Modelling comorbidity risk in people with HIV using international cohort data

People with HIV are living longer due to effective antiretroviral therapy, but many experience an increasing burden of comorbidities, such as chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other long-term conditions. Understanding who is at greatest risk of developing comorbidities, and how risk changes over time, is essential for improving clinical monitoring, prevention, and long-term care.

This PhD project will use data from the RESPOND international cohort, a large collaboration of cohorts of people with HIV, to investigate the risk of selected comorbidities.

Potential areas of investigation include:

• estimating the incidence and predictors of comorbidities among people with HIV;
• modelling temporal trends in comorbidity risk across calendar time, ageing, and stages of clinical care;
• investigating how HIV treatment, treatment history, or treatment changes are associated with subsequent comorbidity risk;
• comparing statistical modelling approaches for longitudinal clinical cohort data, including time-to-event and longitudinal models;
• handling time-updated exposures and biomarkers;
• assessing the impact of missing data, measurement frequency, and cohort heterogeneity on model estimates;
• evaluating model fit, performance, prediction, and risk stratification approaches.

Desired background

This project would suit a student with a strong interest in biostatistics, epidemiology, public health, or a related quantitative discipline. Experience with statistical software such as R or Stata would be valuable; prior exposure to survival analysis, longitudinal data analysis, missing data methods, or prediction modelling would be advantageous, but the project can be tailored to the student’s existing skills and training needs. The successful applicant would need to meet the Australian Government H1E standards and UNSW entry standards.

How to apply

Please email Mark Donoghoe (m.donoghoe@unsw.edu.au) to express your interest, and provide your CV and academic transcripts.

If successful, you will need to submit a formal application, available here https://www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr/application for admission to UNSW.