POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE - XR IN PEDIATRICS AT YALE (XRPEDS)
DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY-BASED HEALTH PROMOTION EXPERIENCES FOR YOUTH
The XR in Pediatrics (XRPeds) Lab in the Department of Pediatrics at Yale University focuses on the use of extended reality technologies (virtual, augmented, and mixed reality) in research, clinical practice, and health education with the goal of improving lives and reducing health disparities among youth, young adults, and their families. We are seeking a Postdoctoral Associate with an interest in technology-based interventions (including augmented and virtual reality-based interventions (AR/VR)), serious games, health behavior or public health, clinical research, and appropriate experience to join our multidisciplinary team of researchers, pediatricians, and educators.
The Postdoctoral Associate will work with Drs. Hieftje and Marks XRPeds’ to support researchers, clinicians, and educators in the early stages of exploring and developing projects that utilize XR technology. The Postdoctoral Associate will therefore collaborate on multiple ongoing and upcoming research projects in areas as diverse as social VR-based support groups for oncology patients, substance use prevention interventions for adolescents, infection prevention training and simulation for family members of hospitalized patients, and the development and exploration of novel multisensory interfaces for XR experiences.
The lab has recently been awarded a grant from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the goal to create two extended reality experiences. Both will focus on separate populations, but with the shared intended outcome of improving vaccine uptake and decreasing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. The postdoctoral associate will spend the majority of their time in the lab focused on this challenging and interesting project.
The Postdoctoral Associate will gain skills in intervention development; recruitment of study participants; focus group/playtesting facilitation; pilot program evaluation; data collection, management, and analysis; developing a manuscript; and presenting findings to both community and academic audiences.
Furthermore, the Postdoctoral Associate will be expected to further XRPeds’ mission to provide outreach and programming to underserved youth within the community and will be involved in overseeing community-building events such as workshops and internships.
Skills and Qualifications
- PhD in Public Health, Education, Social Behavioral Sciences, Psychology or related field, interest or experience with digital interventions is helpful
- Excellent methodological and statistical skills, including working with qualitative and quantitative data
- Demonstrated ability (or potential to learn) to forge connections with community members
- Independence to lead a project as well as willingness to work in a team and learn new methods from collaborators
- Excellent scientific presentation and writing skills
This position is a one-year, full-time appointment with renewal contingent upon satisfactory performance and availability of funding and is eligible to start immediately.
Position begins July 1, 2024 as early as July 1st.
To Apply:
Interested applicants should submit the following materials via e-mail to: Dr. Kimberly Hieftje ([email protected]) and Dr. Asher Marks (//[email protected]/">[email protected])
- A short letter of interest outlining your suitability for the position
- Curriculum Vitae or Resume
- A first-authored writing sample, if available
- 3 names of references
Reviews of applications will begin immediately.