Research Assistant (PhD position) in Health Economics with a focus on Modelling the Spatio-Temporal Spread of COVID-19 and the Impact of Economic Activity

17 Jan 2026
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Babes-Bolyai University

Department

Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration

Research Field

Economics » Health economics

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions

PhD Positions

Application Deadline

13 Mar 2026 - 16:00 (Europe/Bucharest)

Country

Romania

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

40

Offer Starting Date

1 Oct 2026

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Horizon Europe - MSCA

Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number

101226455

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

This position is part of HEPARD MSCA European funded doctoral network (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101226455 ). The project is training early-stage researchers in advanced data analytics, causal inference and machine learning related to health policy topics. Specifically, it is training them to evaluate real-world policy impacts. Focusing on lifestyle interventions, family support and insurance systems, the project combines economics, public health and data science to produce evidence that reflects Europe’s diversity. It will help design fairer, more effective health policies for all.

The doctoral training programme offers:

• Core training in health economics, causal inference, micro-econometrics, health inequalities, epidemiology, and healthcare decision-making;
• Elective courses on data science, public health, implementation science, and empirical microeconomics;
• Two secondments: one academic (methodological training and collaboration) and one non-academic (policy experience);
• Network-wide workshops and conferences bringing together leading researchers, policymakers, and industry partners;
• Regular online meetings with research seminars, course follow-ups, and journal clubs.
• Career development training, including leadership, teamwork, communication skills, and grant writing.

The research assistant will primarily pursuing doctoral studies and conduct independent research within the HEPARD project. He/she will apply state-of-the-art microeconometric methods for causal analysis to address research questions in empirical health economics.

Specifically, the doctoral research assistant tackled by this call will work on methodological cross-breeding for enhanced causal inference, to develop new causal inference tools by integrating economic and epidemiological approaches. He/she will study the impact of mobility and economic activity on COVID-19 spread in Romania.

Key objectives include:

• Develop a time-varying Mobility Index: Construct an index of intra- and inter-county mobility using transportation and mobility data to assess its role in COVID-19 spread.
• Estimate COVID-19 Spread and Impact: Use dynamic panel data models to estimate the spread of COVID-19 and assess the impact of government interventions on public health outcomes, such as hospitalisation and excess deaths.
• Integrate Methodologies: Combine SEIR modelling and counterfactual analysis to enhance the evaluation of different public health measures and their effects on infection rates.
• Provide Policy Recommendations: Develop data-driven policy recommendations to help balance economic activity and public health measures, including the economic costs and benefits of pandemic interventions.

This position includes a three-months research stay at Tilburg University, The Netherlands.

The position offers:

• The opportunity to work with rich Romanian administrative datasets.
• A robust methodological component, including methods from causal inference and time series econometrics at the research frontier.
• A strong policy orientation, contributing evidence-based recommendations to improve social policy and the organisation of health care delivery to address socioeconomic inequalities.
• An interdisciplinary research environment, integrating economics, public health, and data science.
• Participation in network-wide activities including training in health economics, microeconometrics, policy engagement, and transferable skills.

Where to apply

E-mail

antonia.adam@ubbcluj.ro

Requirements
Skills/Qualifications

Required qualifications for applicants:

 Eligibility criteria:

• Master’s degree (120 ECTS) in Business, Economics, Engineering, Information Technology, Computational Science or related fields and very good programming skills;
• Must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Romania, for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately preceding the date of recruitment;
• Must have strong written and oral communication skills in English;
• Should be in the first four years of their research careers at the time of recruitment and have not been awarded a doctoral degree so far;
• Must be willing to reside in Romania for the entire 3-year appointment and to travel to other universities and partner organizations within the network for training activities and mobility periods.

 

 

Specific Requirements

The ideal candidate should have: 

Skills/Qualifications: 

• A strong foundation in quantitative skills, including advanced knowledge of microeconometric techniques related to causal inference;
• A solid academic background in economics or a closely related field, preferably with expertise in health economics;
• Programming skills experience with Matlab, Stata, R or Python;
• A high level of intellectual curiosity, analytical rigor, and a strong commitment to policy-relevant research.

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Additional Information
Benefits

The remuneration including all mandatory taxes and insurances to be paid is about 2835 EUR / month and the research assistant benefits from side support for mobility.

