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Post Doctoral Research Fellow
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Position Number: 1418771
Location: Chestnut Hill, MA
Position Type: Science

Post Doctoral Research Fellow
Boston College

Boston College Introduction

Founded in 1863, Boston College is a Jesuit, Catholic university located six miles from downtown Boston with an enrollment of 9,150 full-time undergraduates and 4,420 graduate and professional students. Ranked 31 among national universities, Boston College has 758 full-time and 1,096 FTE faculty, 2,750 non-faculty employees, an operating budget of $956 million, and an endowment in excess of $2.2 billion.

Job Description

This is an externally funded position. Funding is available for one year with an option to renew for up to two years.

Compensation: NIH Postdoctoral Fellow Minimum Stipend: $50,004.

The Postdoctoral fellow will work across projects at the direction of Dr. Theresa Betancourt (Principal Investigator) based primarily at Boston College with responsibilities to oversee all aspects of data management, data analysis, study design, and implementation science related to three projects:

The Sugira Muryango (Strong Families) home-visiting Family Strengthening Intervention (FSI) that promotes positive parent-child relationships and fosters healthy early child development.

Youth Forward, NIMH funded U19, to establish a regional hub for the advancement of implementation science focused on scaling up evidence-based mental health interventions via alternate delivery platforms for youth exposed to war, community violence, and other adversities in West Africa Refugee project, NIMHD funded R01, to address mental health disparities in refugee children through family and community-based prevention with Somali Bantu and Bhutanese refugees in New England.

The Longitudinal Study of War Affected Youth (LSWAY), NICHD R01, a longitudinal investigation of the intergenerational effects of war in Sierra Leone that examines the health and development of young children of an original cohort for former child soldiers as well as intimate partner relationships and long-term mental health outcomes and community relationships.

The RPCA is an applied research program dedicated to improving the evidence base on the epidemiology of mental health problems and family functioning as well as intervention research to develop and test mental health services for children and families affected by multiple forms of adversity, including armed conflict, poverty, and infectious disease.

Through quantitative and qualitative research methods, the program investigates key mechanisms shaping child development and mental health. The program develops targeted psychosocial interventions that support positive life outcomes that can be effectively delivered at scale in low-resource settings. Overall, the program team works to develop evidence-based, transdiagnostic interventions that are feasible and cost effective, to support positive life outcomes. These outcomes are key to child health, social services, and the economic development agendas.

A particular focus for this position is to provide high level modeling, data analysis, study design oversight, and implementation science processes. Essential Functions:

Data Management (20%): Develop a data dictionary that standardizes data across sites. Review, process, and clean clinical trial data. Develop and implement procedures for data quality checks. Ensure that all processes for data entry and query
resolution meet Good Clinical Practice requirements for the entry and reporting of clinical data. Develop a data quality plan and data management plan in coordination with study investigators. Develop and maintain multiple databases for study clinical and implementation data. Prepare study data for analysis in STATA statistical software package.

Data Analysis (50%): Design, develop and execute statistical analysis leveraging research study databases in conjunction with study staff and other statisticians. Apply statistical analysis using multilevel modeling, coding, and multiple imputation to address missing data using STATA. Produce tables and figures depicting results of analyses, along with written interpretation. Utilize mixed
methodologies to triangulate, analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative data using STATA and MAXQDA.

Research and Dissemination (30%): Engage in high-level research and analysis, publishing on projects regarding ongoing work related to RPCA research. Qualitative and mixed method analysis of process evaluation data related to implementation science.
Collaborate on concept notes, grant writing, publications, multi-stakeholder reports, and presentations for international conferences.

The Postdoctoral Fellow may work nights and weekends in order to meet project deadlines.

Ability to travel internationally in order to supervise and support research projects in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and across New England.

This position will be based 100% of the time in Boston.

We welcome questions from interested candidates. Please contact: rpcalab_ssw@bc.edu.

Requirements

Doctoral degree, preferably in Public Health, Implementation Science, Social Work, Developmental Psychology, Mental Health, Epidemiology, or other related field.
Strong ability in use of advanced statistical and computational programming.
Proficiency in utilizing computer applications including Microsoft Office, STATA, R, MAXQDA, and other applicable quantitative and qualitative data analysis platforms.
Knowledge of programming using a common language like R.
Strong background in implementation science to include hybrid design, cluster randomized control trials, longitudinal studies, and quality improvement approaches to fidelity and supervision that relate to long-term sustainability and scalability.
Some background related to conducting research in culturally diverse contexts, preferably in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).
Publication record that demonstrates candidate's capacities is also desirable.
Expert knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies including mixed-methods.
Understanding of the application of technology both for data collection as well as routine symptom monitoring, fidelity monitoring and quality improvement efforts in global mental health and child development.
The Postdoctoral Fellow will need to be a self-driven, creative thinker with strong statistical and qualitative skills to help develop methods which investigate intervention effectiveness in terms of child development and parenting
outcomes.
Coursework/training in psychometrics, hybrid designs, cluster randomized control trials, and implementation science is preferred.
Doctoral degree, preferably in Public Health, Implementation Science, Social Work, Developmental Psychology, Mental Health, Epidemiology, or other related field.

Closing Statement

Boston College conducts background checks as part of the hiring process.

Boston College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected category including disability and protected veteran status. To learn more about how BC supports diversity and inclusion throughout the university please visit the Office for Institutional Diversity at http://www.bc.edu/offices/diversity.

To view the full job posting and apply for this position, go to: https://bc.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=2721&site=1

Boston College is a Jesuit, Catholic university that strives to integrate research excellence with a foundational commitment to formative liberal arts education. We encourage applications from candidates who are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community. Boston College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected category including disability and protected veteran status. To learn more about how BC supports diversity and inclusion throughout the university, please visit the Office for Institutional Diversity at http://www.bc.edu/offices/diversity.