Be You.

The Duke Transdisciplinary Otolaryngology Research, Community Health and Equity (TORCHE) Lab is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join an innovative, transdisciplinary research team focused on cancer population health, health disparities, causal inference, and real-world evidence. You will play a major role in the NIH-funded AMEND (Ascertaining Multilevel Drivers of Head and Neck Cancer Disparities) R01 study, collaborating with investigators from Duke, Stanford, UNC, University of Maryland, Jefferson, and Des Moines University.

This role offers the opportunity to work with national longitudinal datasets including SEER-Medicare, SEER-Medicaid, claims data, cancer registry data, and EHR-derived cohorts to advance cancer equity and improve outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer.

Minimum Requirements

• Doctoral degree in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Public Health, Population Health Sciences, Health Services Research, Data Science, Cancer Prevention/Control, Quantitative Social Science, or a closely related field.
• Strong understanding of epidemiologic methods, observational study design, cancer outcomes research, population health, and health disparities research.
• Experience analyzing large secondary datasets, claims data, registry data, EHR data, or other real-world data sources.
• Proficiency in R, SAS, Python, Stata, or similar analytic software.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to manuscripts, scientific abstracts, reports, or grant applications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in cancer epidemiology, cancer population science, survivorship, oncology outcomes, health services research, or cancer prevention and control.
• Experience working with SEER-Medicare, SEER-Medicaid, Medicare/Medicaid claims, PCORnet, Epic Cosmos, Flatiron Health, TriNetX, or similar oncology datasets.
• Knowledge of survival analysis, longitudinal data analysis, mediation analysis, latent class analysis, predictive modeling, machine learning, and causal inference methods.
• Experience with claims-based or EHR-based phenotyping, variable construction, treatment pattern analyses, healthcare utilization studies, and outcomes research.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills with a strong commitment to team science.

Other Requirements

• Current CV
• Cover Letter
• Statement of Research Interests
• Two Writing Samples Reflecting Independent Scientific Writing
• Names and Contact Information for Three References
• Two-year appointment with expectation of renewal based on performance and funding.

Be Bold.

• Provide scientific input into study design, analytic planning, project management, manuscript development, and collaborative research efforts.
• Conduct epidemiologic and biostatistical analyses using cancer registry, claims, EHR, and other real-world data sources.
• Apply advanced quantitative methods including causal inference, longitudinal modeling, survival analysis, mediation analysis, trajectory modeling, and predictive modeling.
• Develop reproducible analytic workflows including data cleaning, cohort development, documentation, code management, and variable construction.
• Prepare manuscripts, abstracts, posters, presentations, and grant materials for peer-reviewed dissemination.
• Mentor students, trainees, analysts, and junior researchers while collaborating across a multi-institutional research network.

Choose Duke.

Join a nationally recognized research environment committed to innovation, collaboration, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Benefit from a multi-institutional mentorship model designed to support career development toward faculty, independent investigator, staff scientist, or senior research leadership pathways.

Work alongside leading experts in cancer population health, health disparities, and data science while contributing to impactful research that improves patient outcomes and advances health equity.