Postdoctoral Research Associate Cancer Precision Health

The University of Virginia School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine is seeking highly qualified applicants for a one-year Postdoctoral Research Associate position, with the possibility of extension to three years based on an annual basis dependent upon satisfactory performance and the availability of funding.

This position is funded by the UVA Precision Health Initiative, with a focus on using th e tools of precision health to improve outcomes and reduce disparities for communities and populations, specifically reducing cancer risk behaviors for this position, consistent with the UVA 2030 Plan.

Candidates will receive mentorship and training in precision health, including, advanced statistical methods, decision support to implement tobacco control interventions, and grant writing.

The candidate will be asked to support projects related to cancer health disparities including the design and implementation of a community-based cohort study to explore environmental, social, behavioral, and genetic determinates of colorectal cancer risk.

This work will be conducted in Virginia under the mentorship of Drs. Li Li , Wendy Cohn , Kara Wiseman and Matt Devall who are collaborators on this work

Responsibilities :

Support the development and implementation of a community-based cohort study to explore environmental, social, behavioral, and genetic determinates of colorectal cancer risk and other relevant studies.

Tasks may include research activities related to obtaining, modifying, and continuing institutional review board approval (IRB), developing and refining survey measures, communicating with local partners, supporting data collection including in-person and online survey data.

• Cleaning and analyzing data collected through community-University collaborations to reduce cancer health disparities.
• Run advanced quantitative analyses of survey and molecular / genomic data using appropriate software.
• Generate research questions for analysis utilizing quantitative data collected from prior studies.
• Lead and co-author papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals.
• Communicate research findings at key conferences (e.g., American Society of Preventive Oncology, American Public Health Association, American Association for Cancer Research, etc.).
• Contribute to submissions of federal and private grant proposals to funders (current and prior funders include National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, etc.).
• Contribute to the intellectual environment of the Department of Family Medicine and Precision Health Initiative by keeping current on recent scientific studies and relevant advanced quantitative methods, and regularly attending and presenting findings at lab meetings.
• Providing near-peer-mentorship to students and other early-career-scholars on the research team.

Qualifications :

Education : An earned Ph.D. in a research-oriented field, such as Social or Cancer Epidemiology, Sociology, Public Health, Research / Statistics / Evaluation, or a related field is required by the start date of the position.

Experience : The ideal candidate is an early-career researcher with prior experience working with cohort studies, large datasets, and / or cutting-edge statistical methods, and some knowledge or interest in cancer etiology and / or prevention.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities :

• Content expertise in some of the following areas : cancer epidemiology, cancer prevention and control, community-based research, observational study design, implementation and / or evaluation.
• Methods expertise in one or more of the following areas : survey data analysis, conducting applied research in community settings, design and implementation of observational studies, methodology training in cancer epidemiology especially in the area of gene-environment interactions.
• Administrative expertise : Proficient with Box, Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams), Zoom, Qualtrics or similar survey data collection tools, and ability to learn new software quickly and introduce new useful applications and platforms to the team.

Application :

For questions about the position, please contact Robert Hunt Jr. , and for questions about the application process, please contact Eric Allen

Please apply Here and search for 'Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cancer Precision Health ". Complete an application online and attach :

• Cover letter (addressed to Li Li)
• CV / resume
• Two publications / writing samples
• Statement of research interests

Submit all materials into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field, alternatively you can merge your materials together and submit as one.

Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile. Applications that are missing materials will not receive full consideration.

Research Associates are appointed annually, and continuation is dependent upon satisfactory performance and the availability of funding.

Review of applications will begin 10 days after posting and will remain open until filled.

Physical Demands :

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job occasionally requires local and regional travel to attend in-person meetings with research team and community members, regional travel for data collection activities, and walking some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff.

We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.

The University of Virginia, i ncluding the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff.

We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.