Post Doctoral Scientist - Mental Health Research

Dr. Eric Youngstrom's Research Program.

Do you want to conduct research that changes people's lives for the better? We are seeking postdoctoral scientists to join the new Institute for Mental and Behavioral Health Research (IMBHR) working closely with Dr. Eric Youngstrom and the team at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH) and The Ohio State University (OSU). We conduct research focused on mental and behavioral health and prevention of self-injury. Strengths include expertise in clinical assessment, mood disorders, autism, and an array of projects around self-injury prevention. NCH has exceptional facilities and resources supporting clinical services that help tens of thousands of children and families on the core campus in Columbus, and that extend to reach nearly a half million children across the State of Ohio.

With guidance from Dr. Youngstrom, you will be responsible for leading an independent project that addresses shared interests and aligns with your career goals. Your responsibilities will include designing studies, collecting data or analyzing existing data, disseminating results in manuscript and presentations, mentoring and training early career scholars, and grant writing. You will work closely in collaboration with a mentor team to develop projects of mutual interest, culminating in manuscripts and potentially grant applications. Some examples of themes might include:

Improving diagnosis or treatment matching.
• Evaluating treatment response for interventions ranging from intensively measured (e.g., wearables and digital phenotyping), or development of outcome benchmarks for inpatient or outpatient treatment, to school or community-based interventions with nested designs.
• Defining phenotypes integrating multiple sources of data, which could be the basis for collaborative projects with neuroimaging, genomic medicine, or other expertise.
• Partnering with providers and families to develop short forms, assessment strategies that optimize value added to care, and offer meaningful insight that improves outcomes.
• Checking methods for bias when starting to use these measures across demographic or cultural groups.
• Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods to make new clinically meaningful, culturally appropriate tools.
• Conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses on any of the above content areas and methods.

A background in psychology, biostatistics or health analytics, education, epidemiology, or a related field is desired. Strong quantitative skills are essential, including comfort working with syntax or notebooks in at least one language used by the team (R, M-Plus, SAS, SPSS). The selected candidate must be professional, self-motivated, and dedicated, with strong communication and interpersonal skill sets that fit our team. You will have many opportunities to develop professionally and will be part of a cohort of IMBHR fellows. Multiple career paths for growth at NCH include becoming a clinical scholar, staff scientist, or independent investigator in the research institute.

• Designing and conducting studies as part of a collaborative team of researchers and clinician-scientists
• Collecting data and maintaining study records and meeting regulatory requirements
• Critically evaluating and interpreting data through advanced quantitative analysis and determining next steps
• Mentoring and training staff and students
• Writing and publishing scientific material, including manuscripts
• Presenting research at conferences
• Contributing to grant submissions for external funding
• Collaborating with other researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Ohio State University, nationally, and internationally

• PhD in Psychology, Social Sciences, or related field
• Desire to pursue a career in clinical or population health research
• Technical skills related to dissemination and implementation, assessment, and/or behavioral sciences research, including strong quantitative skills
• Ability to use R, M-Plus, SAS, and/or SPSS
• Ability to work independently on projects
• Strong proficiency in scientific writing, as shown in peer reviewed publications or a similar writing sample
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to train and mentor staff and students