Postdoctoral Openings in Neuropsychology and Gerontology of Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease in African Americans

The positions can begin in either January 2025 or Summer/Fall 2025. The Aging & Brain Health Alliance at Rutgers University-Newark seeks two Postdoctoral Fellows interested in applying a broad range of techniques and methodologies to the study of aging and Alzheimer’s disease prevention in older urban African Americans.

The two positions are:

1. Neuropsychology. With a PhD in cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology, or experimental psychology, we seek a candidate with a strong background in behavioral studies of cognition, especially in the elderly or in those with neurological disorders.
2. Gerontology. With a PhD in gerontology or related training in public health or epidemiology, we seek a candidate with strong quantitative skills and empirical research training to explore biological, psychosocial, sociodemographic, genetic, and cognitive health influences on aging.

Both opportunities include collaboration on new data collection and/or secondary data analysis from the Pathways to Healthy Aging in African Americans longitudinal cohort study (NIH/NIA R01AG053961) and the Exercise to Improve Brain Health in Older African Americans randomized controlled trial (NIH/NIA R01AG078211). Primary responsibilities include data management (e.g., merging datasets, longitudinal data management, creating variables) and data analysis (e.g., advanced multivariate and longitudinal analyses such as latent class analysis, mixed effects models, structural equation modeling, linear and logistic regression). Both positions offer the opportunity to build and develop skills related to research including: training in career development and the disciplines of neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience and gerontology; serving as a leader within a research team (e.g., managing projects and mentoring research assistants and students); data management and analysis; development of manuscripts and conference presentations; and development of one’s own line of research leading to a future independent faculty position. We have an extensive program of community engagement in the Greater Newark area through which we recruit older African Americans into both longitudinal cohort studies and non-pharmacological intervention clinical trials. We have a large (over 50 people) interdisciplinary team, with over a dozen affiliated faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, staff and students from neuroscience, psychology, public health, toxicology, criminology, biostatistics, kinesiology, and other fields. For additional details, lecture videos, an overview of current lab members and faculty affiliates, as well as downloadable publications, press coverage, and research summaries, see our web site at: https://brainhealth.rutgers.edu/

A 40 minute overview of our current and research research and community engagement programs can be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elb6qnW3PMM

Required Qualifications:

1. Strong quantitative and biostatistics skills for the analysis of multi-modal, experimental data including the use of relevant software (e.g., SAS, SPSS, R, Stata)
2. A Ph.D. in any related field, with priorities and skills required as identified in the list above
3. Strong English-language writing skills, including experience writing and submitting first-authored English-language academic journal articles and research grants Salary will be commensurate with years of postdoctoral experience per the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ruth L. Kirschstein National Service Research Awards (NRSA) and comparable to other postdoctoral positions at Rutgers University in neuroscience and related fields.