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This Postdoctoral Research Associate position will play an active role in research, including working on data, presentations, publications, project/program conceptualization and development, grant proposal development, and other related activities. This position is funded by an NIH/NHLBI R01 (R01HL180934) evaluating the effect of pay-what-you-can community restaurants on coronary heart disease–related outcomes among guests with food insecurity and hypertension. This is a longitudinal, prospective natural experiment with a mixed-methods RE-AIM process evaluation, conducted with community partners in the Fort Worth and West Dallas, Texas area. The postdoc will work directly with Principal Investigator Dr. Alexandra (Lexi) MacMillan Uribe on this study, with the opportunity to become involved in other community-based intervention and longitudinal cohort studies within the Healthy Living program, with particular attention to health equity and health disparities. This position is a 2-year commitment and is available now, with a preferred start date as soon as possible; however, we are willing to consider a flexible start date for an exceptional candidate.

Job Description

Texas A&M AgriLife's Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) Healthy Living program, based at the AgriLife Center at Dallas, seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate with a focus on community-based research to address and ameliorate health disparities. The successful candidate will work directly with Dr. Alexandra (Lexi) MacMillan Uribe, Principal Investigator of the NIH/NHLBI-funded café longitudinal study. The position is available immediately, and while an early start is preferred, we encourage qualified candidates to apply even if they are not able to begin right away.

Texas A&M AgriLife is an organization that supports healthy living for all Texans, through the research of targeted agricultural practices that yield nutritious food sources, outreach programs that train community members on growing their own food, and preservation of natural resources via eco-friendly means, all while following practices that lead to a stronger Texas economy. Overseen by the Office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife includes the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Forest Service, and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) is a strategic collaboration that advances research, training, and extension activities to reduce diet-related chronic disease and lower healthcare costs in an environmentally and economically sustainable way. The IHA comprises three focus areas—Responsive Agriculture, Precision Nutrition, and Healthy Living—and unites experts from various fields such as agriculture, nutrition, behavioral sciences, social sciences, life sciences, engineering, data and computation science, and economics.

Healthy Living is an initiative to rapidly apply knowledge from research to the needs of producers and consumers and conduct dissemination and behavioral implementation research that quickly translates findings to the community. We aim to understand the means of building communities around healthy living and about facilitating the delivery of current, accurate, evidence-based programs, guidelines, and information that supports healthier living for Texans.

Areas of particular interest to Healthy Living include health equity and health disparities; food access, food systems, food and nutrition insecurity, dietary patterns and behaviors; diet/food intervention and program development and evaluation; physical activity behaviors and intervention development; policy, system, and environmental change; citizen science and community-engaged research; and mHealth technologies for monitoring, assessment, and interventions.

The IHA's Healthy Living program welcomes applications from scholars who possess related expertise and are eager to play a role in our supportive, interdisciplinary research group, specifically focused on solutions to address risk factors for chronic diseases. Applicants from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.

The IHA's Healthy Living program is housed at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas, which focuses on scientific research, public outreach, and education programs. The Center is one of 13 AgriLife Centers across the state, each focusing on issues specific to their region. The Healthy Living Building at the Dallas Center is a newly renovated space with a large teaching kitchen, a fitness facility, two clinic rooms, conference rooms, an auditorium, collaborative spaces, and offices, and provides access to an extensive array of health-outcome measurement equipment and to Mobile Health Assessment Center vehicles used for community-based recruitment and data collection.

Responsibilities:

Primary responsibilities will center on the NIH/NHLBI-funded café longitudinal study (R01HL180934), working directly with Principal Investigator Dr. Alexandra (Lexi) MacMillan Uribe. Responsibilities include playing an active role in data collection and analysis, presentations, publications, project/program conceptualization and development, grant proposal development, and other related activities. Study outcomes include physiological measures (blood pressure, blood lipids, blood glucose, and waist-to-height ratio) and psychosocial/behavioral measures (diet quality, psychological stress, food security, and nutrition security), as well as a mixed-methods RE-AIM process evaluation. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to contribute to other active community-engaged research within the Healthy Living program. Expectations also include but are not limited to leading and collaborating on manuscript preparation from relevant studies (e.g., data analysis, writing, and submission), contributing to conference presentations and reports, and developing and writing grant proposals to funding agencies. Performs other duties assigned.

Other Information:

Customized professional development and training opportunities geared toward preparation for a faculty career will be provided. The preferred start date is as soon as possible but start timing is negotiable for the right candidate.

Required Education and Experience:

• Ph.D. in related field (e.g., nutrition, public health, etc.). Candidates with ABD or all requirements met but diploma pending will be considered.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Appropriate research background, as demonstrated by direct experience with data collection, data analysis (qualitative and/or quantitative; both is preferred), publications in peer-reviewed journals, scientific presentations, and stature appropriate for a postdoctoral scholar.
• Training and experience conducting human subjects research and working on research projects.
• Ability to work very independently
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Desire and ability to work collaboratively and help maintain a supportive environment for all team members
• Highly organized and detail oriented
• Professional demeanor
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and projects
• Ability to establish effective working relationships
• Ability to multitask and work cooperatively with others.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience developing and designing interventions and related research studies in the following areas: underserved or food-insecure populations; minority and urban health; and/or community-based health behavior interventions.
• Experience working with various individuals and communities.
• Solid experience with qualitative and/or quantitative (at least one; both preferred) data analysis, including sufficient knowledge in statistical tools and software.
• Strong scientific manuscript writing and presentation skills, and solid experience writing/collaborating on extramural funding applications.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.