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Details
Open Date 05/13/2026 Requisition Number PRN45057B Job Title Post Doc Res Assoc Working Title Post Doc Res Assoc- Occupational Health Career Progression Track A00 Track Level FLSA Code Administrative Patient Sensitive Job Code? No Standard Hours per Week 40 Full Time or Part Time? Full Time Shift Day Work Schedule Summary VP Area U of U Health - Academics Department 00965 - Occ. Environmental Health Location Campus City Salt Lake City, UT Type of Recruitment External Posting Pay Rate Range $50,00-$70,000 DOE / DOQ Close Date 09/30/2026 Priority Review Date (Note - Posting may close at any time) 07/15/2026 Job Summary
Dr. Ryan Olson is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to contribute to his nationally recognized interdisciplinary program of research on occupational health interventions for isolated workers. Dr. Olson is an Occupational Health Psychologist and Professor at the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. This multi-disciplinary Center is affiliated with the Division of Occupational and Environmental Health in the School of Medicine at the University of Utah. He is a charter member and inaugural fellow of the Society for Occupational Health Psychology. Current and planned topics of study in the Olson lab include interventions addressing health behaviors and body weight management, sleep health, chronic pain management, and organizational readiness to implement occupational and environmental health interventions. Current and planned populations of study include active-duty military personnel, bus operators, home care workers, and patients with co-morbid sleep disturbance and chronic pain.
The ideal candidate will have strong skills in conducting literature reviews, manuscript planning and writing, data management, data analysis, and supervision and mentoring of more junior research staff. Core responsibilities of the position will be conducting data processing and analysis for studies, preparation and submission of manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals, preparation of grant applications, and assisting with new preliminary field and intervention studies.
Position Details:
Full-time, 12-month appointment with potential for renewal.
Competitive salary and benefits package.
Target start date: between July and September of 2026.
Responsibilities
Data Collection, Processing, and Analysis
? Prepare surveys, codebooks, and data collection methods for collecting data in new preliminary studies
? Inspect, clean, and process data from new studies. Supervise more junior staff in data collection, management, and processing tasks.
? Conduct new analyses with datasets from completed randomized controlled trials of occupational health interventions
? Conduct analyses needed for new and revised manuscript submissions
Manuscript Planning and Preparation
? Conduct literature reviews and summarize literature findings and gaps
? Plan manuscript outlines and sections according to journal requirements
? Write components of collaborative multi-author manuscripts and manage collaborative writing activities
? Assist with manuscript revisions, including responses to reviewer comments and conducting additional analyses as needed for papers.
? Applicant-initiated secondary analysis research studies are encouraged with datasets available in the lab
Grant Application Assistance
? Conduct literature reviews and summarize literature findings and gaps.
? Help prepare component required documents of grant applications based on past lab examples, or according to requirements of funding opportunities
? Prepare preliminary analyses and figures for applications
? Contribute to proof reading and quality control of all components of grant application submissions
Intervention Development and Adaptation
? Contribute to new intervention development and/or adaptation in ways that are aligned with candidate knowledge, skills, and abilities
Minimum Qualifications
Ph.D. in Occupational Health Psychology; Industrial-Organizational Psychology; Public Health; or other field (broadly defined) relevant to Occupational Health.
Proficiency in fundamentals of data management, analysis, and visualization using tools such as Excel, Power BI, R, SPSS , SAS, or STATA.
Proficiency in scientific writing
Preferences
Experience designing or evaluating occupational health interventions
Experience developing training materials and facilitating workshops
Experience creating REDCap projects and collecting data using RECap (forms, surveys)
Experience collecting and/or analyzing biometric data (blood pressure, actigraphy, finger stick blood samples, fitness testing, etc.)
Strong communication and organizational skills
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in dynamic multi-disciplinary teams
Type Benefited Staff Special Instructions Summary Additional Information
The University is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems (URS). Eligible new hires with prior URS service, may elect to enroll in URS if they make the election before they become eligible for retirement (usually the first day of work). Contact Human Resources at (801) 581-7447 for information. Individuals who previously retired and are receiving monthly retirement benefits from URS are subject to URS post-retirement rules and restrictions. Please contact Utah Retirement Systems at (801) 366-7770 or (800) 695-4877 or University Human Resource Management at (801) 581-7447 if you have questions regarding the post-retirement rules.
This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen.
The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students and possess a strong commitment to improving access to higher education.
Veterans preference is extended to qualified applicants, upon request and consistent with University policy and Utah state law. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities.
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Posting Specific Questions
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