Postdoctoral Research Scientist

The Columbia University, Robert N Butler Columbia Aging Center is seeking a Post-Doctoral Fellow to participate in a project recently funded by the Hearst Foundation. Duties will include aid in statistical analysis, day-to-day data management, writing for publication and general participation in research development and advancement of the project.

The project will be undertaken by the International Longevity Center USA (ILC-USA) under the leadership of John R. Beard, M.B.B.S, PhD, Irene Diamond Professor of Productive Aging. The mission of the ILC-USA is to uncover the biological, behavioral, and contextual drivers of longer, healthier lives—and to translate that knowledge into national and international policies, practices, and innovations that improve well-being across the second half of life. Our current research program looks to understand global health trends in older adults through the WHO construct of intrinsic capacity – the individual-level attributes that enable an adult to be and do the things they have reason to value.

Project Description

The broad questions to be addressed relate to a funded research grant, however, there is also the opportunity for independent development of related research questions by the post-doctoral fellow. The CAC has a commitment to career mentorship to support the position and the project itself will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Alan Cohen, Associate Professor of Biological Complexity and Healthy Longevity and Dr. Sen Pei a member of faculty trained in applied mathematics and complexity science.

Study Objectives

1. Develop and validate a gold-standard approach to measuring intrinsic capacity and subdomains of capacity.
2. Identify the best mechanisms for measuring and monitoring these attributes (including wearables, gamified tests, mobile devices, and minimally invasive tests) to enable their use as continuous measures in assessment technologies

The study will undertake secondary analysis of data from the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and related international studies. HRS includes detailed questionnaire and performance testing that can be used to measure five pivotal subdomains of intrinsic capacity: locomotor, cognitive, psychological, sensory capacities, and vitality (a measure of biological resilience and the capacity to retain capacity). The team will use complex longitudinal analytical approaches to identify a parsimonious set of the best measures that might be used in a new assessment technology that can, where possible, be employed by passive monitoring to quantify intrinsic capacity and each of its subdomains.

At the conclusion of this project, we will be able to apply the developed framework to measure capacities through in-home assessments using wearables, mobile phones, and/or gamified tests. Once developed, this comprehensive assessment could serve as a means for individuals to monitor their own aging trajectory, for community screening, to inform clinical decision-making and as a research outcome.

Primary Responsibilities

• Collaborate on or lead statistical-related analysis for scientific presentations, manuscripts, and grant applications; produce tables and figures based on study results
• Work with the principal investigator and other collaborators to develop and execute clear, well-documented research projects and manuscripts
• Perform data auditing and assist with quality control
• Work with research team members and collaborators to identify appropriate variables for proposed analysis across projects
• Create datasets for new projects and integrate new variables with existing datasets as needed
• Assist or develop grant proposals, including performing literature reviews and running preliminary analysis
• Assist with research related administrative tasks including IRBs, MTAs, DUAs, and progress reports
• Take initiative to acquire new statistical and/or programming skills as needed

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• PhD, ScD or DrPH in social sciences or public health, epidemiology, or related field, or an MD with relevant research training.
• Experience in analysis of biological and functional variables in the study of health and aging
• Strong interpersonal, leadership, and verbal/written communication skills
• Significant research experience evidenced by peer-reviewed publications
• Experience with SAS, STATA, and/or R programming software

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Demonstrated interest in the research topic
• An understanding of analytical approaches to continuous variables in longitudinal datasets
• Experience or willingness to gain expertise in various programming languages
• Demonstrated understanding of the application of wearable devices and other assessment technologies
• Familiarity with one or more of the datasets of the HRS family
• An understanding of machine learning approaches and their application to longitudinal datasets
• Familiarity with Biomarkers, DNA methylation data, RNA sequencing data, and/or metabolomics data

OTHER:

• Subject to business needs, we may support flexible and hybrid work arrangements Options will be discussed during the interview process
• Appointment will be for 2 years, with continuation pending funding and progress
• The search will remain open for at least 30 days after the ad appears and will continue until the position is filled
• Columbia University benefits are offered with this appointment