Seeking Diversity Supplement Applicant(s) for NCI-Funded Project
Seeking NIH Diversity Supplement Applicant – POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai & Weill Cornell Medicine
New York, NY
The Department of Population Health Science and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine and the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College are seeking applicant(s) to apply for an NIH Diversity Supplement (Post-doctoral level). Each position is a two-year appointment.
Diversity Supplement:
The National Institutes of Health offers Diversity Supplements for NIH funded research projects. We are seeking postdoctoral fellow(s) who are interested in applying for the Diversity Supplement to receive funding for a two-year position: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-20-222.html.
Parent Grant – NCI R37
If awarded the Diversity Supplement, the postdoctoral fellow(s) would have the opportunity to collaborate on a larger parent project entitled: Planning Advance Care Together (PACT) to Improve Engagement in Advance Care Planning. The fellow(s) will work at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (subcontract on the R37) or at Weill Cornell Medical College (Lead Site on R37) and work with a team of expert mentors including: Dr. Megan Shen (PI), Dr. Sarah Miller (Site-PI), and Dr. Cardinale Smith (Co-I).
Description of the parent project:
Engagement in advance care planning (ACP), which includes having end-of-life (EoL) conversations and completing advance directives (ADs) (e.g., living will, health care proxy), has been shown to improve the quality of care and reduce suffering at the end of life. However, less than half of advanced cancer patients engage in ACP or complete ADs. One commonly overlooked barrier to ACP engagement and AD completion is a lack of acknowledgment that the majority of cancer patients report ACP as a social process in which they want to engage multiple loved ones and family members in their decision-making process. This NIH study aims to develop and pilot test a mobile application designed to improve advanced cancer patients’ and caregivers’ engagement in patients’ ACP, presence of ACP discussions, completion of ADs, and receipt of goal-concordant care.
Postdoctoral Fellowship
The postdoctoral fellow(s) will have the opportunity to pursue a supplemental research project to the parent R37. Potential projects may include: (1) identifying barriers/facilitators to utilizing technology to engage in ACP; or (2) conducting a needs assessment to develop future adaptions of the mobile application. The mentoring team and the applicant will collaborate to develop a project that fits the applicant’s interests, needs, and career goals. The postdoctoral fellowship is contingent upon receipt of the NIH Diversity Supplement.
The postdoctoral fellow will be actively involved in a wide range of research activities including:
- Spearheading the research project outlined in the Diversity Supplement application
- Writing manuscripts from available datasets
- Assisting with grant applications
- Preparing IRB and PRMC paperwork
- Attending community advisory board meetings, journal clubs, grand rounds, and staff meetings
- Assisting with study related tasks (e.g., participant recruitment, content development)
- Conducting preliminary data analyses, both qualitative and quantitative
- Developing an independent research career (e.g., submit grant applications, such as career development awards).
Requirements
- Meets eligibility criteria for NIH Diversity supplement
- PhD or PsyD in clinical psychology, community psychology, health psychology, social work or a related field
- Commitment to reducing racial/ethnic health inequities
- Interest in palliative care and advanced care planning
- Interest in working with racially diverse and/or socioeconomically disadvantaged patient populations
- Collaborative and a “team player”
We firmly believe that the Diversity Supplement can provide postdoctoral fellow(s) with opportunities to gain hands-on research training and receive high-quality mentorship. We hope that, at the end of the two-year fellowship, the applicant(s) have the necessary tools to begin an independent research career(s).
To apply, please submit a cover letter detailing your interests in the position and an updated CV to Sarah Miller (Sarah.Miller@mssm.edu) and Megan Shen (mes2050@med.cornell.edu) by October 30, 2020.
