POSTDOC OPPORTUNITY IN SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY RESEARCH GROUP

Dr. Tim Bruckner seeks a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Program in Public Health at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), to quantify the extent to which postponement of childbearing in Denmark affects health, educational, labor market, and other societal costs—both for parents and their children. The fellowship is a one‐year appointment with the possibility of one-to-two‐year renewal. This appointment is contingent upon receipt of the Ph.D. prior to the start date. The start date is negotiable but could begin as early as June 1, 2024.

Background: Over the last 40 years, age of first-time mothers in Denmark has increased by more than 20%, from 24.8 years in 1981 to 29.8 years in 2021. The newly funded project (in cooperation with the Rockwool Foundation) aims to understand the extent to which postponement of childbearing affects birth outcomes, children’s health and educational outcomes, and parental labor force participation. We will characterize changes over time (i.e., 1980 to 2018) in parents’ delay of childbearing in Denmark and delineate which demographic groups in particular account for these trends. We will exploit the longitudinal nature of register data (available from Statistics Denmark) to use sibling-control and maternal fixed-effects methods to estimate biologically-based sequelae of older age at childbearing (>30 years) as well as social “selection” into postponed childbearing. Lastly, we will focus on women of non-western backgrounds and the special circumstances that apply to this group.

Duties:

* Conduct research using the full force of the Danish Registers (1980 to 2018), under the guidance of Professor Tim Bruckner, Department of Health, Society & Behavior. Submit articles for publication.

* Participate in project meetings and other events with the team from Rockwool Foundation (Copenhagen, Denmark), as well as colloquia in the Program in Public Health. You will also attend colloquia at the Center for Population, Inequality, and Policy, as relevant.

* Have the option to attend graduate coursework in the Program in Public Health and elsewhere.

* Travel to Copenhagen approximately 1x per year. The Postdoctoral Fellow will also have other opportunities for collaborative and independent research projects, as part of the Bruckner Lab (https://sites.uci.edu/brucknerlab/). They will be expected to engage with the Project Team at Rockwool Foundation, the Program in Public Health (UCI), and and the Center for Population, Inequality, and Policy (UCI). The Fellow is expected to take advantage of the many resources at UCI (e.g., colloquia, workshops, and other events) to develop a research career.

Qualifications - the candidate will be expected to have:

* PhD in epidemiology, demography, economics, sociology, or a related field

* Background in epidemiology, demography, health policy or biostatistics

* Background in maternal and infant health

* Fluency in at least two of the following: SAS, STATA, R

Compensation: Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. See UCI postdoc salary scale here: https://ap.uci.edu/compensation/salary-scales/

Work Expectation: Whereas the candidate is expected to have an in-person presence at UCI at least 2 days a week, remote work arrangements are negotiable.

Application Process: Serious applicants should email Professor Tim Bruckner ([email protected]) with the following subject header (one word): ucidenmarkpostdocopportunity

In your email, please attach the following application materials: CV, Cover Letter, sample of SAS, STATA, or R code. Position open until filled.

UC Irvine is one of ten campuses of the highly regarded University of California system. With approximately 37,000 students, 1,500 ladder-rank faculty members, a highly ranked medical school, and over $500 million per year of extramural grant funding, our campus offers a wealth of opportunities for research collaboration and is ranked among the top 10 public universities in the US. UC Irvine is building on excellence in its Program in Public Health to develop a School of Public and Population Health. Accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health since October 2012, our rapidly growing Program in Public Health offers BA, BS, MPH, and PhD degrees in a variety of emphasis areas including environmental health sciences and was recently ranked among the top 40 schools and programs in public health in the country by U.S. News and World Report. More information is available on our web site at http://publichealth.uci.edu/.

The University of California, Irvine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy.