Instructor/Assistant Professor - Department of Health Behavior & Policy, SOM

Mission or Goal of Unit:

The Department of Health Behavior and Policy’s mission is to transform the health landscape through multidisciplinary research, education, and service. Our research identifies the behavioral, social, organizational, and policy factors that affect the health of individuals and populations. We utilize rigorous quantitative and qualitative methods and engage diverse communities to develop and evaluate programs and policies designed to promote health, improve health care delivery, and reduce health disparities. Our research findings inform the translation of effective programs and policies into practice. We provide training to and promote excellence in the next generation of health behavior and policy practitioners, educators, and scientists.

Chief Purpose of this position:

We are seeking candidates for a term-track, Instructor or Assistant Professor rank faculty position to conduct research in cancer health disparities. The faculty will work directly with Dr. Vanessa Sheppard, PhD, the Principal Investigator, to support the development of externally funded research portfolio in areas of cancer health disparities research. The incumbent will be part of the leadership engaged in strategic planning and development of Dr. Sheppard’s research portfolio, as well the overall management of operations for the lab.

The faculty will have a range of responsibilities for the research lab’s operations spanning multiple projects. The incumbent will oversee staff hiring and supervision, development of grants and manuscripts, budget management, protocol optimization and other duties related to the operations of the lab. Additionally, the faculty will assist in the operational direction of the Office of Health Disparities (OHD) Research in Massey Cancer Center. The faculty will serve as the primary interface between lab and faculty for the programs conducted.

Position Responsibilities:

Teaching: Teaching responsibilities include working with masters and doctoral level students and post-doctoral fellows working within the Sheppard Lab.

Research: Research duties include conducting literature searches, assist in writing manuscripts and grant proposals, conducting statistical data analysis using STATA, SAS or R statistical software. Training and supervising employees engaged in data collection. Working with team to develop and design survey instruments and procedures for specimen collection.

Service: The faculty will serve on departmental, college and/or University committees as necessary, as well as in a professional capacity in their field (reviewer, conferences, etc)

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree required for Instructor rank
• A doctoral degree in public health with a concentration in epidemiology or health, behavior and society or psychology with concentration in pediatrics, health or quantitative psychology required for Assistant Professor rank.
• Knowledge in all areas of research management including research design, recruitment and retention of subjects in longitudinal and clinical studies.
• Data collection from multiple sources, data management and analysis
• Knowledge in quantitative research methods including biostatistics, statistics, or quantitative psychology
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous experience in areas of cancer research related to health disparities