Optimising Health Service Integration in Africa (SYNDEMICS)

SACEMA is inviting applications from quantitatively skilled candidates for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis. The fellow will contribute to SACEMA’s role in the Syndemic Project: Optimising Health Service Integration in Africa, a multi-institutional international collaboration. SACEMA’s contribution focuses on developing advanced multi-disease microsimulation models to capture the co-evolution of HIV and other chronic conditions, and on identifying strategies to improve health system integration and universal health care across Africa.

The fellow will be based at SACEMA in Stellenbosch and will work closely with Prof Frank Tanser and the SACEMA team, as well as international collaborators. 

Scope of Research:

The fellow will play a key role in SACEMA’s contribution to the project by:

• Extending the STDSIM microsimulation model to incorporate comorbidities (e.g. hypertension, diabetes, depression) and their interactions with HIV.
• Calibrating the models to local epidemic and health system data, accounting for uncertainty through advanced statistical methods.
• Forecasting future HIV and chronic disease burdens under different treatment and integration scenarios.
• Incorporating health service delivery cascades and system constraints into the model to reflect real-world dynamics.
• Identifying and testing strategies to optimise health service integration and improve universal health care for people living with HIV.

Collaborating with international partners and contributing to capacity building by supporting training of local epidemiologists and modellers.

Requirements for the PhD fellowship:

• A MSc degree (obtained within the past 5 years) in a quantitative discipline relevant to epidemiology, mathematical statistics, computer science, or mathematical modelling.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, with demonstrated ability to programme in R (experience with microsimulation or individual-based models is highly desirable).
• Demonstrated ability to perform independent research.
• Excellent communication and academic writing skills.

Requirements for the Postdoctoral research fellowship:

• A PhD degree (obtained within the past 5 years) in a quantitative discipline relevant to public health, epidemiology, statistics, computer science, or mathematical modelling.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, with demonstrated ability to programme in R (experience with microsimulation or individual-based models is highly desirable).
• Experience in infectious disease or health systems modelling, ideally including HIV or non-communicable diseases.
• Demonstrated ability to lead independent research and to contribute effectively within a collaborative, multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent communication and academic writing skills, with a track record of peer-reviewed publications.

Deadline for applications: 19 October 2025

Submission of the application materials in response to this request will be the first of a three-stage application and selection process. Only candidates under further consideration will advance to each subsequent stage. The second stage will include an assessment of selected applicants’ problem-solving ability. The third stage will include an in-person interview.

Postdoctoral fellows are not appointed as employees, and as their fellowships are awarded tax-free, they are not eligible for employee benefits. The University reserves the right NOT to make an appointment if suitable candidates do not apply.