Population Health and Data Science T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow - PM&R

About the role

The T32 Postdoctoral Training Program in Translational Population Health and Data Science is a NIH‑funded partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the Central Virginia VA Health Care System. Fellows gain access to some of the largest U.S. health‑care datasets, including the VA Corporate Data Warehouse (≈25 million veterans, ~4 billion new data points daily) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data covering >65 million Americans. The program provides didactic and experiential training in big‑data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and evidence‑based medicine, with the goal of training postdoctoral scholars (MD, DO, PhD, ScD) to translate population‑health and data‑science research for service members, veterans, and civilians.

Responsibilities

• Participate in two years of training activities (didactic and experiential)
• Understand responsible conduct of research with population‑health datasets, claims, survey data, and electronic health records
• Develop grant‑writing skills needed to compete for external funding
• Grasp the fundamentals of translational population health and data science research (study design, dataset identification, data management, analysis, dissemination)
• Perform hypothesis‑driven translational research by building multidisciplinary teams
• Disseminate study findings via peer‑reviewed publications and presentations
• Complete coursework and training in the design and conduct of rigorous, controlled research studies
• Engage in supplemental activities to intensify abilities to conduct translational population‑health and data‑science research using service‑member, veteran, and civilian healthcare datasets
• Work with mentors from VCU schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Public Health, Engineering, Health Professions, and the Central Virginia VA Health Care System

Requirements

• Completion of all PhD graduation requirements, including dissertation defense, prior to the start date (for PhD/ScD track)
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident (NIH NRSA eligibility)

Qualifications

• Completion of a PhD/ScD or MD/DO training
• Knowledge of population health, big data analytics, or a health domain that could benefit from big‑data research
• Proficiency in developing, navigating, and maintaining datasets
• Evidence of excellent initiation, interpersonal, and organizational skills
• Evidence of excellent communication skills, both oral and written
• Publication history in health or big‑data analytics
• Interest and commitment to improving the lives of veterans as well as civilians
• Experience working effectively as part of a research project or team
• Demonstrated experience fostering a supportive faculty, staff, and student environment and a commitment to do so as a post‑doctoral fellow at VCU

Skills

• Proficiency in developing, navigating, and maintaining datasets
• Excellent initiation, interpersonal, and organizational skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work well within a research team
• Experience fostering a supportive research environment

Benefits

• VCU postdocs are Virginia state employees, with benefits mirroring those of 12‑month faculty
• All VCU employee types are eligible for a wide array of benefits; see the VCU benefits website for details

Pay

Salary: $63,480 per year (entry‑level postdoctoral fellow stipend according to the current National Research Service Awards (NRSA) levels).

Schedule

Hybrid‑remote and flexible work arrangements are available, provided they do not interfere with research and training requirements.