Research Scientist

School of Medicine

Established in 1930, Duke University School of Medicine is the youngest of the nation's top medical schools. Ranked sixth among medical schools in the nation, the School takes pride in being an inclusive community of outstanding learners, investigators, clinicians, and staff where interdisciplinary collaboration is embraced and great ideas accelerate translation of fundamental scientific discoveries to improve human health locally and around the globe. Composed of more than 2,600 faculty physicians and researchers, nearly 2,000 students, and more than 6,200 staff, the Duke University School of Medicine along with the Duke University School of Nursing, and Duke University Health System comprise Duke Health, a world-class academic medical center. The Health System encompasses Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Duke Health Integrated Practice, Duke Primary Care, Duke Home Care and Hospice, Duke Health and Wellness, and multiple affiliations.

RESEARCH SCIENTIST POSITION (FOR DR. FRANK WHARAM)

The Research Scientist will participate in scientific projects and programs, including research about health policies, natural experiments, and health insurance designs, conducted within the Department and under the supervision of a Faculty Investigator. He/she will work closely with internal and external co-investigators, programmers/analysts, project managers/coordinators, and scientific staff. The research scientist will have strong SAS programming skills (Stata experience also beneficial), preferably with large health insurance claims datasets, and be familiar with multiple aspects of health services research, from data acquisition and cleaning to manuscript preparation and revision. He/she will have familiarity with health services research and/or biostatistics and be capable of conducting high-quality SAS programming, implementing study designs and analyses, and contributing to protocols, reports, and manuscripts as appropriate based on standard authorship criteria. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Conducts SAS programming on large health insurance datasets, including modification of existing programs and creation of new programs, with the ultimate goal of creating analytic data sets for academic research.

• Provides health services research and/or biostatistical expertise in projects under continuing mentorship as a member of a project team.

• Participates in project initiation activities, including development of proposals and responses to research funding opportunities.

• Contributes to a variety of aspects of projects including data acquisition and cleaning, computer programming, implementation, and analysis.

• Serves as contributing author for protocols, reports, and manuscripts, as appropriate.

• Presents work internally and externally.

• Collaborates and communicates effectively with internal staff (including project managers, programmers, and co-investigators) and external study partners.

• Supervises project staff work as appropriate.

• Assists with interim and final reports to IRB and/or funders.

• May provide mentorship to junior staff.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Doctoral-level degree in relevant field, or Masters-level degree in relevant field if possessing expertise in SAS programming and health insurance claims data

Experience:

3+ years of Postdoctoral experience or relevant professional experience.

Skills:

• Evidence of ability to excel in research/science, such as demonstrated ability to work with different data structures, computer programming languages, and data sources; working knowledge of study design and analytic methods; and/or working knowledge of research methodology and statistical methods

• Proven potential for collaborative scholarship

• Excellent written and oral communication skills

• Ability to collaborate and work with internal staff and external partners

• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills

Preferences:

• Proficiency in SAS programming; proficiency in Stata also beneficial

• Experience with health insurance claims-based studies preferred

Job Code: 00001826 RESEARCH SCIENTIST
Job Level: 00

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Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secureand welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

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