Job description
The School of Public Health’s department of Epidemiology is offering an exciting Post-Doctoral role supporting work in cutting-edge research on menopause and cardiovascular disease (CVD), while gaining hands-on experience coordinating clinical trials and analyzing data from large cohort studies.
Incoming Chair of Epidemiology, Dr. Samar El Khoudary, will supervise and mentor in the implementation of a newly funded clinical trial and contributing data analysis from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) – the largest and longest running study of its kind.
Dr. El Khoudary is an internationally recognized cardiovascular and women’s health epidemiologist with research focused on identifying the menopause transition as a critical period of accelerated cardiometabolic aging, with key contributions to hormone, lipid, adiposity, vascular, and cognitive outcomes. She is seeking a highly motivated fellow to work closely with her dynamic team in this important work.
Position Responsibilities:
- Coordinate and oversee daily clinical trial operations, including participant visits, regulatory compliance, IRB submissions, and documentation.
- Serve as liaison between the clinical team and data management team, supporting study planning, recruitment, protocol implementation, and troubleshooting.
- Assist the clinical team in direct participant interactions and may receive training in specialized procedures (e.g., ultrasound measures).
- Support data quality assurance, database management, and contribute to study reports and regulatory submissions.
- Lead statistical analysis for main manuscript and other ongoing writing groups from SWAN cohort
- Collaborate on manuscript preparation, abstract submissions, and development of grant proposals leveraging study data.
Training & Development Opportunities:
- Gain hands-on experience in clinical trial coordination and regulatory operations.
- Learn best practices in longitudinal data collection, data integrity, and team-based
research. - Receive structured mentorship in publishing, grant writing, and academic leadership.
- Build a strong foundation for an independent research career in women’s health, aging,
or preventive cardiology. - Develop technical skills in ultrasound measurements and cardiovascular imaging (if
desired). - Opportunity to lead projects within the SWAN cohort using data collected over more than
25 years under the supervision of Dr. El Khoudary.
Required Qualifications:
- PhD or equivalent in epidemiology or a related field or MD with MPH training.
- Strong statistical analysis (longitudinal and survival modeling in particular)/data management skills and experience with R, SAS, or STATA.
- Experience with or interest in clinical trial operations, data coordination, or regulatory affairs.
- Excellent communication, organizational, and multitasking skills; team-oriented mindset.
- Demonstrated interest in women’s health, cardiovascular disease, or aging.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with REDCap is a plus.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary environment.
- Eager to take initiative and grow in both clinical and analytic domains.
- Interest in contributing to publications and grants based on ongoing studies.
This is a restricted position with no set end date and continued employment is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.
ORP Eligible: Yes
VCU is committed to hiring veterans! VCU will include a veteran’s period(s) of military service in the calculation of their annual leave accrual rate. This may provide veterans with an increased leave accrual!
Salary Range: $70,000 – $75,000
Position Details:
Employment Type: PD – Post Doc
Restricted Status: Yes
FTE: 1.0
Exemption Status: Exempt
