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Job Category:
Academic Staff
Employment Type:
Regular
Job Profile:
Scientist III
Job Summary:
The Department of Population Health Sciences seeks a Scientist III to lead and support complex population-based environmental epidemiology and cohort-based research. This position will contribute senior scientific expertise in environmental exposure assessment, human biomonitoring, geospatial linkage, longitudinal cohort methods, community-engaged recruitment and data collection, grant development, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. The position will support studies examining environmental exposures, sleep, aging, respiratory and cardiometabolic outcomes, Alzheimer’s disease-related biomarkers, and other population-health outcomes using resources such as the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort.
This position is full or part-time, 50%-100%
This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.
Must provide a valid driver's license. Employees may use their own transportation or receive approval for University Car Fleet usage. Employment is conditional pending the results of a Pre-hire Driver Authorization Check. See https://businessservices.wisc.edu/managing-risk/driver-authorization-and-insurance/driver-authorization/#become-authorized-driver (click on “Become an authorized driver;” then click on “Required criteria”).
University sponsorship is not available for this position, including transfers of sponsorship and TN visas. The selected applicant will be responsible for ensuring their continuous eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without the need of an employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. This position is an ongoing position that will require continuous work eligibility. If you are selected for this position you must provide proof of work authorization and eligibility to work.
This position has been identified as a position of trust with access to vulnerable populations. The selected candidate will be required to pass an initial caregiver check to be eligible for employment under the Wisconsin Caregiver Law and every four years.
Candidates who demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities will be given first consideration:
- Interest in environmental/respiratory/aging epidemiology
- Interest in large cohort study management and administration and epidemiologic study design
- Ability to work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders both in a hybrid work environment
- Excellent time management skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to problem solve and collaborate with colleagues
Key Job Responsibilities:
- Attends and assists with the facilitation of scholarly events and presentations in support of continued professional development and the dissemination of research information
- Conducts literature reviews, prepares reports and materials and, disseminates information to appropriate entities
- Monitors program budget and approves unit expenditures
Leads statewide human biomonitoring and environmental epidemiology initiatives focused on emerging contaminants (e.g., PFAS, micro- and nanoplastics, pesticides, metals), exposure assessment, and associated health outcomes through partnerships with Wisconsin state agencies, including the Department of Health Services, Department of Natural Resources, and Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.
Lead interdisciplinary research examining how environmental exposures and sleep interact across the life course to influence neurocognitive aging, Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers
Leads development and implementation of life-course geospatial exposure linkage methods, including residential history reconstruction, contextual neighborhood-level environmental and social disadvantage metrics, and integration of environmental monitoring data (e.g., industrial and agricultural air emission sources, satellite-derived exposure models) with longitudinal cohort and biomonitoring infrastructure to evaluate environmental exposure pathways and impacts on respiratory, cardiometabolic, and aging-related health outcomes.
- Collects and analyzes highly complex research data, conducts experiments and interviews, and documents results according to established policies and procedures
Develop and lead community-engaged and agency-partnered research initiatives in collaboration with community leaders, public health agencies, academic investigators, and stakeholder organizations to identify emerging environmental health concerns, vulnerable populations, and priorities for translational environmental health research and public health action.
- Serves as an institutional subject matter expert and liaison with key internal and external stakeholders providing expert level information and representing the interests of a specialized research area
- Identifies research problems and develops highly complex research methodologies and procedures. Publishes and presents results to help advance research
- May supervise the day-to-day activities of a research unit and staff and resolve routine personnel issues
- Identifies, writes, or assists in developing grant opportunities, grant applications, and proposals to secure research funding
Department:
School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Population Health Sciences
Compensation:
The starting salary for the position is $120,000 annually; but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.
Required Qualifications:
- At least 5 years of collaborative and independent research experience in epidemiology, population health sciences, environmental health, or a closely related field.
- Demonstrated experience with grant writing, scientific communication, peer-reviewed publication, methodologic development, and oversight or implementation of data collection, data management, and data analysis.
- Experience working with human-subjects research data and maintaining confidentiality, protocol fidelity, and regulatory compliance.
- Experience with cohort infrastructure, recruitment and retention, survey/interview development, biospecimen collection workflows, and data/specimen logistics.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience leading or co-leading population-based, longitudinal, community-engaged, or clinical research studies.
- Expertise in environmental epidemiology, environmental exposure assessment, human biomonitoring, PFAS/pesticides/metals or related exposures, air pollution, or other environmental determinants of health.
- Experience with geospatial linkage, residential history construction, ArcGIS or related GIS tools, and life-course exposure assessment.
- Experience with cohort infrastructure, recruitment and retention, survey/interview development, biospecimen collection workflows, and data/specimen logistics.
- Experience analyzing complex observational data using R, SAS, SQL, Stata, ArcGIS, or similar tools.
- Experience supervising or mentoring analysts, field staff, trainees, or research teams.
- Experience developing manuscripts, reports, stakeholder presentations, and extramural grant applications.
- Familiarity with sleep, aging, Alzheimer’s disease-related biomarkers, respiratory, cardiometabolic, or environmental-health outcomes.
Education:
PhD required in epidemiology or population health or a closely related field
How to Apply:
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To apply for this position, select either “I am a current employee” or “I am not a current employee” under Apply Now. You will then be prompted to upload your application materials.
Important: The application has only one attachment field. Upload the following documents in that field, either as a single combined file or as multiple files in the same upload area. Failure to submit the required documents may result in no longer being considered for the position.
Required application materials:
- Cover letter
- Resume or curriculum vitae
Your cover letter should address how your training and experience align with the required and preferred qualifications listed above. Application reviewers will rely on these written materials to determine which applicants move forward in the process. References will be requested from final candidates. All applicants will be notified once the search concludes and a candidate is selected.
Contact Information:
Paul Peppard, ppeppard@wisc.edu
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.
Contact Information:
Institutional Statement on Diversity:
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.
To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.
Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).
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