The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia’s (VA) School of Medicine is seeking applicants for a Data Scientist Post Doctoral Research Associate. This is a position primarily focused on planning and performing research tasks.

This position will support the research of Sana Syed, MD, MS focusing on understanding gut structure and function in common Pediatric gastrointestinal (GI) diseases using cutting-edge machine learning and AI methods. The overarching goal of the Syed Lab is to personalize diagnostic and treatment plans for pediatric patients suffering from chronic GI disease by identifying better disease biomarkers and novel drug targets. Our ultimate vision is to be able to diagnose disease subtypes and predict future disease complications allowing for individualized insights into specific disease associations. Details about the Syed lab and it’s work can be found at https://med.virginia.edu/sana-syed-lab/ .

The UVA Department of Pediatrics and the UVA Children’s Hospital share a common goal to enhance the health and well-being of children and families through collaborative medical care, education of professionals dedicated to pediatric healthcare, breakthrough research that improves lives, leadership, and community service.

This is a 12-month appointment with the possibility of renewal contingent upon satisfactory performance and the availability of funding.

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will report to Dr. Sana Syed. For additional information about the position, please contact Adam Greene, PhD, Research Program Manager at: ARG7EF@virginia.edu  

The successful candidate will:

• Demonstrate expertise in troubleshooting problems and recommending solutions. 

• Have a strong ability to work independently and function well as part of a team.

• Pay great attention to detail and take pride in their work.

• Have strong organizational and timeline management skills.

• Work in a professional manner and have a strong willingness to learn and improve.

• Promote a culture of excellence by supporting others and generating new ideas to drive the lab forward.

• Act as a champion for the lab’s research at local, regional, and national conferences.

• Drive the collection of new data and the refinement of existing data for new purposes.

• Independently and creatively analyze data to test or refine hypotheses.

• Understand all phases of the analytic process including data collection, preparation, modeling, evaluation, and deployment.

• Explore and examine data from multiple disparate sources in order to identify, analyze, and report trends in the data.

• Develop and execute of statistical mathematical and predictive models.

• Visualize and report data findings creatively in a variety of visual formats to support research presentations, manuscripts, and media write-ups.

• Establish links across existing data sources and find new interesting data correlations.

• Lead projects in concept formulation, determination of appropriate statistical methodology, data analysis, research evaluation, and final research reporting.

• Collaborate across faculty and staff to provide actionable data-driven insights.

• Formulate and define analytic scope and objectives through research and fact-finding as a self-starter.

• Have experience in AI/ML modeling approaches such as: metabolic modeling, convolutional neural networks, Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping, and clustering analysis.

• Be a leader of a lab data science team and provide guidance to less experienced data analysts/scientists.

• In addition, other duties may be assigned.

Minimum Requirements: Doctoral degree

Physical Demands:

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

This position will remain open until filled . This is a restricted position with the possibility of renewal dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.

This is exempt, benefited position. For more information on the benefits available to postdoctoral associates at UVA, visit postdoc.virginia.edu and hr.virginia.edu/benefits . 
 
This position will sponsor applicants for work visas. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment. A completed pre-employment health screen is required for this position prior to employment.

This position is located in Charlottesville, VA. 
 

To Apply:

Please apply through Workday , and search for R0051776 .

Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile by searching 'Find Jobs'.   

Complete an application online with the following documents:

• CV

• Cover letter

• Personal Statement

Upload all materials into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission.  Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive full consideration.

For questions about the application process, please contact Yelena Markazyan Academic Recruiter, at ym3mm@virginia.edu

For more information about UVA and the Charlottesville community please see http://www.virginia.edu/life/charlottesville and https://embarkcva.com/ .

The University of Virginia, i ncluding the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff.  We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences.  We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.