Postdoctoral Associate

George Washington University

United States, D.C., Washington

Jan 14, 2025

I. POSITION INFORMATION

Job Description Summary:	The Water, Health, Opportunity Lab ( WHO Lab) in the department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health is seeking applications for a Postdoctoral Associate to join our team. Led by Assistant Professor Xindi (Cindy) Hu, the WHO Lab focuses on understanding how clean drinking water and other environmental factors impact population health and health disparities. We conduct rigorous and policy-relevant research to generate evidence at a large scale, leveraging transdisciplinary approaches spanning exposure science, geospatial data science, and health informatics. At the WHO Lab, we believe clean water and a healthy environment are essential for thriving communities. Our mission is to harness innovation and big data to solve critical population health problems. We focus on two key research areas: 1.) Health for Water: Investigate the health impacts of drinking water contamination to inform health-protective policies and improve public health. 2.) Water for Health: Use water as a tool to monitor and enhance community health through wastewater-based epidemiology and interventions promoting clean water intake. Our high-priority research topics include: Improving exposure estimates for drinking water contaminants through national and regional predictive models and cutting-edge artificial intelligence techniques Generating a national exposure surface for drinking water chemical contamination by integrating predictive model outputs and crowd-sourced testing data Assessing the impact of environmental regulations on drinking water quality and public health, including heterogeneous treatment effects, using causal inference methods. Linking available indicators of drinking water quality data to health outcomes in prospective cohorts, large-scale health insurance data, and electronic health records (EHR) data. Primary duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Design: Work with Dr. Hu and collaborators to design novel studies aligned with the lab's mission. Data analysis: Ingest, process, and analyze large datasets in R or Python. Suggest and implement appropriate machine learning and statistical models based on research design and data availability. Dissemination: Create publication-quality figures, charts, and tables for high-impact dissemination. Write and publish peer-reviewed manuscripts. Development: Work with Dr. Hu and collaborators to identify research opportunities and develop proposals for new external funding. If interested, the selected candidate will also have opportunities to mentor students. Other duties: Adapt to the dynamic needs of the lab with a can-do attitude.
Minimum Qualifications	Applicants must have fulfilled all requirements for the award of a PhD or equivalent qualification in a relevant field by the date of employment.
Desired Qualifications:	Background: Ph.D. or anticipated Ph.D. (by Spring/Summer 2025) in Public Health, Environmental Science/Engineering, Statistics/Data Science or a related field. Technical Skills: Expertise in R or Python, Unix shell scripting, and high-performance computing. Experience with large geospatial datasets (e.g., gridded environmental data, demographic data for administrative units). Familiarity with EHR data and integrating social/environmental data into health records. Mission Alignment: Enthusiasm to join a multi-disciplinary team and to conduct research at the nexus of environmental science, public health, and policy. Initiative-taker: Proactive, resourceful, and capable of independent problem-solving. Take ownership of the work. Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills. Experience in communicating data through effective visualizations for technical and non-technical audiences. Bonus: experience with web-based interactive data visualization tools.
Hiring Range	$65,000 - $70,000

Healthcare Benefits

GW offers a comprehensive benefit package for Postdoc Associates and Scholars that includes medical, dental, vision, life & disability insurance, time off & leave, well-being and various voluntary benefits. Postdoc Scholars may also be eligible for retirement savings and tuition programs. For program details and eligibility, please visit https://hr.gwu.edu/postdoc_benefits.

II. POSITION INFORMATION

Posting Number	P010086
Job Open Date	01/09/2025
Job Close Date
Part-time / Full-time	PF Post Doc Full Time Exempt
Total Hours per Week	40
Work Schedule	Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Campus Location	Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.
College/School/Department:	Milken Institute School of Public Health (SPH)
Expected duration of appointment	1 Year
Position Designation	Hybrid
Special Instructions to Applicants	Employees in this subfamily are responsible for designing and conducting experiments in a controlled laboratory setting. Duties may include performing experiments, collecting, analyzing and reporting data.
Required Background Check	Criminal History Screening, Education/Degree/Certifications Verification, Social Security Number Trace, and Sex Offender Registry Search
EEO Statement	The university is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that does not unlawfully discriminate in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.