Job Title

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Agency

Texas A&M Agrilife Research

Department

Dallas

Proposed Minimum Salary

$4,167.00 monthly

Job Location

Dallas, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

About Texas A&M AgriLife

Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/)

• Texas A&M AgriLife Research

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University (https://aglifesciences.tamu.edu/)

• Texas A&M Forest Service

• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (https://tvmdl.tamu.edu/)

  As the nation’s largest most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.

  Click here (https://agrilife.tamu.edu/) to learn more about how you can be a part of AgriLife and make a difference in the world!

Position Information

Texas A&M AgriLife’s Institute for Advancing Health for Agriculture (IHA) Healthy Living program (https://iha.tamu.edu/area/healthy-living/) , 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.

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 the world’s first academic institute to bring together precision nutrition, responsive agriculture, and social and behavioral research to reduce diet-related chronic disease in a way that considers environmental and economic effects. The IHA comprises three focus areas—healthy living, precision nutrition, and responsive agriculture—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 programs implement, evaluate, and disseminate scientific solutions, applicable to all Texans, for improved public health. 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, and dietary patterns and behaviors; 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 Healthy Living team works on a broad portfolio of extramurally funded, community-engaged research and active collaborations with community partners, cooperative extension, and many academic and nonprofit organizations throughout Texas and beyond. 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 obesity and related 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 Center at Dallas, which focuses on scientific research, public outreach, and education programs. The Center is a regional hub for all Texas A&M AgriLife activity. It is one of 13 AgriLife Centers across the state - each focusing on issues specific to their region. Initiatives at Dallas hinge on healthy living, urban agriculture and forestry, and water and land resource management.

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. Dr. Jacob Szeszulski will serve as the primary mentor, and post-doctoral fellows will have the opportunity to work on American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health, and United Stated Department of Agriculture funded studies. Generally, these studies center around the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of school- and community-based physical activity and nutrition programs for youth. Additionally, they aim to address policies, systems, and environments that affect youth physical activity and nutrition, identifying organizational and contextual factors that affect the delivery of school- and community-based programs, and using community-based participatory research approaches to reduce disparities in youth’s health behaviors, and subsequent health outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Primary responsibilities will include playing an active role in research, including working on data, presentations, publications, project/program conceptualization and development, grant proposal development, and other related activities.

• The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work on various projects, including active National Institutes of Health studies.

• 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.

• Customized professional development and training opportunities geared toward preparation for a faculty career will be provided.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

  Required Qualifications:

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

• Appropriate research background, as demonstrated by direct experience with data analysis (qualitative and/or quantitative; both is preferred), publications in peer-reviewed journals, proposal development experience, stature appropriate for a postdoctoral scholar, and training in human subjects research

• 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 multi-task and establish effective working relationships

• Knowledge and understanding of the mission and role of the Land Grant University System

  Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience developing and designing interventions and related research studies in the following areas: underserved populations; minority and urban health; food systems; community-based health behavior interventions; and/or the integration of technology into community outreach and research.

• Experience working with various individuals and communities.

• Experience with qualitative and/or quantitative (at least one; both preferred) data analysis, including sufficient knowledge in statistical tools and software.

• Experience writing scientific manuscripts, giving presentations, and writing/collaborating on extramural funding applications.

Other Requirements or Other Factors:

• In order to be considered for this position prior to your doctoral degree being conferred, please attach a letter from your school’s official Graduate Office, Registrar’s Office or PhD Committee Chair certifying that all requirements for the doctoral degree have been met and stating the degree conferral date.

• Customized professional development and training opportunities geared toward preparation for a faculty career will be provided. There may be an opportunity for this position to extend to or transition pending expertise alignment and performance.

What You Need to Know

Salary: Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate’s qualifications.

Why Work at Texas A&M AgriLife?

When you choose to work for Texas A&M AgriLife, you become part of an organization that is an established leader in agriculture and life sciences with a wide range of capabilities to meet the needs of our statewide, national, and international constituents.

In addition, Texas A&M AgriLife offers a comprehensive benefit packing including the following:

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance (https://www.tamus.edu/benefits/) with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums

• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays

• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month

• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas

• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife

  Applicant Instructions

  Applications received by Texas A&M AgriLife must either have all job application data entered or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.

Required Documents

Cover letter

CV

Three letters of recommendation

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/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer.