Post-Doctoral Research Associate; Informatics - Center Health Research

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

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• Hiring Department
  :
  Center 4 Health Research
• Location
  :
  Peoria, IL USA
• Requisition : 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.

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.

• 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. 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,…