Position Title: Post Doctoral Fellow

Duties & Responsibilities: Summary of position: We are seeking a post-doctoral fellow to engage in a multi-year project analyzing the nation’s largest disability programs, Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Our interdisciplinary program is designed to provide experiences that foster the development of skills necessary to conduct independent research and to cross-train post-doctoral fellows in disciplines that are not traditionally represented in Rehabilitation Medicine such as mathematics, statistics, economics, or computer science. Our training program is intended for students interested in population-level health services research and disability-related public health issues; however, our fellows are encouraged to become actively engaged in the rich and vibrant NIH research community. This is a fully funded multi-year post-doctoral fellowship. Research areas: Interdisciplinary (including natural language processing, simulation, statistics, mathematics, economics, machine learning, operations research, computer science, epidemiology, biostatistics) In the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Section of the RMD we hire people with a broad range of analytical and technical skills who are ready to tackle great challenges and make an impact on the lives of people with disabilities. Role: As a postdoctoral fellow, you will evaluate and improve SSA’s disability programs. You will collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists on a wide range of problems. This position will bring analytical rigor and statistical methods to the challenges of improving the accuracy, efficiency, and timeliness of SSA’s disability programs. Responsibilities: • Research, develop, and apply methods to tackle some of the challenges faced by SSA’s disability programs • Develop new algorithms and methods for optimizing the disability determination process • Conduct analyses on large datasets with non-random missing patterns

Position Qualifications: Minimum qualifications: • PhD in statistics, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, economics, biostatistics, epidemiology, operations research, or other quantitative field obtained in the past five years from an accredited university • A minimum of 18 semester hours in statistics, mathematical statistics, biometrics, econometrics, computer science, probability theory, or operations research • Excellent quantitative and applied research skills • Strong oral and written communication skills • Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team setting • Demonstrated proficiency in programming with a high-level programming language (e.g., C++, C#, Java, Python) and statistical language (e.g., Stata, SAS, R, MATLAB, GAUSS, Mathematica); Preferred qualifications: • Experience with any of the following: natural language processing, text-mining, simulation, applied statistics, data-mining, machine learning, linear-programming, operations research, optimization, time-series modeling, forecasting • Experience working with large datasets • Considerable practical experience in quantitative analysis • A proven high level of organizational and communication skills • Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team setting • Demonstrated ability to provide training at various levels • Demonstrated experience preparing conference presentations, research findings, and manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals • Ability to conduct independent research and to form internal and external collaborations in support of research initiatives in conjunction with a multi-disciplinary team in a fast-paced environment • Knowledge of and adherence to the ethical guidelines and regulatory requirements for research involving human subjects • A strong interest in topics related to health and disability, related programs and policies, and/or health services.

Salary Range:

Benefits:

Web Site: www.nih.gov

Application Address: Application instructions: For prompt consideration email the documents listed below to Elizabeth K. Rasch, PT, PhD, Staff Scientist and Chief, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Section, National Institutes of Health, Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Email: RaschE@cc.nih.gov. Please refer to this announcement as the “NIH-RMD SSA post-doctoral fellowship”. Application materials: • curriculum vitae • a summary of past research experience • graduate transcript • a copy of one of your published papers • a list of at least three references

Contact Email: sharon.prince@nih.gov

Application Deadline: 07/31/2013