Post-doctoral Fellowship- Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
An exciting opportunity for post-doctoral training is offered in the Substance Abuse Epidemiology training program (SAETP) at Columbia University through the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health. The SAETP in the Columbia University Medical Center trains pre- and post-doctoral fellows to use epidemiologic methods to understand the onset, course and consequences of substance use and substance use disorders, and translate such understanding into actions to mitigate the toll that substance use and substance use disorders take on individuals and society in the U.S. and elsewhere. Funded by NIDA, SAETP is a joint enterprise of the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, and the Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons.
A rich training environment provides opportunities to work with faculty who are leading scholars in public health, psychiatry, and other areas of medicine. Fellows build a personalized program of research by participating in a weekly seminar on substantive topics and career development (e.g., grant proposal preparation, manuscript writing skills), course work as applicable, participation in ongoing research laboratories and projects, and individualized mentoring. Training includes public health aspects of substance use and addiction, analysis of global, national and local data across individual and ecological levels, measurement issues, and prevention and intervention studies. For further information about this program, please see http://www.mailman.columbia.edu/academic-departments/epidemiology/training-programs/substance-abuse-epidemiology-training-program.
Founded in 2012, SAETP has provided training to 25 fellows, 33% of these from underrepresented minority groups. We support 8 fellowships per year, 4 pre-docs and 4 post-docs. Pre-doctoral fellows must be accepted into the Ph.D. program in Epidemiology in the Mailman School of Public Health. Post-doctoral fellows can have prior doctoral-level training in any relevant discipline and be appointed within the Department Epidemiology at Columbia University. Current post-doctoral fellows include three epidemiologists and one social and behavioral scientist. Former post-doctoral fellows had doctorates in epidemiology, psychology and related fields, as well as one psychiatrist. Of our 13 completed post-doctoral fellows, 11 are in academic research faculty positions, the others are in program evaluation and teaching. Our fellows have been highly productive in terms of publications, and successful in obtaining funding for career development (K awards). All completed pre-doctoral fellows are in research positions.
SAETP is directed by Deborah Hasin, Ph.D. and Silvia Martins, M.D., Ph.D., with Christopher Morrison, Ph.D. as the SAETP training coordinator. Faculty include 26 highly successful, well-funded faculty whose expertise spans multiple areas, methodologies and disciplines to provide mentorship for SAETP fellows. The SAETP faculty are diverse: 53% are women and 19.2% are under-represented minorities. SAETP faculty are also highly interdisciplinary, including epidemiology, biostatistics, psychiatry, psychology, infectious disease, sociomedical sciences, and nursing. SAETP faculty share the belief that investment in training fellows yields invaluable long-term dividends for the fellow, mentor, and the research field.
The program currently has one opening for new post-doctoral fellowships that will begin on or after July 1, 2025. Applicants must have completed an MPH or equivalent degree, be admitted to the doctoral program in Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, have evidence of prior academic success, strong recommendations, and at least one year of research experience. In addition, a commitment to substance-focused research (drugs, alcohol, tobacco) and experience in such research is important. Admission limited to U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals (permanent residents).
Interested applicants should download an application form http://www.mailman.columbia.edu/academic-departments/epidemiology/training-programs/substance-abuse/admissions and send it, along with all supporting materials, to the attention of Drs. Deborah Hasin and Silvia Martins, care of Eric Halperin at eh2549@cumc.columbia.edu. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, but those submitted by January 15, 2025 will receive earliest consideration. The earliest date that funding can begin is July 1, 2025.