Epidemiologist/Research Associate

About the role

At the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), we are committed to achieving innovative, ground-breaking health and medical research that fundamentally improves the quality of life for all people.

The Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) Research Centre, established in 2017, to develop evidence to improve the quality of ageing and aged care services to older people in Australia. With 30+ multidisciplinary researchers, statisticians, PhD students, and administrative staff, ROSA operates with strong governance and community representation. Since July 2024, ROSA is a collaboration between SAHMRI and the Caring Futures Institute at Flinders University.

We are seeking an Epidemiologist / Research Associate to conduct high‑quality research focused on aged and health care services for older Australians. Working closely with the ROSA research and analytical team, you will contribute to a range of impactful projects, including evaluations of home care services and quality and safety surveillance initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate activities of federally funded projects involving older people in aged care settings.
• Work both independently and collaboratively with the ROSA team, research partners, consumer representatives, and project stakeholders.
• Conduct analyses of large administrative datasets (>3.8 million individuals; billions of records), including aged care, PBS, MBS, and hospitalisation data.
• Prepare papers for publication in high‑impact, peer‑reviewed journals.
• Participate in the dissemination of research findings at appropriate conferences.
• Monitor progress and report on KPIs for funded studies.
• Contribute to competitive grant applications.

About You

The successful candidate will possess the following key attributes:

• Demonstrated history of independent scientific contributions in their discipline (e.g., publications, grants, reports).
• Excellent proficiency working with SAS, R, or Stata (with at least proficiency in one statistical software package)
• Experience working with large datasets independently. Preferable experience working with aged care and/or health service data.
• Excellent epidemiological and biostatistical knowledge, including experience working with observational data, multivariable modelling, missing data, confounding/interaction issues, and survival analysis.
• Knowledge of the aged care system or health care sector in Australia (desirable).
• Meticulous attention to detail; methodical with excellent record keeping skills.
• Demonstrated experience in leading research projects.
• Ability to work in a team, intelligently manage relationships and establish rapport effectively.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Special Requirements

• Some out of hours work may be required.
• DCSI Employment Screening and Police Checks may be required.

Everything we do is underpinned by our core values and our institute is dedicated to grow a culture that pursues, enables and demands research excellence. We are proud of the work we do and work hard as a team to make a positive difference to the community.  Our values of excellence, innovation, courage, integrity and teamwork are what help us achieve our goals. If these are also your values and goals, apply today.

As a not-for-profit organisation, SAHMRI employees can access salary packaging options up to $15,900. Salary packaging lets you pay for things like the everyday costs of living with money from your salary before tax. This reduces your taxable income, meaning you could pay less tax and take home more of what you earn. For more information on salary packaging please see the Maxxia website.

To be considered for this position, applicants must hold relevant working rights within Australia at the time of application. 

For a copy of the position description, please click here.

For more information, please contact Michelle Lorimer at Michelle.Lorimer@sahmri.com

Applications close: Thursday 9^th April 2026

Applications may close earlier if a suitable candidate is identified.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are strongly encouraged to apply