Description

Post-Doctoral Research Associate (Informatics - Center 4 Health Research)

Hiring Department: Center 4 Health Research

Location:  Peoria, IL USA

Requisition ID: 1037900

Posting Close Date: 1/22/2026

Salary: $43,888 to $68,964 per year

Post-Doctoral Position in Health Disparities, Patient-Centered Research, and Digital Health/Health Informatics

The Center 4 Health Research (C4HR) is a newly established strategic initiative of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria (UICOMP), with the mission to improve overall health and promote equity in our local community. Our goal is to drive positive changes through pioneering research, innovative programs, and strong collaborations with healthcare systems, academic institutions, and community organizations.

As a dynamic and forward-thinking research team, we are deeply committed to advancing the field of health disparity research through patient-centered, community-informed approaches. Our work spans qualitative and quantitative methods, with a strong emphasis on digital health, social determinants of health, and improving health outcomes for underserved populations.

The C4HR invites applications for a Post-Doctoral Researcher position focused on optimizing the use of digital health technologies to better serve the needs of end users, including both patients and healthcare providers. This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to impactful, patient-centered research aimed at improving healthcare delivery, access, and equity through innovative digital tools.

Position Summary

This postdoctoral position will play a critical role in designing, implementing, and analyzing research projects focused on identifying and addressing health disparities, with an emphasis on patient-centered digital health interventions (such as Epic MyChart). This role also provides an opportunity to apply advanced informatics, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and data science methods to understand and mitigate health disparities, enhance patient engagement, and improve outcomes through digital health innovations. The successful candidate will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team and contribute to building evidence that informs policy and practice.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Scholarly Activities: Prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals and present research findings at national and international conferences. Assist in the development of grant proposals to secure funding for current and future research projects.
• Career Development & Mentorship: Work with the Supervisor to develop a personalized professional growth plan with opportunities for publications, presentations, grant development, and career advancement.
• Research Design & Implementation: Develop and support mixed-methods research strategies to identify and address health disparities, particularly in rural and urban populations, through patient-centered and community-informed approaches.
• Survey & Data Collection: Design and implement survey tools such as REDCap or Qualtrics, and collect, manage, and analyze diverse datasets, including EHR (EPIC), surveys, interviews, and population-level data. Qualitative & Quantitative Analysis: Conduct interviews or focus groups, perform statistical and thematic analyses, and apply appropriate models (e.g., regression, ANOVA) to explore outcomes and associations.
• Digital Health & Informatics: Leverage data from EHRs, patient portals, mobile health apps, and wearables to generate insights, predictive models, and decision-support tools; collaborate with informatics teams to evaluate and optimize digital intervention.
• AI, Predictive Modeling & Data Visualization: Utilize methods such as machine learning / predictive modeling to identify trends or high-risk groups, and develop interactive dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, R, SAS) to communicate findings.
• Open Science & Data Stewardship: Maintain reproducible research practices, ensure data quality and compliance, and uphold IRB and ethical standards throughout project execution.
• Community Engagement: Collaborate with patients, clinicians, and community stakeholders to ensure research benefits all.
• Career & Interdisciplinary Engagement: Collaborate closely with patients, clinicians, community partners, and researchers across disciplines (public health, epidemiology, behavioral science, informatics) to ensure equitable impact and effective dissemination.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Partner with researchers in public health, health services, epidemiology, behavioral sciences, and informatics to guide study design and dissemination.
• Perform other related duties and participate in special projects as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• A Ph.D. in public health, health informatics, health services research, epidemiology, behavioral science, data science, or a related discipline.
• Strong background in qualitative and quantitative research methods, with experience in conducting and analyzing qualitative interviews or focus groups using tools such as NVivo.
• Experience in survey design and implementation using tools such as REDCap, Qualtrics, or similar platforms.
• Proficiency with at least one programming language for data analysis (e.g., Python, SAS, R).
• Experience working with healthcare or secondary datasets, including data cleaning and management.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team setting.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with GIS mapping.
• A strong commitment to community-engaged research and reducing health disparities.
• Experience with digital health technologies, such as patient portals, telehealth, or mobile health applications
• Familiarity with machine learning/predictive modeling in healthcare.
• Experience with big data tools (SQL, Spark) or cloud-based platforms (Azure, AWS). Proficiency in Spanish or other languages is highly desirable to support community-based research.

For fullest consideration, please submit your application by 11/7/2025 through the UIC Job Board at, https://uic.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/17308?c=uic, scroll towards the bottom of the page and click, “Apply Now”.

Note--you may be redirected to log into, or to create a new account. 

Please be sure to include the following items with your application:

• A cover letter detailing your research interests and why you are interested in this position.
• A current curriculum vitae (CV) or resume.
• Contact information for at least two professional references.
• Any additional documents or publications demonstrating your research expertise.

The budgeted salary range for the position is $43,888 to $68,964 per year.

Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, while also considering internal equity.

This position is intended to be eligible for benefits. This includes Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, a Retirement Plan, Paid time Off, and Tuition waivers for employees and dependents.

More information about employee benefits can be found at: https://www.hr.uillinois.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=4292&pageId=2461262.

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters at Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

As an EOE/AA employer, the University of Illinois encourages applications from individuals regardless of an applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, and Veteran or disability status.

The University of Illinois conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer of employment. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The university provides accommodations to applicants and employees. Request an accommodation at https://jobs.uic.edu/request-and-accomodation/.