Postdoctoral Scholar Position

The University of Chicago, Medicaid Working Group with the Center for Health Administration Studies (CHAS) seeks to hire a full-time Postdoctoral Scholar to work on a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded project titled “Medicaid Managed Care Coverage and Utilization Management of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment.” Professor Colleen M. Grogan is the Co-PI of the project, which is a multi-state study of state Managed Care Organization (MCO) coverage requirements pertaining to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatments and resulting MCO OUD coverage parameters. The study will break new ground by examining the effects of MCO coverage and utilization management designs on OUD treatment receipt and subsequent opioid-related outcomes. The research team has created a unique dataset of MCO plan coverage and utilization management design for MCO plans using publicly available documentation and MCO contracts. This dataset will be linked to patient-level Medicaid Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System Analytic Files (TAF) to conduct a series of retrospective, longitudinal analyses to determine how these policies influence progression through the OUD Cascade of Care and subsequent opioid-related acute care utilization and mortality.

The Postdoctoral Scholar will receive mentorship from the PI at the University of Chicago and collaborate with an interdisciplinary, multi-university research team comprised of faculty and trainees with expertise in Medicaid design, Medicaid claims data analysis, health services research, health economics, policy analysis, and clinical medicine and practice. Primary responsibilities will include constructing data sets and variables from raw Medicaid TAF; conducting data analysis; and providing clear analytic interpretations. There will also be opportunities for the Postdoctoral Fellow to write manuscripts as a first author and contribute as a coauthor; present at national conferences; and contribute to grant proposals. The Postdoctoral Scholar will also have the opportunity to engage with the broader University of Chicago community. Examples of opportunities for engagement include inter-disciplinary Medicaid Working Group research meetings and events, lectures, and workshops held at the Center for Health Administration Studies; Center for Health and the Social Sciences; Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice; Department of Public Health Sciences; and Harris School of Public Policy.

The initial two-year appointment will begin on November 1, 2022 (or later) and will end two years later on October 31, 2024 (or later depending on start date) with the possibility of renewal for one additional year (e.g., to October 31, 2025).

Qualifications
Successful applicants will have a doctoral degree in a relevant field (e.g. computer science, economics, public health (biostatistics, epidemiology, health policy), public policy, social work, statistics). Ideally, the successful applicant will also have a research agenda related to health policy and/or substance use disorder treatment with a strong interest in Medicaid policy.

The core requirements of this position are: 1) Experience analyzing large-scale administrative data (preferably Medicaid or Medicare claims data); 2) Solid command of at least one programming language (preferably Python), including through formal training in data structures, and experience with version control programs like GitHub and the Unix/Linux environment; 3) Ability to write code that is reproducible and well-documented; 4) Formal coursework in causal inference statistics (e.g. multilevel or longitudinal analysis); 5) Excellent written and verbal communication skills (preferably for public health and/or public policy audiences); and 6) Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative spirit.

Interested candidates should send an email to CHAS Administrative Director Keith Brown at keith.brown@uchicago.edu with the following materials:
1. Cover letter
2. Curriculum Vita
3. Sample of organized code (ideally a GitHub link, if available)
4. Writing sample (either a publication or chapter of dissertation)

CHAS Communications Specialist

The University of Chicago Center for Health Administration Studies (CHAS) seeks a Communications Specialist with experience in website development and social media management systems. Additionally, it is advantageous to have a background in social sciences, academic writing or medical writing, for various forms of public media. The Communications Specialist is the primary editor of the Center’s website content, primary content publisher for all social media platforms and coordinates publishing of the Center’s monthly online newsletter. In addition to above, the Specialist will spend approximately 10-18 hours per week identifying and summarizing journal articles, online news articles, book chapters or other relevant research content published by CHAS-affiliated faculty members and stakeholders. Blogging and social media coordination skills are required. Specialist will be expected to contribute to writing for the CHAS website, monthly e-newsletter, client list development, and other tasks as assigned. Communications Specialist should be open to office work, both on campus when possible and remotely, to facilitate and aid coordination of a quarterly lecture series and online promotional events associated.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES:
Proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office suite.
Intermediate knowledge of WordPress (and plugin utilization).
Experience with journalism, academic writing and/or writing for social media.
Demonstrated verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to organize, prioritize, and complete projects under time constraints.
Attention to detail.
Ability to take initiative and anticipate tasks.

PREFERRED COMPETENCIES:
Proficient knowledge of photo/video editing programs (Photoshop, GIMP 2 or similar client) preferred.
Interest in contributing to the development of University health policy and services research center(s) encouraged.

RATE OF PAY: $20.00 per hour
START DATE: September 1, 2022

Interested candidates should send an email to CHAS Administrative Director Keith Brown at keith.brown@uchicago.edu.