Postdoctoral Scholar - Violence Prevention Research - Dept of Social & Behavioral Sciences

About the Role

The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Public Health is seeking a highly motivated, research-focused Post-Doctoral Fellow to join the research program led by Dr. Nicholas Thomson. The fellow will contribute to a portfolio of federally funded research focused on gun violence, suicide and self-directed violence, interpersonal violence, conduct disorder, externalizing psychopathology, developmental psychopathology, and the development and evaluation of innovative prevention approaches.

Responsibilities

• Leading and contributing to peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts.
• Developing first-author publications using existing and newly collected research data.
• Contributing to federal and foundation grant applications and developing independent fellowship, career development, or research proposals.
• Developing research questions and conducting analyses using longitudinal, observational, experimental, and intervention datasets.
• Conducting quantitative analyses of behavioral, clinical, and public health data.
• Supporting the design, implementation, and evaluation of studies addressing gun violence, suicide, violence, conduct problems, and related behavioral health outcomes.
• Contributing to research incorporating psychophysiological, behavioral, clinical, or technology-based methods.
• Participating in participant recruitment, baseline and follow-up assessments, and study retention activities as needed.
• Conducting clinical, behavioral, or neurocognitive assessments when relevant to specific research projects.
• Contributing to data management, quality assurance, research documentation, and reproducible analytic workflows.
• Conducting targeted and systematic reviews of the scientific literature.
• Supporting IRB submissions, protocol modifications, regulatory documentation, and research compliance.
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary investigators within the School of Public Health, across VCU, and with clinical and community partners.
• Presenting findings at local, national, and international scientific meetings.
• Participating in regular research, mentorship, and professional-development activities.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in psychology, public health, behavioral science, developmental science, neuroscience, criminology, or a closely related field by the position start date.
• Research interests relevant to violence, suicide, developmental psychopathology, behavioral health, prevention science, or a closely related area.
• Demonstrated scientific writing expertise, evidenced by peer-reviewed publications.
• Evidence of the ability to lead or make substantial contributions to scientific manuscripts.
• Strong quantitative research skills and experience analyzing behavioral, clinical, or public health data.
• Experience using statistical software such as R, SPSS, SAS, Stata, Mplus, or comparable analytic platforms.
• Strong understanding of research design and quantitative methodology.
• Excellent organizational and project-management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and collaborative skills.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and within multidisciplinary research teams.
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an environment of respect, professionalism, and civility with a diverse population.

Preferred Qualifications

• Research expertise in suicide, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, or self-directed violence.
• Research experience in gun violence, firearm-related injury, interpersonal violence, aggression, or violence prevention.
• Research experience involving conduct disorder, antisocial behavior, externalizing psychopathology, or related developmental processes.
• Experience or strong interest in psychophysiology, including measures such as electrodermal activity, heart rate, heart-rate variability, or related physiological methods.
• Experience incorporating physiological and behavioral measures to investigate mechanisms underlying emotion, threat processing, behavioral regulation, or psychopathology.
• Experience using technology in behavioral health, public health, or intervention research, including virtual reality, mobile or digital health technologies, wearable sensors, ecological momentary assessment, or related approaches.
• Experience with longitudinal, experimental, clinical, community-based, or intervention research.

Benefits

All VCU employee types are eligible for a wide array of benefits to support you during your employment at VCU. Consult the benefits website for information on benefits eligibility according to employee type.

Salary Range: NIH Salary Scale

FLSA Exemption Status: Exempt

ORP Eligible: Yes

Flexible Work Arrangement: Fully Onsite

Contact Information:
Contact Name: Cian Brooks
Contact Email: Brookst10@vcu.edu

This is a restricted position with no set end date. Continued employment is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.