Postdoctoral position available at Virginia Commonwealth University

A postdoctoral position is available in the EDGE laboratory (Exploring Development, Genes, and Environment) at Virginia Commonwealth University (edge.vcu.edu). The primary focus of the EDGE lab is studying genetic and environmental influences on the development of substance use and related behavioral outcomes.

The successful applicant(s) will have the opportunity to work across gene identification studies; longitudinal, community-based samples with genotypic data; and twin studies.  Projects include (1) The Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism, a large gene identification project for alcohol dependence;  (2) the Finnish Twin Studies, population-based samples of Finnish twins and their families who have been followed longitudinally from ages 12 through 25; (3) Spit for Science, an on-going study of college student behavioral health with phenotypic and genotypic data collected on ~10,000 individuals; and (4) a number of community-based longitudinal samples of individuals studied from early childhood through young adulthood, including the Project Alliance study, the Child Development Project, the Mobile Youth Survey, the FastTrack sample, and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).  Currently we are examining issues such as how genetic and environmental influences change across development; trajectories of risk associated with identified genes; environmental factors that alter risk pathways; genetic influences on subtypes and intermediary phenotypes associated with alcohol problems; and the mediating and moderating mechanisms involved in gene-behavior associations.

The EDGE Lab is a multidisciplinary team consisting of psychologists, geneticists, and biostatisticians, all housed together in the College of Humanities and Sciences.  Expertise in structural equation modeling and other statistical methods for the analysis of longitudinal data and/or expertise in statistical genetics is critical.  An ideal opportunity for a strong developmental/clinical psychologist who wants to expand their training in genetics, or a statistical geneticist who wants to work as part of a multidisciplinary, translational team.

For additional information about available positions, please contact Danielle Dick at ddick@vcu.edu.  Start date is flexible.  Salaries commensurate with experience.   Applications will be accepted until all positions are filled.

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