U.S. Health Equity Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Title: U.S. Health Equity Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School: Harvard Medical School
Department/Area: Global Health and Social Medicine
Position Description: The Department of Global Health and Social Medicine stands out at Harvard University for its unique focus on research and training aimed at improving global health delivery and promoting health equity worldwide. Core to the department’s work is the recognition that an interdisciplinary approach is key to expanding and achieving global health equity. Traditional medical models alone will not fully address the complex social, economic, and political factors influencing global health care. Through the lens of disciplines like anthropology, history, sociology, economics, implementation science, and bioethics, department investigators seek to understand how issues like poverty, inequality, and access to resources act as barriers to health. In collaboration with community-based and other clinical organizations, we apply these understandings to develop and evaluate interventions and systems for improving the delivery of health care.
In memory of the late Paul Farmer, the department has established the U.S. Health Equity Postdoctoral Fellowship. Fellows will be early-career researchers who will spend two years based in the department. Their primary responsibility will be to pursue an original research project of their own design to advance a more equitable and efficient U.S. health care system. We seek fellows whose field research sites will be in low-income settings. Fellows will be assigned two mentors. The primary mentor will be a Global Health and Social Medicine faculty member who has overlapping research expertise or interest in the area of the Fellow’s proposed research topic. The co-mentor will be a faculty member either from within the department or from another Harvard University school and department, who specializes in the field most relevant to the selected fellow’s proposal. In addition to a fellowship stipend, research and professional development funding will be available.
Department Senior Faculty lead research in the following areas:
- Digital technology for health care
- Ecology of poverty and development
- Health impacts of the climate crisis
- History of medicine
- Intersection of culture, coloniality and well-being in North American Indigenous communities
- Medical anthropology
- Mental health: epidemiology, interventions, implementation science
- Political economy of health
- Tuberculosis: epidemiology, clinical trials, co-infection, social stigma, community interventions
The aim of this program is to expand the pool of talented academic leaders equipped to conduct research that advances health equity using the frames of social medicine. Fellows will be mentored to pursue the next phase of their careers. They will have the opportunity to participate in all department seminars alongside faculty and other trainees as well as career-development workshops at Harvard Medical School.
Location: This position is located in Boston with significant travel to research locations.
Timeline: A first assessment of applications will be made in late November 2024, with decline notifications sent out in early December 2024. Final decisions are expected to be made in January 2025 with offer letters being extended in February 2025.
Global Health and Social Medicine: Learn about the HMS Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at this website.
Basic Qualifications:
- Doctoral degree in any field linked to social medicine or global health
- Priority consideration will be assigned to applicants who have completed the PhD in the three years prior to the start date
- Experience working in low-income communities
- Knowledge of U.S. health care systems
Additional Qualifications: Applicants should be intellectually curious researchers at an early stage of their scholarly career. Applicants are required to have a doctorate in a related area by the expected start date of their fellowship. Applicants should have experience collaborating with local research partners in low-income communities, demonstrated a capacity for independent work, and will be expected to engage with researchers and faculty and participate in activities convened by the department. Both U.S. and international candidates are welcome.
Special Instructions: Information about required documents:
- Your cover letter should outline your career goals and interest in the role (one page maximum).
- Your Statement of Research should describe your concept for the research project (three pages maximum).
- Provide 2 publications or writing samples, which may be from pre- or post-doctoral work, a dissertation chapter, or a manuscript in process. These items will be reviewed to gauge your research and writing capability. They do not necessarily need to be on the topic of the proposed concept note.
- Provide your graduate school transcript.
Contact Information:
Rebecca Grow
Academic Appointments Coordinator
HMS Global Health and Social Medicine
641 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Contact Email:
Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions or any other characteristic protected by law.
Minimum Number of References Required: 3
Maximum Number of References Allowed: 3
Keywords: U.S. health care system; health care equity; social medicine; global health; poverty and health; health inequalities; community health
Supplemental Questions
Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).
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