Post-Doctoral Scholar - Department of Epidemiology

At VCU, we take pride in our deep commitment to our postdoctoral community. In 2026, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) named VCU as one of only 12 recipients of its inaugural Institutional Policy Awards, in recognition of our transformative efforts to elevate quality of life and workplace equity for postdocs. VCU postdocs are Virginia state employees, with benefits mirroring 12-month faculty.

We adhere closely to the NPA’s guidelines for best practices in postdoc training. We work closely with our local NPA chapter, the VCU Postdoc Association, to make this a welcoming and productive place to complete your training!

The Department of Epidemiology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Public Health invites applications for a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellow with expertise in metabolomics and/or lipidomics to join an innovative research program focused on menopause, cardiometabolic aging, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention in women.

The successful candidate will work under the mentorship of Dr. Samar R. El Khoudary
, Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and an internationally recognized leader in women's cardiovascular health and menopause research.

A central focus of this position will be participation in SHE-HEALS (Stopping Atherosclerotic Heart and Vessel Disease in Women), a newly established international research network bringing together investigators from 13 institutions across seven countries. SHE-HEALS seeks to transform cardiovascular prevention in women by identifying early vascular changes associated with menopause and investigating opportunities for earlier detection and intervention.

Dr. El Khoudary leads a subproject within SHE-HEALS investigating how metabolomic and lipidomic profiles in midlife women are associated with changes in vascular health across the menopause transition. The postdoctoral fellow will play a central scientific and analytical role in this project, applying advanced methods for metabolomics and lipidomics data processing, analysis, and interpretation to identify molecular signatures associated with vascular aging and subclinical atherosclerosis.

The fellow will also have opportunities to contribute to complementary research projects, including the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), one of the longest-running and most comprehensive longitudinal studies of midlife women's health.

This position offers a unique opportunity to integrate molecular epidemiology, advanced biostatistical methods, and cardiovascular research within a collaborative, multidisciplinary, and internationally connected research environment.

• Lead and conduct analyses of metabolomics and lipidomics data to investigate associations between molecular profiles, menopause-related changes, and vascular health outcomes.
• Apply advanced analytical approaches for high-dimensional omics data, including data preprocessing, quality control, normalization, multiple-testing correction, and statistical modeling.
• Utilize multivariable and longitudinal statistical methods to examine associations between metabolomic and lipidomic signatures and changes in vascular health across the menopause transition.
• Apply and evaluate approaches for identifying metabolomic and lipidomic patterns, molecular pathways, and potential biomarkers associated with vascular aging and subclinical CVD.
• Integrate omics data with detailed epidemiologic, clinical, hormonal, and cardiovascular phenotyping data.
• Collaborate with investigators and multidisciplinary research teams within the international SHE-HEALS network.
• Lead first-author manuscripts and contribute to collaborative publications, scientific presentations, and conference abstracts.
• Participate in the development of research proposals and grant applications, including opportunities to pursue independent fellowship or career development funding.
• Contribute to additional research projects within Dr. El Khoudary's research program, including analyses of longitudinal data from SWAN and other ongoing studies.

• Receive close scientific mentorship from Dr. El Khoudary, an established investigator and leader in menopause and cardiovascular epidemiology.
• Participate in the newly established SHE-HEALS international research network, with opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and scientific exchange.
• Advance expertise in metabolomics, lipidomics, molecular epidemiology, and…