Research Scientist – Critical Incident Preparedness, Community Shielding & Response

We seek a motivated, strategic, and self-driven Research Scientist (PhD) to lead and support grant-funded research on critical incident preparedness, community shielding, and response. The appointee will work closely with the CIAG leadership (including the Executive Director), multidisciplinary faculty, and stakeholder partners.

The successful candidate will:

• conceive, design, and implement original research studies (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods)
• act as principal or co-investigator on external grant proposals
• manage and execute funded projects (including coordination, data collection, analysis, reporting, dissemination)
• liaise with federal, state, and local agencies; NGOs; community organizations
• publish peer-reviewed manuscripts, present at conferences, and shape policy‑relevant outputs
• mentor junior staff or trainees, as needed
• contribute intellectually to CIAG’s broader research agenda and strategic growth

The ideal candidate will have experience in emergency preparedness, disaster response, public health, resilience science, threat characterization, behavioral science, or related fields, and a track record of successful grant applications (e.g., DoD, DARPA, NIH, CDC, DHS, etc.).

• Lead the design of grant proposals targeting federal, philanthropic, and agency funding in domains such as critical incident response, community resilience, shielding strategies, threat mitigation, disaster preparedness.
• Serve as PI, co‑PI, or lead methodologist on funded projects; manage budgets, timelines, staff, subcontracting, reporting.
• Oversee data collection, monitoring, quality assurance, analysis, and interpretation of diverse datasets (epidemiologic, simulation, survey, modeling, geospatial, qualitative).
• Develop study protocols, IRB submissions, data sharing agreements, and research governance.
• Publish high‑impact scientific papers, white papers, policy briefs, guidelines, and technical reports.
• Present research findings at scientific conferences and stakeholder venues (e.g. public health, emergency medicine, homeland security).
• Cultivate and maintain stakeholder relationships (government, public health, emergency services, community organizations).
• Mentor postdocs, research assistants, or graduate students in relevant methods and domain topics.
• Contribute to CIAG’s strategic research planning, internal initiatives, and collaborative efforts across UVA and external partners.