Postdoc in Health impact scenarios and storylines for climate extreme events

Do you have experience programming and working with quantitative data? Would you like to do research on the interactions between health, climate, and policies to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events on health? Then we are looking for you!

This postdoc position focuses on health impact scenarios and storylines for climate extreme events.

Your function

We offer an exciting postdoc position in an interdisciplinary research project on the health impacts of extreme weather events. Extreme weather events effect several aspects of human life. One critical area of concern is human health. As climate change increases the frequency of many extreme events, understanding the mechanisms behind these effects becomes crucial. However, most studies about climate related health impacts focus on specific morbidities or mortality, overlooking the fact that health is multidimensional. Such focus overlooks joint and cumulative effects that are important to overall functionality and well-being of people.

In this project, you will first study different measures of health, beyond mortality, and how they can be used to reflect the diverse effects of climate on health. You will use these measures, weather/climate data and machine learning methodologies to understand how much these different multidimensional aspects of health can be affected by extreme weather events, and how these effects can vary among individuals. Finally, you will create future scenarios of health in line with narratives from the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), and CMIP6 climate scenarios, to identify vulnerable population hotspots that can be targeted by adequate mitigation policies.

Your duties

• you conduct innovative research on the effects of extreme weather events on multidimensional health
• you use individual-level data and weather/climate data, as well as state of the art machine learning methodologies to estimate the causal link between extreme weather and health
• you publish research results in international peer-reviewed journals and impact-oriented journals
• you contribute to our teaching at BSc and MSc levels

Your profile

• you have a PhD degree in statistics, economics, climate science, AI, computational social sciences or a related discipline
• you have strong quantitative and programming skills
• you have interest in interdisciplinary work
• experience in statistical modelling, causal analysis and/or AI is highly desirable
• experience with weather/climate data and spatial analysis and processing is an advantage

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

An exciting postdoc position in a socially-engaged organisation with a supportive project team and an active early-career scientist community. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable.

• a position for at least 0.8 FTE. Your employment contract will initially start with a 1 year contract with the possibility to extend for another year.
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalised benefits package

About us

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)

IVM is an environmental research institute recognised for high quality research across environmental disciplines and for its interdisciplinary work. A unique strength of its research is understanding sustainability problems in their social and economic context. Since 2001 IVM has been part of the Faculty of Science at VU Amsterdam.

The department of Water and Climate Risk (WCR) studies hydrological and climate processes, and how these processes lead to risks and opportunities for society, the economy, and the environment. A defining characteristic of the department is a multi-disciplinary approach that combines expertise from natural sciences with knowledge from the fields of economics, e-Science and geography. This approach has led to a research portfolio of water and climate risk projects, and the department is a leading institute in flood and drought risk assessment and risk management research.

The department of Environmental Economics (EE) improves insights into the interaction between the environment and the economy. Important fields of application include climate change, energy, circular economy, water, ecosystem services, and environmental and natural resource management. The department closely integrates research projects with its teaching programme and conducts research jointly with stakeholders and collaborating institutes.

Faculty of Science

Working at the Faculty of Science means collaborating with students, lecturers and researchers who are focused on their field, yet have a broad view of the world. The faculty offers a positive workplace culture where people work together with energy and a pragmatic attitude to tackle social challenges.