Postdoctoral Research Associate

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Full-Time Staff RFUMS Main Campus, North Chicago, IL, US

Compensation :$63,480 - $66,950 annually, depending on experience and qualifications.

The Human Performance Laboratory and Center for Lower Extremity Ambulatory Research (CLEAR) at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science is seeking a full-time Postdoctoral Researcher to support a Department of Defense-funded project to identify urinary proteomic biomarkers of bone adaptation and injury in military recruits. Working closely with faculty investigators and research staff, the postdoctoral researcher will play central roles in scientific study operations, standardized assessment protocols, quantitative imaging, data analysis, interpretation, and dissemination.

This role will lead the development and implementation of standardized assessment protocols and will have primary responsibility for analysis of high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) data, including segmentation, quality control, feature extraction, and integration with clinical and biomarker data. The position is full-time. Military and VA clearance are required for base and hospital access.

Our generous benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision plans; paid parental leave; short term and long term disability plans; life insurance; flexible spending accounts; and a 403(b) retirement plan which includes a 8% employer contribution after 2 years of service. RFUMS is committed to employee wellbeing and work-life balance. Full time staff are eligible for 3 weeks of vacation/ personal leave, 15 sick days, and 9 paid holidays, paid winter break, plus two floating holidays.

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS), located in North Chicago, Illinois, is a graduate health sciences university comprising six schools and colleges. CLEAR, housed within the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, uses multidisciplinary approaches to improve lower-extremity health and function. CLEAR's Human Performance Laboratory supports federally funded research in biomechanics, injury prevention, human performance, neuroscience, and physiology.

The project brings together RFUMS, FHCC, Naval Station Great Lakes, and other clinical and research partners to identify and validate urinary biomarkers of healthy bone adaptation and bone stress injury in military recruits. The study includes longitudinal urine collection, HR-pQCT assessment of tibial bone density and microarchitecture, DXA assessment of body composition, anthropometric measurements, risk-factor assessments, and integrated analysis of imaging, clinical, and proteomic data using advanced statistical techniques.

• Lead the development, piloting, documentation, implementation, and refinement of standardized assessment protocols and SOPs; train study personnel in assigned procedures and document proficiency.
• Contribute to scientific study coordination, data collection, data organization, and monitoring of protocol adherence across study time points and partner sites.
• Develop and maintain reproducible workflows for imaging-data intake, participant and visit matching, preprocessing, analysis, version control, metadata, and provenance.
• Analyze HR-pQCT data using validated protocols, including image segmentation, motion and technical quality control, and extraction of bone-density and microstructural features.
• Analyze DXA data using validated, manufacturer-supported procedures, including scan quality control and extraction of lean mass, fat mass, and body-fat measures.
• Implement and document HR-pQCT and DXA quality-assurance procedures, including daily control-phantom review, predefined quality thresholds, repeat-analysis decisions, and exclusions.
• Organize, preprocess, and harmonize imaging, clinical, risk-factor, and biomarker datasets; maintain data dictionaries, analysis-ready files, and traceable quality-control records.
• Conduct advanced longitudinal and integrative statistical analyses under faculty-approved analysis plans, using reproducible code and explicit validation checks.
• Interpret findings with the multidisciplinary study team and coordinate imaging and clinical data harmonization with the faculty-led bioinformatics and proteomics teams.
• Prepare…