The Population Studies Center (PSC) at the University of Pennsylvania seeks 1-2 full-time postdoctoral scholars to work on the NIH funded project “Reproductive and Child Health Trajectories in Successive Novel Infections Disease Crises” (DZC), a longitudinal research study about the consequences of the Zika and Covid-19 epidemics for women and their children in Brazil (2024-2029). The Population Studies Center is an interdisciplinary research and training unit of The University of Pennsylvania that provides infrastructure services and project development support for an interdisciplinary group of faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate students. This position will be appointed to work on the DZC project led by Principal Investigator Dr. Leticia Marteleto. The post-doctoral associate will have the opportunity to work on existing and upcoming datasets on socio-demographic and economic factors, reproductive health and fertility in Brazil, as well as administrative data to more completely assess the effects of successive public health crises on fertility and reproductive health. The postdoctoral scholar will be expected to engage in advanced research within the DZC project and to fully participate in the research life of the project and the PSC. Penn PSC provides postdoctoral fellows with access to a wide variety of enrichment opportunities, including numerous seminar series, professional development (e.g., grant writing), and support for participating in conferences.
The initial term of appointment is one year, and reappointment for a second year is expected, following successful review. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, beginning in the Fall, 2024.
Key Functions and Expected Performance
The successful candidate will work collaboratively with Professor Dr. Marteleto to advance a robust scholarly agenda within the DZC project. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Collaborate with Dr Marteleto and fellow members of the research and project team to document DZC and administrative data with attention to detail.
Participate in and contribute to the data collection planning for future DZC waves.
Conduct statistical analyses for the DZC Project in conjunction with other project researchers.
Prepare manuscripts for publication in scientific journals and presentations at academic conferences.
Participate in grant proposal preparation.
Join and integrate existing and upcoming datasets on socio-demographic and economic factors, reproductive health and fertility in Brazil and administrative data to assess the effects of public health crises on fertility and reproductive health.
Offer guidance and mentorship to undergraduate and graduate student research assistants.
Qualifications
Position Requirements
· Strong demonstrated interest in researching global fertility and reproductive health.
· Personal initiative and effective collaboration experience.
· Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to adhere to tight deadlines.
· Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Preference will be given to candidates that present experience with:
· Social science analysis and advanced statistical analyses, including decomposition analysis, difference in difference, and other Demographic and Econometric analysis techniques.
· Data administration and large databases.
· Data cleaning and quality control. Can work with raw data if necessary.
· Panel survey data and quasi-experimental data, STATA, and/or R.
· Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data.
· Working with the effects of ethnoracial diversity and heterogeneity on causal outcomes.
· Data visualization and GIS.
· Other types of analyses, that can include panel-data methods (or cross-sectional time-series), quasi-experimental analyses, Survival/event-history, Logit and linear regression, Network analysis, and Fixed-effects models are preferred.
*Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate
Eligibility:
· Applicants must have completed all doctoral degree requirements by the time of entry into the program.
· Applicants must be able to provide documentation/proof of work authorization in the U.S.
Required Materials
· Resume/CV
· 3 work references with their contact information
The University of Pennsylvania values diversity and seeks talented students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds. The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected class. Questions or concerns about this should be directed to the Executive Director of the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, University of Pennsylvania, 421 Franklin Building, 3451 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6205; or (215) 898-6993 (Voice) or (215) 898-7803 (TDD).
