Postdoctoral Associate in Human Factors & Systems Thinking for Healthcare Quality
Job Description
This postdoctoral associate position offers mentored research training in human factors, systems engineering, and health systems science. The fellowship provides an opportunity to advance a growing interdisciplinary program focused on understanding and improving the socio-technical systems that shape healthcare quality, safety, and diagnostic performance.
The postdoc will work closely with Dr. Monifa Vaughn-Cooke, Principal Investigator and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Systems and Implementation Science at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, on the project “Systems Contributory Factors in Healthcare.”
This position is partially supported by the Virginia Tech Destination Area “Smart Healthcare Hub” (https://smarthealthcare.icat.vt.edu/), which is part of the university’s Health Sciences and Technology Destination Area. The Smart Healthcare Hub brings together researchers, clinicians, and engineers to create intelligent, adaptive, and equitable healthcare systems. It supports projects that integrate human factors, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and behavioral science to improve health outcomes and system performance.
This project examines how structural, organizational, technological, and behavioral factors interact across healthcare settings to influence work processes, care coordination, and patient outcomes. Drawing on human factors and cognitive systems engineering principles, the project integrates multiple data sources (including EHR data, administrative records, surveys, interviews, and direct observations) to develop models of system performance and identify leverage points for system redesign.
Required Qualifications
Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate in human factors engineering, systems engineering, industrial engineering, cognitive psychology, health services research, or a related discipline. PhD must be awarded no more than four years prior to the effective date of appointment with a minimum of one year eligibility remaining.
Demonstrated experience with applied human factors research in healthcare or other complex systems.
Strong analytical and writing skills, with a record of peer-reviewed publications.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with mixed-methods research, EHR data analysis, cognitive task modeling, socio-technical systems design, or multivariate modeling to characterize interactions among clinical, behavioral, and organizational factors.
Proven ability to work effectively as part of interdisciplinary teams and to provide supervisory mentorship to junior researchers or trainees in collaborative, multi-institutional projects.
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine:
In partnership with Carilion Clinic, Virginia Tech, and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, VTC School of Medicine is a cornerstone of one of the nation’s premier health and biomedical research ecosystems. Located in Roanoke, Virginia, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and 40 miles from the Virginia Tech main campus in Blacksburg, VTCSOM provides abundant opportunities to deliver innovative, discovery-based medical education in a community-based, picturesque setting.
Its innovative curriculum includes robust, longitudinal mentored research training and a major curricular emphasis on health systems science and interprofessional practice. Students are attracted to VTCSOM for its 99% match rate, including competitive specialties and programs. With a 2.3% acceptance rate, VTCSOM receives over 6,400 applications and is poised for continued enrollment growth.
About Virginia Tech
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.
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