cohorts and the fourth axis solely on EDEN cohort: 1) describing patterns and trajectories of screen use during childhood, and identifying their determinants, 2) examining the associations between screen use, adiposity and cardiometabolic health, 3) examining the associations with neurodevelopment and sleep, and 4) implementing and managing collection of data on screen use in adolescents. The postdoctoral fellow will oversee Axis 1 and contribute, depending on his or her curriculum, to at least one other axis.

Main responsibilities

• Exploring and executing advanced statistical analyses
• Drafting and publishing peer-reviewed scientific articles, in English and/or in French
• Presenting results to national and international conferences

Associated responsibilities

• Reviewing current literature
• Managing and enhancing databases
• Presenting research progress on a regular basis
• Contributing to the project management through meetings and videoconferences
• Collaborating closely with investigators from three cohorts
• Supervising master trainees