Assistant Research Professor
Position Overview
The Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors (CARE) has an opening for an Assistant Research Professor who will serve as a Statistician and Researcher on one or more research projects, serving as an expert in the area of quantitative methods. The start date is negotiable with an anticipated start date in 2024 or 2025. The Assistant Research Professor will work closely with Dr. Kelsie Forbush, Director, Dr. Angeline Bottera, Associate Director, and a team of local and international researchers to serve as a leader in the design of research, creation of algorithms and designs, statistical analysis, study protocols, data system development or other data collecting and gathering methodologies. The Assistant Research Professor may serve as a co-PI, PI, or Co-I on internal and extramural grants and will collaborate with the Director and Associate Director and other study members to write manuscripts, abstracts, and other publications of research findings. The Assistant Research Professor will also supervise students and staff who are conducting quantitative analyses and assist the Director and Associate Director in upholding high ethical standards, regulatory compliance, and confidentiality of sensitive data and open-science reporting practices.
Our lab has numerous ongoing clinical trials that include a mobile-health intervention of Guided Self-Help Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT-gsh) as a part of an ongoing research study and an NIH-funded clinical trial designed to develop a mobile-health app that uses machine learning to predict likelihood of relapse. We are also conducting longitudinal DoD-funded research designed to develop a new screening tool for eating disorders and related mental-health conditions in service members and identifying risk and protective factors that contribute to eating disorders in military personnel. The CARE also has several large existing datasets, including (but not limited to) a longitudinal dataset of over 30,000 patients with eating disorders in collaboration with Recovery Record, Inc., a five-wave longitudinal study of over 350 community-recruited adults with eating disorders, and datasets containing two nationally representative samples of veterans. Finally, our center has close relationships with numerous local and national eating-disorder treatment centers, including Children’s Mercy – Kansas City and Eating Recovery Center, making this an ideal setting for researchers seeking to establish a clinical-research career. This is an in-person position that will require relocation to Lawrence, Kansas.
KU’s excellence is a result of the rich tapestry of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds of our faculty, staff, students, and colleagues from across our nation and the globe. At KU, we invest in continuous learning and growth by creating a climate where people engage in respectful dialogue and debate, and support each other’s success. We foster a culture of care where each person is seen, heard and valued. When people feel a true sense of belonging, we believe they are better able to reach their full potential and achieve remarkable things. The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the U.S. by the effective date of the appointment.
Our lab has numerous ongoing clinical trials that include a mobile-health intervention of Guided Self-Help Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT-gsh) as a part of an ongoing research study and an NIH-funded clinical trial designed to develop a mobile-health app that uses machine learning to predict likelihood of relapse. We are also conducting longitudinal DoD-funded research designed to develop a new screening tool for eating disorders and related mental-health conditions in service members and identifying risk and protective factors that contribute to eating disorders in military personnel. The CARE also has several large existing datasets, including (but not limited to) a longitudinal dataset of over 30,000 patients with eating disorders in collaboration with Recovery Record, Inc., a five-wave longitudinal study of over 350 community-recruited adults with eating disorders, and datasets containing two nationally representative samples of veterans. Finally, our center has close relationships with numerous local and national eating-disorder treatment centers, including Children’s Mercy – Kansas City and Eating Recovery Center, making this an ideal setting for researchers seeking to establish a clinical-research career. This is an in-person position that will require relocation to Lawrence, Kansas.
KU’s excellence is a result of the rich tapestry of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds of our faculty, staff, students, and colleagues from across our nation and the globe. At KU, we invest in continuous learning and growth by creating a climate where people engage in respectful dialogue and debate, and support each other’s success. We foster a culture of care where each person is seen, heard and valued. When people feel a true sense of belonging, we believe they are better able to reach their full potential and achieve remarkable things. The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the U.S. by the effective date of the appointment.
Job Description
Research (90%)
50% Statistical Analysis:
25% Supervision, Training, Management & Support:
15% Independent Research:
Service (10%)
10% Service:
50% Statistical Analysis:
- Perform statistical analyses, as needed, using R, SAS, or Mplus.
- Assist with, and perform, statistical analyses for members of the center.
- Oversee data management and study flow through the protocols using RedCap.
- Develop and implement statistical procedures for grant-funded research.
- Develop and implement statistical procedures in collaboration with industry and engineering partners and external collaborators to support grant-funded research and mobile-health interventions.
- Conduct power analyses of proposed research grants.
- Develop statistical plans for research grant submissions.
25% Supervision, Training, Management & Support:
- Together with the Director and Associate Director, oversee paid staff and post-doctoral scholar(s) who are coordinating internal and extramural grants.
- Train research center members in the use of statistical methods and databases.
- Oversee project coordinators writing IRB applications and assist the PIs and other members of the center in writing and submitting federal and private foundation grant applications.
- Collaborate with the Director, Associate Director, and other members of the center with manuscript preparation.
- Train and evaluate the student members of the center to ensure adherence to the database management protocols and data integrity.
- Oversee the database manager in the development and maintenance of RedCap databases.
- Co-lead or lead database management and statistical training.
- Supervise and mentor post-doctoral fellows.
15% Independent Research:
- Write and submit manuscripts based on existing and ongoing data collected in the center.
- Conduct data collection for independent or pilot research study.
- Write internal and extramural research grants as a Co-I, Co-PI, or PI (e.g., T32, F32, K01, R34, R01 applications, depending on career stage).
Service (10%)
10% Service:
- Attend and participate in scientific group meetings, departmental seminars, and problem sessions; may assist in the mentorship and training of graduate students.
Required Qualifications
- PhD degree in psychology, public health, sociology, quantitative psychology, educational psychology, epidemiology, economics, or statistics (or related field) by the start date.
Preferred Qualifications
- One or more publications in the field of psychology or behavior change as evidenced by application materials.
- Demonstrated experience working to a deadline, as evidenced in application materials.
- Demonstrated experience with flexibility and change in a fast-paced environment, as well as working successfully both independently and with a team as evidenced in application materials.
- Demonstrated experience working with a range of cultures, communities, and body sizes, including people with eating disorders, obesity, and related mental-health conditions as evidenced in application materials.
- One or more years of experience with R statistical software, machine learning, structural equation modeling, and longitudinal data analysis.
- Experience or prior training in clinical psychology or behavioral health research, as demonstrated by previous work experience.
- Six months of experience in laboratory management, administration, or statistical consultation as evidenced in application materials.
- Advanced statistical understanding with demonstrated experience applying analytical methods to large datasets as demonstrated in application materials.
- Computer knowledge to interface with a variety of database, statistical, and imaging task and processing software, such as SPSS, SAS, R, Qualtrics, RedCap, Linux, AFNI.
Additional Candidate Instructions
A complete online application consists of:
- Cover letter describing how the required and preferred qualifications are met
- Resume/CV
- Three professional references
- Application review begins October 14, 2024 and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants is received.
Contact Information to Applicants
Dr. Kelsie Forbush, kforbush@ku.edu
Advertised Salary Range
$75,000 - $80,000; commensurate with experience
Application Review Begins
Monday October 14, 2024