UNIVERSITY OF UTAH - FELLOWSHIP IN EPIDEMIOLOGY, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, AND BIOINFORMATICS
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
THE FELLOWSHIP IN FELLOWSHIP IN EPIDEMIOLOGY, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, AND BIOINFORMATICS is a 2-year paid full-time interprofessional post-graduate fellowship through the University of Utah with a dual appointment (Without Compensation status) at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) . The University of Utah Department of Epidemiology is looking for Postdoctoral Research Associates interested in developing skills, contributing to the development of Informatics Systems, Dashboards, Data Architecture, Visualization, Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning as applied to infectious diseases, biosurveillance, antimicrobial stewardship, and infection control utilizing with the largest integrated healthcare systems in the US. The Veterans Health Administration cares for more than 9 million living Veterans annually and maintains electronic health record data on millions of encounters from 150 VA hospitals spanning the United States and territories. The fellowship is with the Biomedical Research In Contagion Control, Stewardship, and Surveillance (BRICCSS) sub program supported by research at the VASLCHCS and the University of Utah with other Federal Partners to effectively monitor and manage high consequence public health threats.
The postdoctoral fellow will participate in the extraction, cleaning, and statistical analysis of big healthcare data to address critical research questions to improve the care of patients. Within this scope, the postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to pursue areas of individual interest. The completion of an independent research project is expected.
The goal of the program is to develop experts in healthcare informatics use, dissemination, education, and research. There is no formal local curriculum for the fellowship, the schedule is flexible. In general, fellows participate in research conferences at the University of Utah and the VA (Veterans Affairs) and work on short-term and long-term informatics projects under the guidance of a mentor. An individualized development plan (IDP) is used to assess current skills and strengths, career goals, research and career skill training goals, and research productivity goals. We offer exceptional mentor, collaboration, and training opportunities with accomplished investigators, leaders, and programs.
ABOUT THE SITE
The Biomedical Research In Contagion Control, Stewardship, and Surveillance (BRICCSS) research group consists of methodologists, infectious diseases physicians, data architects, visualization specialists, informaticians, machine learning experts, data managers, project managers, and a quality assurance team that operates in an agile environment, using the Microsoft technology stack. The goal of our research is to mitigate the spread and impact of multidrug-resistant and healthcare-associated infections and to develop biosurveillance systems to effectively monitor and manage high consequence public health threats. We also develop and test tools and report prototypes to enhance healthcare operations and conduct large-scale research projects in the domain of infectious diseases. The successful candidate will work collaboratively to develop analysis plans and technical specifications, maintain study documentation, create study cohorts and analytic files from relational databases, and conduct basic and advanced statistical analyses within the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) and the University of Utah Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC) environments.
This position will prepare the incumbent for real world setting issues on large, complex healthcare data sets and provide an opportunity where health care practitioner and health care data meet head on with computational science, machine learning, modeling and network analysis to solve real problems in the delivery of healthcare.
ABOUT SALT LAKE CITY
Utah is one of the fastest growing states in the West. Salt Lake and its surrounding cities are renowned for the beautiful backdrop of the Wasatch Range Mountains. The outdoor recreational activities are endless, from world-class skiing, hiking, biking, boating, fishing, climbing…you name it! It is also near many state and national parks. There is something to enjoy during each season. In addition to the natural playground, Salt Lake is also a great location for urban enthusiasts. The thriving downtown area offers local shops, restaurants, festivals, concerts, and other activities. The neighborhoods in the Salt Lake Valley are diverse with unique quirks. There is also a newly expanded international airport, robust mass transit system, bike and scooter sharing systems, and designated bike lanes making it easy to get around and explore. If you are a sports fan, it is also home to the Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake, and many college teams. Salt Lake City has it all. It is a great place to work, live, and play.
SALARY AND BENEFITS
The fellowship includes a competitive stipend with federal employee health benefits. Salary is commensurate to experience and is similar to NIH (scientists) and postgraduate year (clinician) scales.
ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION PROCESS
Applicants must be US citizens. Clinical (e.g., physicians, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers) and non-clinical associated health professionals (e.g., epidemiologists, data scientists, population health scientists, etc.) with doctoral degrees or nearing the end of their doctoral training are eligible to apply. The application process requires a CV and cover letter, but it is recommended that interested individuals meet with the directors to discuss interests and opportunities before applying. For a full list of eligibility requirements or more information about the program, please contact Lindsay.Carpenter@hsc.utah.edu. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.