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PhD: Systematic Reviews/Evidence Syntheses, and Guideline Development/Implementation (META)

Project summary:

This PhD will be directly attached to the work of the META group, named for its focus on systematic reviews, which is a team of Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre (MBMC) students and staff dedicated to delivering evidence synthesis projects using quality methodology. As one branch of the MBMC, META supports both internal projects (e.g., assisting students at MBMC) and external projects (e.g., collaborations with COVID-END and CACPR). The position will be based at the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, which is a collaborative research centre between the CIUSSS-NIM – Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal, Concordia University, and UQAM.

Position summary:

The individual who is selected for this position will be expected to help MBMC’s META group in conducting systematic reviews, rapid reviews, and meta-analyses. The candidate will be able to work on a variety of research-related aspects of evidence synthesis projects including:

  • Systematic reviews, rapid evidence syntheses, meta-analyses and reporting
  • Assessment of implementation strategies
  • Development and dissemination of guideline tools
  • Participating in stakeholder engagement activities

The chosen candidate will also collaborate with other pertinent projects within the MBMC.

Required Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in a related applied clinical discipline (e.g., Epidemiology, Public Health, Kinesiology, Nursing, Nutrition, Psychology, Medicine)
  • Demonstrated research productivity (peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations)
  • Demonstrated experience conducting research in at least one of the following areas:
    • Implementation science
    • Guideline development
    • Systematic reviews/meta-analyses
    • Rapid evidence syntheses
    • Tertiary chronic disease prevention
  • Demonstrated ability in the following:
    • Oral and written communication skills in English
    • Interpersonal skills
    • Capacity to work autonomously and collaboratively

Preference will be given to candidates with:

  • Experience with statistical methods and ability to work with analytic software
  • Experience using integrated stakeholder engagement strategies
  • Experience with student mentoring and supervision
  • Openness to learn new methods and techniques in an applied clinical setting
  • Ability to communicate (orally) in both English and French

Start date, Duration, Stipend, and Location

The PhD will start in September 2025 (though there is also the possibility of starting during the summer of 2025); funding has already been received.

The funding package consists of a minimum 4-year stipend (consistent with Fonds de Recherche du Quebec funding levels) plus conference / training funding. For out of province and international candidates there are also tuition waivers potentially available.

The successful candidate will be registered either at Concordia University in the Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology (www.concordia.ca); the actual work would be conducted at the CIUSSS-NIM, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal (https://rechercheciusssnim.ca/). Please note that the language of instruction at Concordia is English.

To apply, please forward the following:

  • A complete curriculum vitae, including summary of GPA’s, a full publication list (including hyperlinks where possible) and email contact details for two referees
  • A letter of motivation and statement of research accomplishments and future research goals, which should be no longer than 2 pages.
  • At least one written example of a research focused output, e.g., research article, master’s thesis, class-based research paper.

How to apply:

  • The complete application package must be emailed to: apply@mbmc-cmcm.ca. Please include “PhD META” in the subject line.
  • Queries about the application should be sent to Dr. Bacon (simon.bacon@concordia.ca).
  • The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday January 17, 2025, 5pm ET. Interviews will be conducted in January 2025. The successful candidate will need to apply to the University by the official application deadline