Eligibility criteria

• Master’s degree (120 ECTS) in Business, Economics, Engineering, Information Technology, Computational Science or related fields and very good programming skills;
• Must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Romania, for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately preceding the date of recruitment;
• Must have strong written and oral communication skills in English;
• Should be in the first four years of their research careers at the time of recruitment and have not been awarded a doctoral degree so far;
• Must be willing to reside in Romania for the entire 3-year appointment and to travel to other universities and partner organizations within the network for training activities and mobility periods.

Selection process

Application file

In order to apply for the vacancy recruitment process, the applicants will submit to antonia.adam@ubbcluj.ro , until 13 March 2026 at 16:00 (EEST – Romania time) the following documents (with the subject: HEPARD – Application DC12):

a cover letter (emphasizing your specific interest, qualifications, and motivations to apply for this position);

a full CV (with the relevant details for checking the eligibility criteria);

names and contact details for two academics who can provide references about the candidate

an academic record file including Bachelor’s and Master’s diplomas and corresponding transcripts; if the Master’s program is ongoing, documents certifying the candidate’s current status within the Master’s program;

a proof of language proficiency in English (optional – will be tested during interview phase);

a self-declaration that the candidate has not resided/worked in Romania for 12 months during the last 3 years;

a copy of your passport/ID.

Application files selection 

 Applicants’ files will be reviewed for eligibility within one working day from the end of the submission period in order to determine their suitability for the vacant position according to the specific criteria and requirements outlined in the published vacancy notice.

The results of the application files selection will be posted on 16 March 2026, by indicating the registration number of the application file.

Appeals against the results of the application files selection can be submitted within one working day from the date of posting the results, to Human Resources Department (Str. I.C. Bratianu nr.14) or will email to antonia.adam@ubbcluj.ro .

Appeals will be answered within one working day after the submission deadline.

Only shortlisted candidates following the reviewing of application files will participate in the selection tests.

   Recruitment proceedings

Application files screening according to the following criteria:

• scientific/professional activity of the candidate
• experience in the required field
• quality of scientific collaborations, depending on the candidate’s field of expertise
• candidate participation in research-development projects

Interview based on the following criteria:

• professional knowledge;
• skills and abilities required for the position;
• candidate’s motivation;
• expected impact and benefits for both the researcher and the project;
• previous experience in fields relevant to the Hepard research program.

The interviews will take place online and the exact details (date, time, link) will be communicated to participants in advance. 

The final score of the recruitment and selection process is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the scores obtained in the selection tests. 

The candidate who obtained the highest final score will be admitted, but applicants must score a minimum of 7 points in each competition test.

In case of equal final scores, ranking is performed by considering the interview score as a tiebreaker. 

Results and appeals

The results of the recruitment and selection process will be published on the official website of the institution in two working days after concluding the interviews, by indicating the registration number of the application file.

Candidates who are not satisfied with the outcome of their assessment will have the right to appeal within maximum one working day from the publishing of the results.

Appeals will be submitted to Human Resources Department (Str. I.C. Bratianu nr.14, Cluj-Napoca, Romania) or will email to antonia.adam@ubbcluj.ro . Appeals will be answered within one working day after the submission deadline.

Additional comments

NOTE: In order to be hired, the selected candidate has the obligation: 

• to follow the procedure for the recognition/equivalence of study diplomas by the Ministry of Education and CNRED for EU and non-EU candidates, in order to be eligible to participate in the doctoral admissions process;
• to obtain doctoral student status at Babeș-Bolyai University following the admissions process to be held in the July 2026 session: https://doctorat.ubbcluj.ro/eng/important-dates/

We will support the selected candidate in completing the official procedure for the recognition of study diplomas.

Additional information can be obtained at https://hepard.org/  or irina.ban@econ.ubbcluj.ro  with CC to O.Boldea@tilburguniversity.edu .

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Babes Bolyai University

Country

Romania

State/Province

Cluj

City

Cluj-Napoca

Postal Code

400591

Street

Theodor Mihali 58-60

Geofield

Contact

State/Province

Cluj

City

Cluj-Napoca

Website

https://hepard.org/
https://www.ubbcluj.ro

Street

Theodor Mihali 58-60

Postal Code

400591

E-Mail

irina.ban@econ.ubbcluj.ro

Fax

+40264412570

STATUS: EXPIRED

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