POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER-Bayesian Biostatistics for Multicenter Clinical Trials-DeSantis Lab

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

UTSW invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Bayesian Biostatistics. The fellow will contribute to both applied and methodological research involving Bayesian methods for multicenter clinical trials, with a particular focus on phase III studies in trauma, trauma resuscitation, and traumatic brain injury.

This position is suited to a recent PhD graduate who is interested in developing a research program at the intersection of Bayesian methodology and collaborative clinical-trial research. The fellow will work closely with biostatisticians, clinical investigators, trial leadership, and multidisciplinary research teams involved in large, multicenter studies.

Research activities

The fellow's work will include:

• Conducting statistical analyses of multicenter clinical-trial data.

• Developing statistical analysis plans, including specification of estimands, prior distributions, analysis populations, missing-data methods, interim analyses, and sensitivity analyses.

• Contributing to the design, conduct, monitoring, and reporting of phase III clinical trials.

• Developing and evaluating Bayesian methods relevant to multicenter trials.

• Conducting simulation studies to assess type I error, power, bias, interval coverage, operating characteristics, and robustness to prior-data conflict.

• Preparing manuscripts, abstracts, presentations, technical reports, and grant applications.

• Collaborating with clinicians and investigators in trauma, trauma resuscitation, and traumatic brain injury research.

Methodological projects may include, but are not limited to:

• Bayesian borrowing of historical or external information.

• Dynamic and robust borrowing methods.

• Hierarchical models for multicenter studies.

• Commensurate, mixture, power, and meta-analytic predictive priors.

• Bayesian approaches to phase III confirmatory trials.

• Bayesian interim monitoring and adaptive trial methods.

• Modeling treatment-effect heterogeneity across centers or patient subgroups.

• Methods for ordinal, longitudinal, survival, and competing-risk outcomes.

• Sensitivity analyses for prior specification, missing data, and departures from modeling assumptions.

The fellow will have opportunities to lead methodological and applied manuscripts, present findings at national scientific meetings, and participate in the development of grant proposals and future clinical-trial protocols.

Appointment and mentorship

The fellow will receive mentorship in:

• Bayesian methodology development.

• Statistical leadership in multicenter clinical trials.

• Collaborative biostatistics.

• Manuscript and grant preparation.

• Development of an independent research program.

The initial appointment will be for one year.

Required qualifications

Applicants should have:

• A PhD in biostatistics, statistics, or a closely related quantitative field, completed recently-typically within the past one to two years-or expected before the position start date.

• Formal training in Bayesian statistical methods.

• Strong programming skills in R.

• Experience with statistical simulation and reproducible data analysis.

• A strong foundation in statistical inference, regression modeling, and clinical-trial methodology.

• The ability to communicate statistical concepts effectively to both quantitative and clinical collaborators.

• Strong scientific writing and organizational skills.

• An interest in conducting both applied and methodological research.

Preferred qualifications

Preferred experience includes one or more of the following:

• Bayesian hierarchical modeling or Bayesian borrowing methods.

• Clinical-trial design or analysis.

• Development of statistical analysis plans.

• Multicenter or cluster-structured data.

• Stan, RStan, cmdstanr, JAGS, NIMBLE, or other Bayesian computing platforms.

• Longitudinal, ordinal, time-to-event, or competing-risk methods.

• Analysis of trauma, emergency medicine, critical care, or neurological outcomes.

• Preparation of peer-reviewed manuscripts or collaborative grant proposals.

Prior experience in trauma research is not required. Applicants with strong Bayesian training and an interest in clinical-trial applications are encouraged to apply.

Interested individuals should send a CV and a list of three references to:

Stacia DeSantis

Stacia.Desantis@UTSouthwestern.edu

UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.

This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code 51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information.

Appointment rank will be commensurate with academic accomplishment and experience. Consideration may be given to applicants seeking less than a full-time schedule.

To learn more about the benefits UT Southwestern offers, visit https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/employees/hr-resources/

Benefits

UT Southwestern is proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Our benefits are designed to support your overall wellbeing, and include:

• PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
• 100% coverage for preventive healthcare - no copay
• Paid Time Off, available day one
• Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
• Paid Parental Leave Benefit
• Wellness programs
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer
• Learn more about these and other UTSW employee benefits!