Post Doc Research Associate

Job Description

Postdoctoral Training in the Relationships and Mental Health Lab at Purdue University

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Scholar position in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. The Scholar will conduct research in the Relationships and Mental Health lab under the supervision of Susan South. The focus of the RMH lab is associations between social risk factors, particularly romantic relationships, and risk for psychopathology.

One major responsibility of the position will involve cleaning and analyzing data and preparing manuscripts from a study in its last year of data collection. This dataset is funded by an R01 from the National Institute on Aging and includes an experience sampling methodology (ESM) study of daily cognition and social interactions in older adults, as well as multi-method data collected from the Minnesota Twin Registry study. The Scholar’s unique responsibility will be in cleaning and analyzing the ESM data, and they will have the opportunity to work on the broader study of risk factors for cognitive decline.

The Scholar will also have the opportunity to work on additional projects using secondary data from the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research. This position would involve specialized training in biometric modeling of behavioral genetic data and longitudinal research spanning decades of assessments of personality, psychopathology, and social and environmental risk factors. Finally, the Scholar will have the opportunity to deepen their mentorship skills through their work with undergraduate and graduate students.

The ideal candidate will have knowledge/expertise/interest in:

1. diary studies/ambulatory assessment/EMA;
2. data analytic skills for intensive longitudinal data, including app-based surveys;
3. R and/or MPlus software packages; and
4. collaborating effectively with teams of scientists.

This is a 1 year guaranteed postdoctoral position with the possibility of a second year, depending on funding. The position is based in West Lafayette; however, the PI is willing to discuss the possibility of this position being fully remote, with occasional travel to the study team in IN and MN. Travel funds are also available to present Scholar-related activities at conferences.

Priority will be given to applicants trained in psychopathology/clinical science, although those trained in developmental science/aging research, or relationship science are encouraged to apply. Start date is as early as 6/1/2026, contingent on grant funding. A Doctoral degree must be completed by time of appointment. Note that Purdue will not sponsor employment authorization for this position.