Job Details

Postdoctoral Fellow - Implementation Science and Dementia Public Health

Position Number: 9908508
Location: Philadelphia, United States
Position Type: Laboratory and Research

Postdoctoral Fellow - Implementation Science and Dementia Public Health

Location: Philadelphia, PA (University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing)
Open Date: Oct 19, 2026
Deadline:

Join the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing research team as a Postdoctoral Fellow and help state, local and tribal public health programs put proven dementia strategies into practice. The fellow will build and run the implementation science behind the ADRD Public Health Adoption Accelerator (CDC-RFA-DP-26-0227, Component 3): a national registry of which public health sites are taking which Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) Road Map actions, and a coaching program that helps sites take more of them. The role offers high-impact research with a multidisciplinary team, direct work with health departments and tribal programs across the country, and mentored preparation for an independent research career.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will engage in a range of research activities, primarily focused on:

* Prioritization and Implementation Strategy Registry (35%). The fellow will lead the coding manual and environmental scan that score 30+ BOLD-funded sites against the 24 State and Local Road Map actions or the 13 actions in the Road Map for American Indian and Alaska Native Peoples (coded separately), and maintain the Registry as sites are re-rated over time.

* Coaching strategy and evaluation (30%). Working with the TA coach the fellow will specify tiered coaching (light, standard, intensive) as named implementation strategies (ERIC), design coaching logs, and evaluate coaching dose, fidelity and implementation outcomes.

* Launchpad needs assessment (15%). The fellow will build the baseline rating instrument, code barriers and facilitators using CFIR 2.0, and help tribal partners adapt measures in line with tribal data sovereignty.

* Dissemination (10%). The fellow will lead manuscripts, conference abstracts and practice briefs, including how-to guides for Road Map actions with few existing models.

* 10% - Protected time to conduct and disseminate independent research. Mentorship will be provided to foster the scientist's professional growth, including mentored grant writing toward independence.

Responsibilities:

* Independent review of 30+ BOLD sites for an environmental scan.

* Identify exemplar sites for each Road Map action and load coded data for the Registry launch

* Build the Launchpad baseline needs assessment and summarize site readiness by action.

* Apply implementation frameworks such as CFIR, ERIC, RE-AIM and Proctor's implementation outcomes across the project.

* Maintain the action-by-strategy coaching menu and design coaching logs; analyze coaching dose, fidelity and outcomes.

* Partner with state, local and tribal health department staff, the TA coach and advisory groups to keep tools practical for public health settings; follow tribal protocols and data sovereignty agreements.

* Support day-to-day project administration with Project Director and PI, including timelines, deliverables and compliance with CDC funding requirements.

* Supervise and mentor graduate research assistants who assist with document extraction and coding.

* Manage and analyze qualitative and quantitative data using appropriate software and methods.

* Contribute to conference abstracts and peer-reviewed manuscripts through lead and co-authorship; present at scientific and public health practice meetings.

* Collaborate on the development of external grant proposals.

Position Details:

Approximate Start and End Dates: This is a full-time, fixed-term, grant-funded position expected to run from January 2027 (or when the position is filled) through December 2030, based on the availability of continued grant funding and performance.

Appointment Type: Full-time, fixed-term, grant-funded position.

Location: University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA. Hybrid options.

Contract and Salary: The annual base salary for this position is $67,000. This is a full-time, fixed-term position for 1 year with potential for renewal based on performance and continued grant funding.

Qualifications
* A PhD in public health or equivalent doctoral degree in nursing, implementation science, health services research, gerontology, health policy or a related field by the start date.

* Training or applied experience with implementation science frameworks (e.g., CFIR, ERIC, RE-AIM, Proctor's implementation outcomes).

* Experience with systematic document review or qualitative coding, including building codebooks and assessing inter-rater reliability.

* Mixed-methods skills, including qualitative analysis software (e.g., NVivo, Dedoose, ATLAS.ti) and a statistical package (e.g., R, Stata, SAS).

* Experience working with state, local or tribal health departments, or with CDC-funded programs, is strongly preferred.

* A background in aging, dementia, caregiving or chronic disease prevention is strongly preferred.

* Experience partnering with American Indian or Alaska Native communities and familiarity with tribal data sovereignty principles is preferred.

* Experience with technical assistance, learning collaboratives or facilitation, and with database or dashboard tools (e.g., REDCap, Airtable, Tableau), is preferred.

* Excellent scientific writing and oral communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to prepare manuscripts and present findings clearly.

* A track record of scholarly productivity, including peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.

* Ability to work independently, take initiative and manage multiple tasks.

* Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills for work within a research team and with public health partners.

Application Instructions
Interested applicants are invited to submit the following application materials:

1. Cover Letter: A letter outlining your research interests in implementation science, relevant qualifications, and skills that align with this position.

2. Curriculum Vitae (CV): A comprehensive CV including education, research experience, publications, presentations and other relevant professional activities.

3. Representative Writing Sample: A sample of scholarly writing, such as a published peer-reviewed manuscript, representative of the work described in this position.

4. List of Three References.

Application Deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Work Authorization: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time employment begins.

To apply, visit https://apply.interfolio.com/195922

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.