Research Fellow

Posted:
8/27/2024, 7:33:19 AM

Location(s):
Ontario, Canada ⋅ Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Experience Level(s):
Senior

Field(s):
AI & Machine Learning

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Job Type:

Employee

Duration in Months (for fixed-term jobs):

24

Job Family:

Research

# of Open Positions:

1

Faculty/Service - Department:

Research, Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences

Campus:

Ottawa, ON

Union Affiliation:

N/A

Date Posted:

August 27, 2024

Closing Date:

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

Non-Union Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

Salary Range:

$34,000.00 - $100,000.00

About the Faculty of Health Sciences:

Make your mark with the Faculty of Health Sciences! Health matters to everyone and we are committed to becoming a nationally and internationally recognized leader in innovative approaches to active living, health promotion, and quality health services.
Our success lies in our students and our people. Join us and every day you will have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact as we grow together and make a great faculty even better.

Position purpose:

The Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa is offering a post-doctoral fellow to work on a series of data analytical projects on population mental health outcomes.

 

We are seeking to investigate methods to learn from longitudinal, multimodal data present in various data resources to: (1) predict disease trajectories and outcomes of patients with physical diseases comorbid with mental disorders; (2) perform deep phenotyping of patients with complex diseases, with the goal of improving diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.

 

The research will also address the challenges in applying advanced statistics as well as machine learning methods to small datasets as well as the trustworthiness of machine learning and how we can improve the interpretability of machine learning models and their translatability to clinical care.

 

The candidate will work in a multidisciplinary, highly collaborative scientific environment with opportunities to interact with other faculty members, clinicians, other computational researchers, as well as external collaborators.

 

This position is for up to two (2) years, with the possibility of renewal.

 

Salary: a minimum of $42,000 per year. The position offers benefits coverage including basic dental insurance and extended health insurance.

To apply, applicants should provide the following application materials:

1) a current curriculum vitae;

2) a 2- page cover letter highlighting key qualifications, research interests, and experience;

and 3) unofficial transcripts for undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Note: Official transcripts and three letters of reference will be requested if selected for a fellowship.

Questions about this position or requests for more detailed information

can be directed to Dr. Xiangfei Meng at [email protected]

Important:

Please also note postdoctoral fellowships are subjected to the university Policy 123 (Policy 123 - Postdoctoral Fellows | About us (uottawa.ca)) and must meet the criteria in this policy to be admissible for registration.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

  • Lead or participate in research projects based on the Postdoc's background and interest.

  • May participate in the development of grant proposals, research protocols, surveillance plans, and analysis plans.

  • Prepares manuscripts detailing research findings and submits to peer-reviewed journals.

  • Participates in development of new analytic and data-sharing methods.

  • Presents research findings within and outside of the university

  • Works closely with the research team to monitor progress and resolve issues that arise during the course of research.

  • Disseminate with local partners, and prepare grant applications to establish research independence. In keeping with our goal of training the next generation of strategic scientists, fellows will also be expected to pursue knowledge communication opportunities.

  • Other duties and projects as assigned.

What you will bring:

  • (PhD, DrPH, or equivalent) or a related field confirmation of the doctoral degree (e.g., PhD, DrPh, SciD), or in final stage of doctoral program in statistics, computer science, epidemiology, sociology, psychology, mathematics; or a degree in biological science with demonstrated experience in computational and statistical methods development.

  • Advanced knowledge and proven track record in developing and applying statistical and/or machine learning methods to large real-world datasets.

  • Methodological expertise in cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis.

  • Experience in Stata/ R and Python for quantitative analyses is required.

  • Advanced programming skills with familiarity of statistical software such as SAS and R.

  • Strong quantitative analytical and writing skills are required. Previous experience in social determinants of health, health and/or racial disparities, and populations at elevated risks of health outcomes is highly desired.

  • Strong written and interpersonal communication skills.

  • Ability to work independently and manage time effectively.

  • Ability to meet deadlines and work within budgets.

  • Advanced proficiency in English (spoken and written); French is an asset.

Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa: 

Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact [email protected] to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.