• School of Psychology | National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research

• Part-time (50% FTE), fixed-term position for 2 years

• Base salary (at 1 FTE) will range from $119,462 - $141,545 (Academic Level B) + 17% Superannuation

• Based at our vibrant St Lucia campus

About This Opportunity

The School of Psychology and the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research (NCYSUR) are inviting applications for a Biostatistician with linked health data skills to support their clinical research on substance use and mental health issues.

Working alongside a connected network of researchers, clinicians and industry partners, you will lead data linkage and advanced statistical analyses across a number of projects, including: 

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Meaningful Outcomes in Substance Use Treatment Centre of Research Excellence (2022 - 2028): This Centre of Research Excellence aims to reduce the burden and cost of AOD problems in Australia by implementing routine outcome monitoring into the AOD sector. Current research projects include discrete choice experiments, co-design workshops, cluster randomised controlled trials (RCTs), implementation science, data linkage, and data science.

NHMRC Partnership Grant – First Step Brief Intervention (2025 - 2029): This grant examines the implementation and effectiveness of a brief intervention in AOD services. Specific aims include: (i) determining short and long-term effectiveness of the First Step brief intervention model, (ii) co-designing and testing First Step clinical decision support tools. 

As a Biostatistician, you will lead the data linkage component for the above projects. From 2020, UQ researchers have worked with a large AOD service provider in Queensland to implement the routine collection of person-reported outcome measures. This comprehensive suite of outcome measures includes measures on substance use frequency, quantity and severity, mental health, risk behaviours, social factors and quality of life. Administrative data, person-reported outcome measures and treatment data for all clients who enrolled in treatment (n~16,000) have been linked to QLD Health data (emergency, hospitalisation, death AOD MH, ambulance presentations) and justice (correctives) data. The primary objective is to examine long-term health and justice outcomes associated with AOD treatment. 

 Key responsibilities include:  

• Lead the statistical design and analysis of linked health and justice datasets in collaboration with Chief Investigators and project partners.

• Identify and mitigate analytical risks, including bias, missing data and confounding, while maintaining high standards of research quality and integrity.

• Undertake data extraction, cleaning, linkage-ready preparation and derivation of analysis variables using reproducible methods.

• Maintain well-structured code, metadata and data dictionaries to support shared use, re-use and handover.

• Support the development of grant applications, analysis plans, research publications and knowledge translation activities.

• Supervise (or co-supervise) Honours students and contribute to researcher development within the team.

• Contribute to research quality assurance, governance activities and coordinate technical leadership meetings/events to support the advancement of innovative data science.

About You

• Completion of a PhD in biostatistics, epidemiology, public health, statistics or a related discipline.

• Demonstrated experience leading analyses of large and complex datasets, including cohort, survey or routinely collected administrative data.

• Experience working with linked health datasets, or a strong understanding of data linkage methodologies, data quality and associated biases.

• A growing research profile as evidenced by publications in well-regarded peer-reviewed journals, and contributions to grant applications.

• Proven ability to contribute to governance and working groups, including preparing analysis summaries and participating in committees.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with proven ability to produce clear, succinct research documentation and liaise effectively with a wide range of researchers and stakeholders.

• A commitment to research integrity, ethical practice, collaboration, inclusivity and UQ values.

About UQ

As part of the UQ community, you will have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world, and within an environment where interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged. As part of our commitment to excellence in research and professional practice in academic contexts, we are proud to provide our staff with access to world-class facilities and equipment, grant writing support, greater research funding opportunities, and other forms of staff support and development.

The greater benefits of joining the UQ community are broad: from being part of a Group of Eight university, to recognition of prior service with other Australian universities, up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, 17.5% annual leave loading, flexible working arrangements, access to exclusive internal-only vacancies, and genuine career progression opportunities via the academic promotions process.

Interested?

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Professor Leanne Hides at [email protected]. For application inquiries, please reach out to the Talent Acquisition team at [email protected], stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line.

When you apply, please ensure you upload a resume and cover letter, including responses to the ‘About You’ selection criteria above. Please note that applications received via email will not be accepted.

Other Information

Pre-employment checks will include verification of your qualifications and your right to work in Australia. This may also include checks relating to gender-based violence matters or other integrity and conduct requirements.

You must maintain unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Employer sponsored work rights are not available for this appointment.

We're dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion. We recognise that career pathways and opportunities differ, and encourage applications from candidates who may not meet every criteria but can demonstrate their potential relative to opportunity. We’re also happy to support any accessibility needs throughout the recruitment process. Just let us know how we can help by emailing [email protected] or calling +61 7 3365 2623.

Applications close Sunday 16 August 2026 at 11.00pm AEST (Job Reference Number: R-67766).