Postdoctoral Associate, Epidemiology, School of Public Health

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

The Department of Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health invites applications for a Postdoctoral Associate Research Fellow to conduct NIH-funded epidemiologic research on the effects of environmental chemical exposures on reproductive health.

The Postdoc will work with data from the Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and Fibroids (SELF), a prospective cohort study of Black women designed to investigate environmental, lifestyle, and reproductive factors associated with gynecologic and reproductive outcomes. They will lead and collaborate on analyses evaluating associations between environmental chemical exposures, including exposure to mixtures of chemicals, and reproductive outcomes, with a particular emphasis on fertility outcomes.

This position provides an opportunity to develop expertise at the intersection of reproductive epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, and advanced statistical methods. The Postdoc will be expected to work independently and take intellectual leadership in statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, and dissemination of findings, while collaborating with investigators across epidemiology, environmental health, biostatistics, and reproductive health.

A particular focus of the fellowship will be the application of mixtures modeling approaches to characterize the reproductive effects of correlated and co-occurring environmental chemical exposures.

JOB SUMMARY

The Postdoctoral Associate will conduct independent and collaborative epidemiologic research examining the effects of environmental chemical exposures on reproductive health outcomes. Using data from the SELF cohort, they will investigate associations between individual and combined chemical exposures and outcomes including fertility and other reproductive outcomes.

The Postdoc is expected to demonstrate methodological rigor, intellectual initiative, and the ability to communicate quantitative findings to different audiences. The position will provide opportunities to publish first-authored and co-authored manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, present findings at national conferences, and contribute to grant applications.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES

1. Design and conduct epidemiologic analyses using data from the Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and Fibroids (SELF) cohort.
2. Evaluate associations between environmental chemical exposures and reproductive outcomes.
3. Apply and extend advanced statistical methods for evaluating the health effects of chemical mixtures and correlated environmental exposures.
4. Develop analytic approaches that address exposure correlation, nonlinearity, interactions, and potential confounding in environmental epidemiologic studies.
5. Lead the preparation and submission of manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals.
6. Present research findings at national and international scientific conferences.
7. Contribute to the development of grant applications focused on environmental and reproductive health.
8. Collaborate with multidisciplinary investigators in epidemiology, environmental health, biostatistics, and reproductive health.
9. Contribute to data management, quality control, analytic planning, and interpretation of findings.
10. Mentor and support students in epidemiologic methods, statistical programming, and scientific writing.

RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT

The Postdoc will join an active research program in reproductive and environmental epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. The position offers opportunities to work with rich prospective cohort data and to develop expertise in innovative statistical approaches for environmental mixtures.

The Postdoc will have opportunities for close mentorship and collaboration while also being encouraged to pursue research questions aligned with their interests and career goals.

Required Skills

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

1. Doctoral degree (PhD, ScD, or equivalent) in Epidemiology, Environmental Health, or a closely related discipline.
2. Strong training in epidemiologic methods and quantitative research.
3. Demonstrated experience with environmental mixtures modeling, including methods for evaluating health effects of multiple correlated chemical exposures.
4. Experience conducting analyses using large observational or longitudinal epidemiologic datasets.
5. Strong programming and statistical skills in SAS, R, or a comparable statistical programming language.
6. Demonstrated ability to independently design, conduct, and interpret epidemiologic analyses.
7. Excellent scientific writing and oral communication skills.
8. Strong interest in reproductive and environmental health research.

Preferred

1. Experience in environmental epidemiology, reproductive epidemiology, infertility research.
2. Experience with environmental chemical exposures, such as PFAS, heavy metals, persistent pesticides, or other endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
3. Familiarity with advanced methods for mixtures analysis, such as quantile g-computation, Bayesian kernel machine regression, weighted quantile sum regression, or related approaches.
4. Experience with time-to-event analyses of health outcomes.
5. Knowledge of causal inference methods, including directed acyclic graphs, multiple imputation, marginal structural models, and mediation analysis.
6. Experience analyzing longitudinal data.
7. Grant writing experience
8. Record of peer-reviewed publications commensurate with career stage.

 

To apply:

Interested candidates should submit the below documents to Professor Lauren Wise (

lwise@bu.edu

):

1. A cover letter describing their research background and interest in the position;
2. A curriculum vitae;
3. A statement of research interests describing relevant experience in epidemiology, environmental health, reproductive health, and/or mixtures modeling; and
4. Contact information for 3 references.

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Boston University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Salary and benefits will be consistent with Boston University policies and NIH postdoctoral salary guidelines, as applicable.

Required Experience