RESEARCH FELLOW

The Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center (CPFRC) in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan seeks applications for a postdoctoral research fellow. The fellow will work jointly with Drs. Steven Harte, Andrew Schrepf and Chelsea Kaplan.

The fellow will work on a variety of federally-funded projects involving the neurobiology of chronic pain. Projects include the Back Pain Consortium Research Program (BACPAC), funded by the NIH HEAL Initiative. Primarily, this project would involve identifying biomarkers that are predictive of treatment response in patients with chronic low back pain. Another project is a National Institutes of Health R01 studying longitudinal change in pelvic pain patients who have completed neuroimaging, psychophysical pain testing, immunologic assays, and patient reported outcomes over an 18-month period.  The parent study is a large, recently completed investigation of longitudinal symptom patterns in pelvic pain patients with many opportunities for additional analyses. Other collaborative opportunities on projects within the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center are also possible and highly likely. Effort on the multiple projects will depend on the fellows interests and skillset as well as project needs. There will be ample opportunities for manuscript publication, grant writing, and professional development.  

The position will be an excellent fit for a motivated researcher with strong quantitative skills and experience in at least one of the following areas of research: neuroimaging, psychophysics, immunology, advanced analytical techniques such as machine learning or network science. A background in pain research is not a pre-requisite as there will be many resources and mentors available to provide this training.

This is a 1-2 year position, depending upon the scope of the agreed upon projects, at 100% effort (40 hours per week) with strong possibility of extension. Fellow qualifications in combination with the National Institutes of Health funding levels will determine salary. Start date is flexible from now until mid-2024.

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