Brussels Environmental Exposome Project: causal effects urban exposome cardiovasc

Organisation/Company Université Libre de Bruxelles Department Ecole de Santé Publique Research Field Medical sciences » Epidemiology Medical sciences » Health sciences Environmental science » Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Final date to receive applications 8 Feb 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 38 Offer Starting Date 1 May 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

In the context of the ‘Brussels Environmental Exposome Project’ (BEE-project), the research centers on ‘Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Clinical Research’ and ‘Environmental Health’ are recruiting a full-time doctoral student. The overall objective of the transdisciplinary and interuniversity BEE-project is to apply an exposomic approach to examine non-communicable diseases in the Brussels Capital Region. Within this project, the appointed doctoral student will focus on studying the causal effects of the urban exposome on cardiovascular and neurovascular disease.

The doctoral student will apply quantitative research methods developed within the domain of ‘causal inference’ (e.g., directed acyclic graphs, target trial emulation and g-computation). As part of the role, the doctoral student will participate in regular interactions with the project consortium and maintain effective communication with local stakeholders. The doctoral student will collaborate closely with researchers from the Unit for Health Impact Assessment of Sciensano and will prepare a joint PhD thesis ULB - Sciensano.

Within the BEE-project, funding is currently foreseen to appoint a doctoral student for a period of three years. Search for funding for a 4th year is ongoing.

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Research Field Medical sciences » Epidemiology Education Level Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

• Master's degree in public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health or a related field (with a minimum overall average of 14/20)
• Advanced quantitative research skills and experience with statistical software packages such as R, Stata®, or SAS®
• Knowledge of and experience with causal inference methods is an asset
• Strong interest in Environmental Health and motivation to conduct high-quality research in this domain
• Excellent written and spoken English skills
• For communication with local stakeholders: fluency in French or Dutch; bilingualism is an asset
• Strong collaborative and communication skills
• Strong sense of integrity, transparency and responsibility

Specific Requirements

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development of a comprehensive dataset including environmental, health and socio-economic information
• Develop and preregister research protocols
• Apply advanced statistical analysis to the data
• Prepare and publish scientific articles in international peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Communicate and collaborate with the consortium partners and local stakeholders

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Selection process

Application files should be sent by email to  by 08/02/2026 using the following email title: ‘BEE project causal effects – NAME OF APPLICANT’. Application files should include:

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview on 19 or 20 February 2026. Prior to the interview, they will be required to submit a research protocol. During the interview, candidates will present this proposal in English, followed by a discussion. Additional information can be obtained from Prof. Jelle Van Cauwenberg (  ).