Postdoctoral Fellow

The Engagement Methods Unit, headed by Dr. Chris Gunter has three major scientific goals: to develop new measures of genetic literacy and understand what factors affect our understandings of genetics, to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of dissemination of genomic knowledge, and to collaborate with practitioners to create an evidence base for genomic applications.

Our lab's work builds upon the genetic literacy instrument first published by 'Little ID et al., Am J Hum Genet 2022' and recently expanded upon by 'Ramírez-Renta G et al., Am J Hum Genet 2025'. Genetic literacy has since been modernized and validated into the Evaluation and Assessment of Genetic Literacy and included in national studies. We are interested in quantifying the influence of social and psychological factors on genetic literacy, which can be understood as not only what people know about genetics, but also, more importantly, how they apply genetics and genomics to their everyday situations.

Prospective fellows will build new educational and/or clinical interventions tools for genetics and genomics literacy, particularly in the areas of autism and 'gene X environment' interactions. Applicants will also be involved in the designing of studies, including mixed-methods work, the conducting data analysis, and the preparation of presentations and publications under the supervision of Dr. Gunter. You can read about Dr. Gunter's research here.

The fellowship includes a competitive salary, benefits, and a professional travel stipend. The length of this fellowship is negotiable.

This Postdoctoral fellowship is designed for motivated candidates who have completed their doctoral training within the last 5 years and wish to join a group of enthusiastic scientists. Required qualifications include:

• A doctoral degree in human genetics, genomics, psychology, science or health communication, public health, and/or related areas.
• Experience in behavioral/social science human genetics research
• Strong quantitative skills and experience with statistical methods.
• Enthusiasm for collaborative, interdisciplinary research
• Excellent communication skills, with fluency in both spoken and written English, as candidates must be able to present their ideas throughout lab meetings, seminars, conferences, and publications.

Experience with qualitative or mixed-methods research is preferred, but not required. Prospective fellows will be expected to learn a variety of qualitative methods, and, as such, should be skilled in learning how to use new software, critical thinking, problem-solving, and working semi-independently.

Selection for this position will be based solely on merit, with no discrimination for non-merit reasons such as race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability, age, or membership or non-membership in an employee organization. The NIH encourages the application and nomination of qualified women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible to apply. NIH welcomes foreign nationals with the exception of individuals from this list.