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The Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health has a long history and national reputation of interdisciplinary research to address the health effects of environmental exposures. An environmental epidemiology Postdoctoral Research Associate position is available to join the teams of ASCENT Cardiovascular Disease and Aircraft Noise Exposure (Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] funded), and ASTHMA (Asthma Simulation Tool for Housing and Medication Adherence, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH/NIEHS). This is a joint postdoctoral position supervised by Drs. Junenette Peters and Patricia Fabian.

About ASCENT. This project focuses on the association between aircraft noise exposure and cardiovascular disease. This multi-year project capitalizes on ongoing work within FAA's Center of Excellence, ASCENT, to respond to Section 189 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which requires the study of potential health impacts of noise exposure resulting from aircraft flights. Specifically, the study aims to assess the potential association between aircraft noise exposure and outcomes such as sleep disturbance and elevated blood pressure leveraging existing collaborations with well-recognized and respected studies, the Nurses' Health Studies (NHS) and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS). This work is being performed in conjunction with our NIH-funded effort to investigate potential health impacts of aircraft noise exposure in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI).

About ASTHMA. Systems science tools can help us understand and prioritize risk factors and intervention strategies to reduce asthma exacerbations, and we previously developed a systems science model of the effect of residential environmental exposures on pediatric asthma exacerbations in low-income multi-family housing in Boston. In this ASTHMA project we are expanding the existing model by: 1) estimating indoor pollutants across housing types representative of US housing stock, and 2) exploring the cross-links between asthma exacerbations and housing, indoor air quality, individual stressors, neighborhood stressors, and medication adherence. We will use information from an electronic medical record (EHR) repository at Boston Medical Center, geographical information systems (GIS), building simulation, and systems science tools to construct the ASTHMA model. The model will then be used to test housing, healthcare, policy, and social interventions with input from our multidisciplinary advisory board which includes experts in green & public housing, and material hardship and housing policy.

The Environmental Epidemiology Postdoctoral Research Associate will participate in the following activities:

ASCENT

• Conduct primary epidemiologic analyses evaluating the relationship between noise and cardiovascular outcomes
• Contribute to GIS-based road traffic and community noise modeling
• Develop regression models to extrapolate modeled noise exposures around airports and nationally
• Coordinate research teams and stakeholders

ASTHMA

• Link the EHR data repository with external housing and neighborhood datasets using GIS
• Conduct statistical analyses of the relationship between asthma outcomes and environmental exposures, and individual and neighborhood stressors

For both projects

• Prepare manuscripts and present at conferences

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will participate in regular ASCENT and ASTHMA team meetings which are comprised of faculty, graduate students, and research assistants. The associate will also regularly engage with collaborators at BUSPH and BMC, and advisory board members who work in green building, public housing, and policy fields. This is structured as a two-year position.

Requirements:

• PhD/doctorate in environmental health, epidemiology, or related field.
• GIS experience with spatial data processing in ArcGIS, Q-GIS or R.
• Demonstrable expertise in quantitative statistical research using SAS and/or R.
• Strong publication record.
• Experience with large data management and processing (e.g. electronic health records).

To Apply: Send CV and a letter describing your interests to: Patricia Fabian, ScD, pfabian@bu.edu and Junenette Peters, ScD petersj@bu.edu . Please indicate "Environmental Epidemiology Postdoctoral Associate" in subject line.