Postdoctoral Fellow in Developmental Psychophysiology and Digital Health

Indiana University Indianapolis
IU Institute for Human Health and Wellbeing (H2W)
The Kelleher Lab

The Kelleher Lab at the IU Institute for Human Health and Wellbeing (H2W) and the Departments of Psychology and Community & Global Health at Indiana University Indianapolis invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow position focused on developmental psychophysiology, digital health, and neurodevelopmental assessment. The position is available immediately and is supported through multiple NIH-funded research projects.

The successful candidate will contribute to two NIH-funded research programs examining early development in children with rare and complex health conditions.

The first is Project Semear, a long-standing international collaboration focused on developmental outcomes among children with congenital Zika syndrome. Project Semear is conducted in partnership with Fundação Altino Ventura in Recife, Brazil, as well as collaborators at RTI International, Indiana University Indianapolis, and Purdue University.

The second is the PANDABox (Primary Caregiver-Assisted Neuro Developmental Assessment) Project, an NIH-funded telehealth platform developed by the Kelleher Lab to study early development among infants and young children with rare neurodevelopmental and neurogenetic conditions. Current work focuses on developmental trajectories in children with Down syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Williams syndrome, and related rare conditions. This project also aims to optimize digital outcome measures for clinical trials relevant to these conditions.

The primary focus of the position is the processing, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of behavioral and cardiac indicators of attention during early development. The fellow will lead analyses of heart rate and related psycho-physiological measures while integrating these data with behavioral coding and standardized developmental assessments.

A unique feature of this position is access to approximately ten years of existing developmental, behavioral, and psycho-physiological datasets that are immediately available for secondary analysis and publication, providing an exceptional foundation for building an independent publication record.

The Kelleher Lab develops and validates innovative digital health technologies designed to improve assessment and intervention for children with neurodevelopmental conditions and their families. Current projects incorporate telehealth-based developmental assessments, behavioral coding, psycho-physiological monitoring, digital phenotyping, and caregiver-centered digital health interventions.

The fellow will collaborate with investigators across psychology, public health, developmental science, pediatrics, and digital health while helping advance innovative approaches for understanding child development in naturalistic settings. The lab is committed to open science, interdisciplinary collaboration, and training the next generation of clinical and translational scientists.

Preference will be given to candidates interested in integrating behavioral and psycho-physiological approaches to understanding early development.

The Kelleher Lab is committed to supporting the fellow's long-term career goals. In addition to opportunities for first-author publications and collaborative scholarship, fellows will receive mentorship in scientific writing, grant development, leadership, and career planning.

Postdoctoral fellows will be expected to contribute to grant writing and research development activities. Candidates interested in pursuing independent research careers will be encouraged and supported in developing applications for individual fellowship mechanisms, career development awards, and other early-career funding opportunities.

Dedicated funds are available to support professional development activities, including specialized training opportunities, workshops, and attendance at scientific conferences. Travel funding is available to support presentation of research findings and participation in national and international scientific meetings.

This is a 12-month postdoctoral appointment based at the IU Institute for Human Health and Wellbeing (H2W) and Indiana University Indianapolis.

The standard appointment is 40 hours per week (100% FTE) and is expected to be conducted primarily on campus in Indianapolis. Reduced-effort appointments of…