What are the responsibilities and job description for the Post-Doc Research Associate (Thessen) position at Inside Higher Ed?
Department
Genetics - 423501
Posting Open Date
06/12/2026
Open Until Filled
Yes
Position Type
Postdoctoral Scholar
Position Title
Post-Doc Research Associate (Thessen)
Vacancy ID
PDS004888
Full-time/Part-time
Full-Time Temporary
Hours Per Week
40
Fte
1
Work Location:
Chapel Hill, NC
Position Location:
North Carolina, US
Hiring Range
$65,000 - $75,000
Proposed Start Date
09/01/2026
Estimated Duration Of Appointment
12 Months
Be a Tar Heel!:
A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation’s top public universities and is among is the top ten research universities in the nation for federal research expenditures as well as for federally funded social and behavioral sciences research and development.Here at Carolina, our highly skilled postdocs play a vital role in our research enterprise and towards our overall commitment to research excellence. Across many disciplines, postdocs contribute to the intellectual vitality of the University. They provide innovative ideas and perspectives, foster a stimulating research environment and advance knowledge within their fields. Postdocs are crucial members of our scientific research workforce, contributors to our research outputs and an important reason why Carolina is one of the leading public research institutions in the country.UNC-Chapel Hill offers postdocs comprehensive medical and vision coverage, paid leave, and benefits and services that support professional development and a healthy work/life balance. Chapel Hill regularly ranks as one of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, a reputation guided by the diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.
Primary Purpose Of Organizational Unit
The UNC School of Medicine has a rich tradition of excellence and care. Our mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of North Carolinians, and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education, and research. We strive to promote faculty, staff, and learner development in a diverse, respectful environment where our colleagues demonstrate professionalism, enhance learning, and create personal and professional sustainability. We optimize our partnership with the UNC Health System through close collaboration and commitment to service.
OUR VISION
Our vision is to be the nation’s leading public school of medicine. We are ranked 2nd in primary care education among all US schools of medicine and 5th among public peers in NIH research funding. Our Allied Health Department is home to five top-ranked divisions, and we are home to 18 top-ranked clinical and basic science departments in NIH research funding.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education, and research.
Patient Care: We will promote health and provide superb clinical care while maintaining our strong tradition of reaching underserved populations and reducing health disparities across North Carolina and beyond.
Education: We will prepare tomorrow’s health care professionals and biomedical researchers by facilitating learning within innovative curricula and team-oriented interprofessional education. We will cultivate outstanding teaching and research faculty, and we will recruit outstanding students and trainees from highly diverse backgrounds to create a socially responsible, highly skilled workforce.
Research: We will develop and support a rich array of outstanding health sciences research programs, centers, and resources. We will provide infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration among disciplines throughout and beyond our University to support outstanding research. We will foster programs in the areas of basic, translational, mechanistic, and population research.
Position Summary
The Department of Genetics is in search for a postdoctoral research associate to investigate innovative methods for linking environmental data, clinical research data, and EHR and other real world data in a secure cloud environment to support biomedical research. Specifically, this will include the refinement of clinical research data models, development of ingest and QA/QC pipelines, and support for geospatial data visualization. The work will be performed in several cloud and/or on-premises environments and requires human subjects research training. The goals of the work will be to develop new methods and scientific inquiries into exposomics and environmental components of disease.
Minimum Education And Experience Requirements
PhD
Required Qualifications, Competencies, And Experience
For information on UNC Postdoctoral Benefits and Services click here
Genetics - 423501
Posting Open Date
06/12/2026
Open Until Filled
Yes
Position Type
Postdoctoral Scholar
Position Title
Post-Doc Research Associate (Thessen)
Vacancy ID
PDS004888
Full-time/Part-time
Full-Time Temporary
Hours Per Week
40
Fte
1
Work Location:
Chapel Hill, NC
Position Location:
North Carolina, US
Hiring Range
$65,000 - $75,000
Proposed Start Date
09/01/2026
Estimated Duration Of Appointment
12 Months
Be a Tar Heel!:
A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation’s top public universities and is among is the top ten research universities in the nation for federal research expenditures as well as for federally funded social and behavioral sciences research and development.Here at Carolina, our highly skilled postdocs play a vital role in our research enterprise and towards our overall commitment to research excellence. Across many disciplines, postdocs contribute to the intellectual vitality of the University. They provide innovative ideas and perspectives, foster a stimulating research environment and advance knowledge within their fields. Postdocs are crucial members of our scientific research workforce, contributors to our research outputs and an important reason why Carolina is one of the leading public research institutions in the country.UNC-Chapel Hill offers postdocs comprehensive medical and vision coverage, paid leave, and benefits and services that support professional development and a healthy work/life balance. Chapel Hill regularly ranks as one of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, a reputation guided by the diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.
Primary Purpose Of Organizational Unit
The UNC School of Medicine has a rich tradition of excellence and care. Our mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of North Carolinians, and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education, and research. We strive to promote faculty, staff, and learner development in a diverse, respectful environment where our colleagues demonstrate professionalism, enhance learning, and create personal and professional sustainability. We optimize our partnership with the UNC Health System through close collaboration and commitment to service.
OUR VISION
Our vision is to be the nation’s leading public school of medicine. We are ranked 2nd in primary care education among all US schools of medicine and 5th among public peers in NIH research funding. Our Allied Health Department is home to five top-ranked divisions, and we are home to 18 top-ranked clinical and basic science departments in NIH research funding.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education, and research.
Patient Care: We will promote health and provide superb clinical care while maintaining our strong tradition of reaching underserved populations and reducing health disparities across North Carolina and beyond.
Education: We will prepare tomorrow’s health care professionals and biomedical researchers by facilitating learning within innovative curricula and team-oriented interprofessional education. We will cultivate outstanding teaching and research faculty, and we will recruit outstanding students and trainees from highly diverse backgrounds to create a socially responsible, highly skilled workforce.
Research: We will develop and support a rich array of outstanding health sciences research programs, centers, and resources. We will provide infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration among disciplines throughout and beyond our University to support outstanding research. We will foster programs in the areas of basic, translational, mechanistic, and population research.
Position Summary
The Department of Genetics is in search for a postdoctoral research associate to investigate innovative methods for linking environmental data, clinical research data, and EHR and other real world data in a secure cloud environment to support biomedical research. Specifically, this will include the refinement of clinical research data models, development of ingest and QA/QC pipelines, and support for geospatial data visualization. The work will be performed in several cloud and/or on-premises environments and requires human subjects research training. The goals of the work will be to develop new methods and scientific inquiries into exposomics and environmental components of disease.
Minimum Education And Experience Requirements
PhD
Required Qualifications, Competencies, And Experience
- Experience with the analysis, management, or integration of geospatial environmental data? Experience with collaborative programming in GitHub using Python? Ability to work with a geographically distributed team
- PhD in any STEM field? Experience with geocoders? Experience with clinical research data? Experience incorporating agentic AI in scientific research workflows? Experience with data standards and data schema? On-site preferred
For information on UNC Postdoctoral Benefits and Services click here
Salary : $65,000 - $75,000