PhD Position in Bayesian Methods in Health Economics

Cost-effectiveness analyses are becoming increasingly important to determine the value for money of healthcare innovations. However, these analyses often rely on limited data and uncertain outcomes. Bayesian methods provide a powerful framework that enables incorporating prior information in the analyses, combining data from different sources and updating of results by new evidence. Bayesian methods also naturally allow quantification of uncertainty. Yet, the application of these methods in health economic decision-making is still limited.

In this PhD project, you will explore how advanced Bayesian methods can be further adopted and developed to increase its use in health economics and better inform decision making. Your research will focus on both methodological development and their application to case studies of regenerative medicines. In addition to quantitative work, you will actively engage with stakeholders such as policymakers, to understand and improve the acceptability and interpretability of Bayesian approaches in real-world settings.

You will write a PhD thesis (based on scientific publications). You will also contribute to teaching activities, follow courses at the Utrecht University Graduate School of Life Sciences (GSLS), attend and participate to departmental meetings and have the opportunity to attend and present work at (inter)national conferences.

The Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care is part of the UMC Utrecht and conducts pioneering research. The center hosts around 400 researchers with diverse backgrounds such as medicine, clinical epidemiology, biostatistics, ethics, law, public health and health economics. The PhD candidate will be hosted by the Regenerative Medicines team part of the Health Economic Evaluation (HEE) research group. This group is part of the Department of Epidemiology & Health Economics within Julius Center. The candidate will be co-supervised and closely collaborate with the Department of Data Science and Biostatistics.

Our interdisciplinary HEE-group comprises of ~20 people and includes senior researchers, junior researchers and PhD candidates. They work on diverse health economics related research topics, including methodological research, policy analyses, payment models, costing studies, (early) economic evaluations and trial-based economic evaluations across many disease areas. The overarching aim is to inform decision makers, such as developers, clinicians, patients and policy makers, to achieve affordable, accessible and high-quality healthcare.

We are looking for a motivated and curious early-career researcher with:

• Either a completed master’s degree in (Bio)statistics, econometrics, mathematics or a related field, combined with a strong motivation and capabilities to learn health economic methods, or alternatively a completed master’s degree in health economics, health sciences, pharmacy, biomedical sciences, epidemiology or a related field, combined with a strong motivation and capabilities to learn advanced (bio)statistical and Bayesian techniques.
• Demonstrated experience with statistical software (e.g., R, Rstudio, Python).
• Excellent English oral and writing proficiency.
• Dutch oral and writing proficiency at level of at least B2/C1.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage one’s own work effectively and coordinate a diverse set of stakeholders
• Strong communication skills and ability to communicate findings clearly to diverse stakeholders.
• A proactive and independent attitude and the ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment.
• A solution-oriented mindset, with the ability to translate complex methods into practical insights.

Intended starting date is November 1st 2025. Interviews will take place on August 21st, 2025.

• A salary between € 3.108,- and € 3.939,- gross per month (salary scale OIO), based on full-time employment (36 hours).
• The appointment will be for a total of 36 months. The initial appointment will be for a period of 12 months, which will be extended upon a positive evaluation.
• Year-end bonus of 8.3% and holiday allowance of 8%.
• Pension insurance with ABP. We take care of approximately 70% of the monthly contribution.
• 100% public transport reimbursement. Are you coming on foot, by bike or by car? You will then receive a reimbursement of € 0.18 per km (by car up to a max. of 40 km one way).
  Possibilities to develop yourself personally and professionally.
• The option to select additional employment benefits in exchange for gross salary, such as purchasing a bicycle and memberships.