Punch Out MS Fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis Data Science and Collaborative Research

The Punch Out MS Fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis Data Science and Collaborative Research is a 12-month, full-time fellowship at the London MS Clinic, London Health Sciences Centre, and the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at Western University. The fellowship is structured as 80% protected research and scholarly activity and 20% supervised clinical training.

The fellowship is designed for a physician trainee with a strong interest in multiple sclerosis (MS), epidemiology, clinical informatics, data science, and collaborative research. Its central focus is the development of a Canadian network of harmonized MS data to support multi-centre collaborative research.

Working with the fellowship supervisory team and Canadian collaborators, the fellow will contribute to the standardization of structured and unstructured clinical information using common terminology and the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model. The fellow will also participate in the development and validation of accessible, low-cost data-extraction approaches, including natural-language processing and artificial intelligence methods with human quality assurance, as well as data-quality, privacy, governance, and site-onboarding processes. The fellowship aims to complete a feasible multi-centre pilot supporting distributed research across centers.

The fellowship is supported by proceeds from Punch Out MS, a community fundraising event supporting MS research.

The fellow will have four protected days per week for research and scholarly training and one full-day equivalent per week for supervised clinical training. The fellow will also participate in weekly National MS Fellow teaching rounds, bi-monthly MS School of London sessions, bi-monthly MS Neuroradiology rounds, and MS Journal Club approximately six times per year.

Selection Criteria

Application review and interview.

Application Deadlines

TBD

Application Process

To apply for this fellowship, interested applicants should submit the following:

  • A current CV
  • Copy of medical degree (with English translation if applicable)
  • Copy of specialty certification (with English translation if applicable)
  • Three letters of reference
  • Proof of citizenship (copy of passport or birth certificate)
  • A letter of intent

 *If you are a sponsored international fellow, your sponsor must submit your application on your behalf directly to the PGME Office.

Contact

Fellowship Supervisor:
Juan Racosta, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology, Western University
MS Neurologist, London Health Sciences Centre

Phone: (519) 685-8500 ext 33630
E-mail: juan.racosta@lhsc.on.ca
London Health Sciences Centre
University Hospital
339 Windemere Road
London Ontario Canada
N6A 5A5