Pediatrician for TB project Full-Time

Description:

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) is a cutting-edge institute addressing global public health challenges through research, translation into policy and education. ISGlobal has a broad portfolio in communicable and non-communicable diseases including environmental and climate determinants, and applies a multidisciplinary scientific approach ranging from the molecular to the population level. Research is organized in three main areas, Malaria and other Infectious Diseases, Child and Maternal Health, and Urban Health, Climate & Non-Communicable Diseases. ISGlobal is accredited with the Severo Ochoa distinction, a seal of excellence of the Spanish Science Ministry.

The Manhiça Health Research Center (CISM) has among its fundamental activities the development of research on those diseases that most affect the population of Manhiça. On a continuous basis, new research projects in the areas of infectious diseases (malaria, acute respiratory diseases, etc …) have been funded to be carried out and led since Manhiça. In some cases, these projects have a high clinical component that require the researchers who lead them to be clinicians, preferably pediatricians.
Among its fundamental activities, CISM also provides support to the Manhiça District Hospital, the Manhiça Health Center, and health in your study area. These assistance activities are coordinated by the CISM Clinic Department. Essentially, these assistance activities are in the scope of pediatrics, but CISM is also giving specific support to adults.

About this Project:

The project (Stool4TB) involves the validation of new diagnostics for TB, with a focus on children and people living with HIV. The overarching goal of the STool4TB project is to improve TB diagnosis by increasing bacteriological confirmation rates among pediatric and HIV-positive presumptive TB cases.

Stool4TB aims to validate an innovative stool homogenization and DNA isolation method that yields a highly sensitive and specific Mtb qPCR-based diagnostic. STool4TB will evaluate this platform in the high TB and HIV burden settings of Mozambique, eSwatini and Uganda, under the hypothesis that it will narrow the large TB case detection gap by improving TB confirmation rates in children and PLHIV, while proving feasible and acceptable. Preliminary data suggest that this platform adds value to existing sputum based diagnostics and increases rates of bacteriological confirmation. Given the lack of available tools to effectively monitor TB treatment, STool4TB will also evaluate the usefulness of this quantitative stool- based qPCR as a TB treatment monitoring tool for children and PLHIV. This platform has the potential to be adapted to a POC diagnostic and thus easily implemented in resource-constrained basic health care centres. In addition, several epidemiological studies will be nested within the project which will allow the characterization of pediatric TB in one of the most important hotspots of TB and HIV in the world.

This job offer includes the possibility of completing a PhD degree in pediatric TB with ISGlobal and Barcelona University, using original data collected from this project (and potentially other ongoing projects at the TB research unit).

The consortium of partners includes: Fundación Privada Instituto de Salud Global Barcelona (ISGLobal), Spain; Makerere University Uganda, Uganda; Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD), The Netherlands; Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM), Mozambique; Baylor College of Medicine Childrens Foundation, Swaziland; Baylor College of Medicine, United States; and Research Borstel Center, Germany.

What We Are Looking for:

We have identified the need to have an expatriate pediatrician to lead specific clinical research projects and to work in the center’s Tuberculosis Department, with the aim of meeting their general pediatric care needs, facilitating training in pediatric tuberculosis, and take responsibility as an investigator in the field of implementing research tasks in the areas mentioned above.

Field of research:

• Medical sciences

Specific Requirements:

1.Training and experience /Qualifications:

• Have research experience working at a research team with a relevant role for the last 12 months;
• Have completed a Pediatrics residency (typical duration 4-year programme) after the Medicine Degree;
• Be Master’s degree holder or Master of Science;
• Have a positive attitude towards human rights and be open-minded, tolerant and show commitment to work and global health´s research;
• Have good English/Spanish language skills.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct regular thorough examinations on newborns and children to check and record their development;
• Reach an informed diagnosis based on scientific knowledge and individual medical history;
• Prescribe medications and give detailed instructions for administration;
• Prescribe and interpret appropriate lab tests to gain more information for possible infections or abnormalities;
• Collect clinical data during the visits, perform phlebotomy for blood specimens, collect sputum through induced sputum or gastric aspirate and clean data;
• Advise parents on children’s health;
• Keep updated records of patients’ illnesses, surgeries or other medical episodes;
• Participate in the assistance activities in the External Consultations, Infirmary, Urgencies (ICD and weekend emergencies), etc., in the health centers where CISM works;
• Collaborate in the coordination and realization of other activities of the clinic (meetings, clinical sessions, journal clubs, discussion of clinical cases and deaths, discussion of results of blood cultures, daily visits at 10 am to resuscitation, etc.);
• Reporting line;
• This post fits within the Tuberculosis Department and reports to its responsible, the PI of the project;
• The head of the Department has the responsibility to define the tasks and responsibilities to be developed and to supervise them.

Additional Skills:

• Problem resolution;
• Learning capacity;
• Teamwork.

Language level:

• Spanish (equivalent to level C);
• English (equivalent to proficiency);
• Portuguese (this will be valued as a positive asset).

Conditions:

• Starting date: 1st October 2020
• Contract: Full
• Salary Range: Following ISGlobal salary scales

Other general aspects

• Medical assistance is provided in places that are under the management and responsibility of the Mozambican State. Therefore, the tasks should be carried out according to the rules of clinical conduct in force in Mozambique, and in accordance with the guidelines and guidelines indicated by the Director of the District Services for Women’s Health and Social Action and the District Chief Physician.
• Assistance activities can only be carried out after authorization by the Minister and the Order of Doctors of Mozambique.

During the crisis caused by COVID19, standard working conditions will be adapted to sanitary requirements.