Postdoctoral Fellow

Position Description:

This postdoctoral fellow will be housed in the Division of Data Analytics and Informatics (DDAI) with the Comprehensive Injury Center (CIC). The focus of the position will be on collection, management and analysis of data, interpretation of results, preparation of reports, and publication of research. This may extend into multiple areas of injury, but the primary initial focus will be on violence and related areas.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), a postdoc is an individual who has received a doctoral degree (or equivalent) and is engaged in a temporary and defined period of mentored advanced research training to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue his or her chosen career path. In addition, according to the National Postdoc Association (NPA), Postdoctoral appointees can pursue basic, clinical or translational projects so long as their primary effort is devoted toward their own scholarship. Postdocs are essential to the scholarly mission of the mentor and host institution, and thus are expected to have the freedom to publish the results of their scholarship.

Characteristics of a postdoctoral appointment:

It is expected that postdocs at MCW, with the assistance of their supervisor, will:

• Transition to career independence through the development of professional skills that enable the postdoc to actively pursue a career of his/her own choosing.
• Be supervised by at least one senior scholar who actively promotes the postdoc's professional development.
• Establish an individual development plan (IDP) that incorporates equally the postdoc's career and training goals and the mentor's research goals.
• Pursue basic, clinical, or translational projects so long as effort is focused primarily on research. This position will focus primarily on community-based and translational research.
• Publish results of the postdoc's research and scholarship during their appointment.
• The postdoctoral appointment is temporary by nature, the aggregate amount of time spent as a postdoc is recommended to not exceed five years (not including family medical leave or maternity/paternity leave).
• As postdocs are important members of the host institution's community, appropriate levels of compensation, health care, and other benefits commensurate with their essential status should be afforded, independent of the postdoc's source of funding.

Primary Functions

• Plan, design and execute complex research studies, procedures and protocols.
• Participate in discovery projects.
• Coordinate research study activities; lead and manage projects.
• Collaborate with principal investigator(s) and team members in designing studies and writing grant and research proposals, including analyzing proposed studies to determine feasibility and propose appropriate analytical approaches.
• Oversee organization, synthesis and analysis of data and findings.
• Perform the necessary statistical, spatial, qualitative, or other analyses to support project work.
• Prepare scientific reports, outcome findings, scientific manuscripts, reports, and conference presentations/posters.
• Prepare or collaborate on written or analytical reports and effectively communicate data, findings, results, and recommendations to a variety of audiences such as executive managers, policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and community members.
• Participate in meetings with principal investigator(s) and research staff in which you will evaluate/interpret the validity of data, develop methodologies, and design and evaluate data and results.
• May oversee the work of study staff or students including training and development as well as daily work direction, delegation and establishing priorities.
• Participate in and present at multidisciplinary meetings with a variety of partner agencies to collaboratively identify recommendations for potential system changes or improvements.

Preferred Schedule:



hybrid

Position Requirements:

Knowledge - Skills - Abilities

• Knowledge of data collection and data validation principles and experience manipulating, analyzing, and reporting on a variety of datasets
• Knowledge of analytical techniques, statistics, databases, data security, data documentation
• Desired Knowledge: Knowledge of governmental policies, public health, criminal justice system, violence, and current or emerging issues in these areas
• Ability to synthesize data and information and present research findings and recommendations to support policy and recommendation development, or data-driven decision making
• Ability to effectively present or communicate information both verbally and in writing to a variety of audiences, such as agency leadership, policy makers, researchers, practitioners, and community groups
• Ability to develop manuscripts, evaluation reports, presentations, infographics and other forms of disseminating findings.
• Ability to work effectively with people from various backgrounds and to demonstrate cultural awareness
• Ability to work independently, make complex decisions, and request direction as needed
• Ability to develop positive and effective working relationships with colleagues, internal and external partners and establish trust
• Skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, and troubleshooting
• Skills in manipulating complex databases and undertaking statistical analyses, including GIS.
• Skills in conceptualization, design, composition and production of complex data visualizations to clearly communicate analytic findings
• Skill in utilizing a variety of standard software packages such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Skill in utilizing and learning specialized software for data access, management, visualization, and analysis such as Stata, SAS, SPSS, R (Markdown and packages focused on spatial data analysis), ESRI ArcGIS/ArcMap, Tableau, Crystal Reports, SQL, Python, JavaScript, etc.

Specifications

Appropriate experience may be substituted for education on an equivalent basis

Minimum Required Education: PhD in a scientific field

Minimum Required Experience: 2 years of experience conducting research in social science/public health

Preferred Education: PhD in Public Health, Epidemiology, or related field

Preferred Experience: 3+ years of experience that includes some work on violence

Field: social sciences, statistics, health sciences, criminal justice, public health

Certification: NA

MCW as an Equal Opportunity Employer and Commitment to Non-Discrimination


The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff, and students, as well as ensuring equal educational opportunity, employment, and access to services, programs, and activities, without regard to an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristic, or military status. Employees, students, applicants or other members of the MCW community (including but not limited to vendors, visitors, and guests) may not be subjected to harassment that is prohibited by law or treated adversely or retaliated against based upon a protected characteristic.

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