Boston, MA

Position Title: Population Health PhD Program

Organization: Health Sciences Northeastern University

Location: Boston, MA

Position Overview: Faculty in the Department of Health Sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, seek applicants to our PhD Program in Population Health who are focused on the field of environmental health. Research areas will broadly address environmental exposures in relation to maternal and child health outcomes across the life course, leveraging data from multiple pregnancy and birth cohorts. 

The successful candidate will be offered a competitive funding package of a stipend and tuition coverage for five years. There will be an opportunity to affiliate with the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute (SSEHRI), a large center that undertakes a range of diverse collaborative social science and environmental health research projects on PFAS (as part of the PFAS Project Lab working group), problems related to water equity and resources, and environmental injustice across the life cycle of oil and gas production. SSEHRI collaborates with faculty in many colleges at Northeastern, with many community-based organizations, and with faculty and scientists at other institutions. Northeastern has an extensive environmental health infrastructure, including a Superfund Research Program, Children’s Environmental Health Center, Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO), NIEHS T32 Training Program, and numerous individual NIH and NSF grants.

Mentorship and training will be guided by Dr. Julia Varshavsky, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, whose research experience includes epidemiology, toxicology, and exposure measurement of phthalates, flame retardants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and other environmental chemicals in multiple biological and environmental media. Additional opportunities for training will be provided within SSEHRI and the broader Northeastern community, as well as through external collaborations with leading scientists at cutting-edge institutions across the country.

Potential PhD projects could include, but are not limited to, the following research areas:

• Environmental chemical mixtures and maternal-fetal-child health outcomes
• Community-engaged research and environmental health intervention studies
• Advancing U.S. chemical risk assessment and systematic review methodology
• Bridging the gap between human health and sustainability

Minimum Qualifications:

• Highly motivated, detail-oriented, and good time management skills
• Commitment to scientific excellence and desire to advance environmental health research
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Experience with data management and data science
• Coding in R, python, SAS, or STATA (R or python preferred)

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with statistical modeling of chemical mixtures
• Interest in advancing research on chemical and non-chemical stressors
• Expertise in computational biology and analytical approaches to biomonitoring data
• Experience or interest in systematic review and Tableau/Distiller software

Application Deadline: December 6

How to Apply: Please use the online application to view the full job description as well as how to apply. For questions about the position, please contact Dr. Julia Varshavsky at j.varshavsky@northeastern.edu.