Postdoctoral Researcher – Pragmatic Trials

UniBE is prestigious.
With us, you benefit from the excellent reputation of a long-standing institution all around the world.

Start Date

Preferably as soon as possible (flexible, latest summer 2026)

Employment Relationship

fixed-term

Institution / Workplace

Department of Clinical Research DCR

About

About the Environment
The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bern is at the University of Bern is one of the largest medical faculties in Switzerland and is affiliated with the country's largest hospital complex, including Inselspital and the University Psychiatric Services Bern. Close integration of clinical medicine, engineering sciences, and data science creates a strong foundation for translational and patient-centered research.

The Department of Clinical Research (DCR) is a joint initiative of the Faculty of Medicine and its university hospitals. It strengthens and professionalizes clinical and translational research across the entire lifecycle of projects, from concept development to dissemination.

About Us
The Pragmatic Evidence Lab operates at the interface of clinical research, evidence-based medicine, and digital health. Our mission is to improve healthcare decision-making by embedding research into routine care and by advancing pragmatic, scalable research designs. A focus of the lab is methodological research and meta-research to evaluate, refine, and redesign how future clinical evidence is generated and used.

We develop and evaluate methods to generate decision-oriented evidence.

Core areas include:

• Methodology of clinical trials and randomized real-world evidence
• Pragmatic trials embedded in routine care
• Integration of digital health and research infrastructure
• Frameworks for learning healthcare systems
• Evidence synthesis and meta-research
• Evaluation of bias, generalizability, and decision relevance

The group collaborates nationally and internationally with academic institutions, healthcare providers, regulators, and funding agencies.

The Position and Responsibilities

The Position
We seek a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with a background in clinical epidemiology or clinical trial methodology.
You will design and lead independent research projects focused on pragmatic trials and the alignment of clinical care and clinical trial research. Your work will directly contribute to strengthening decision-relevant evidence and advancing learning healthcare systems.
The goal is to strengthen methodological standards and improve the reliability and decision relevance of clinical research.
Senior faculty within DCR and the University of Bern will provide mentorship in grant writing, research dissemination, and academic career development.

Start date: Preferably as soon as possible (flexible, latest summer 2026)

Employment level: 80–100 percent

Responsibilities

• Develop and evaluate methodological approaches for clinical trials
• Design and conduct meta-research and meta-epidemiological studies
• Support development of scalable infrastructures for embedded research
• Publish high-impact methodological and meta-research articles
• Contribute to grant development
• Supervise doctoral and master students and contribute to teaching in clinical research methodology
• Closely interact with DCR's clinical research divisions, including statistics and data management
• Closely interact with the Medical Data Science unit at DCR, including activities on AI use for clinical research

Profile, qualifications and what we offer

We are looking for a candidate with:

• A PhD or equivalent in epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical research, public health, data science, or a closely related field
• Expertise in meta-research, evidence synthesis, meta-epidemiology, or methodological research
• A solid understanding of clinical trial design, pragmatic trials, bias assessment, and generalizability
• A demonstrated publication record in peer-reviewed journals
• Experience contributing to or leading grant applications
• The ability to independently design and lead methodological projects while working effectively in multidisciplinary teams
• Strong skills in preparing manuscripts, grant proposals, and scientific conference presentations
• Advanced statistical programming skills, preferably in R
• Excellent written and spoken English; German is an advantage

We Offer

• A research-intensive academic position with a strong methodological focus and real impact on patient-centered evidence generation
• Intellectual independence and support for building an international profile in clinical trial research
• Structured mentorship for grant writing and academic career development
• A collaborative environment committed to rigorous and transparent science
• Integration in a wide network of clinical researchers and meta-researchers locally, nationally and internationally
• Access to a dynamic machine learning community at the University of Bern, with a strong emphasis on digitalization
• Integration within Switzerland's largest medical faculty and hospital complex
• Employment conditions according to University of Bern regulations

Your Benefits

Strong research infrastructure and international network

Access to cutting-edge technology and innovation

International reputation

Collaborative environment and ambitious team

Working at the University of Bern

The University of Bern not only offers exciting tasks but also an environment that actively promotes development, diversity, and equal opportunities. Discover what makes us stand out as an employer and how you can grow with us.

Application and Contact

Applications open until 20th April 2026.

Required application documents:

• Motivation letter and research statement highlighting your experience
• CV including publications
• Names and email addresses of three references

Only complete applications compiled in a single PDF will be considered. Promising candidates will be invited for interview.

Questions about the position?

Prof. Dr. med. Lars G. Hemkens MPH, Academic Director of Clinical Trials
lars.hemkens@unibe.ch

Questions about the application?

DCR HR Department
Nathalie Steiner
hr.dcr@unibe.ch