A Postdoctoral Fellow in Epidemiology is needed at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, USA.

Scholarship:  Fully funded
Degree: PhD
Nationality: International Students
Location: USA
Application deadlines: Open


Scholarship Description:

The successful candidate will work day-to-day with Dr. Xiaotao Zhang, an assistant professor at the Institute for Translational Epidemiology & Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Xiaotao Zhang’s Lab is looking for a postdoc fellow to work on pilot microbiome projects (e.g., shotgun metagenomics and metabolomics) projects within focus on the complex interplay between dietary intake, the gut microbiome, and chronic gastrointestinal (GI) diseases (Such as IBD and NAFLD/NASH) /GI cancer (such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and colorectal cancer), while gaining experience in computational methods and nutritional epidemiology.


Diet is an important lifestyle factor that can trigger various microbiome and metabolic conditions, ultimately affecting our health and lifespan. Yet, large inter-individual variation in GI disease has been observed in response to dietary interventions. Research utilizing both classic nutritional epidemiology and novel molecular approaches linking nutrition and microbiome with genetics, epigenetics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics is necessary to elucidate the observed variability in the relationship between diet and GI disease. The human microbiome is garnering significant interest in relation to health but is still relatively understudied in relation to chronic GI disease

Over 42,000 employees strong, the mission of the Mount Sinai Health System is to provide compassionate patient care with seamless coordination and to advance medicine through unrivaled education, research, and outreach in the many diverse communities we serve.

Formed in September 2013, The Mount Sinai Health System combines the excellence of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with seven premier hospitals, including Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai Brooklyn, The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Queens, Mount Sinai West (formerly Mount Sinai Roosevelt), Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.

The Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) provides a salary range to comply with the New York City Law on Salary Transparency in Job Advertisements. The salary range for the role is $58,661.00 – $60,788.00 Annually. Actual salaries depend on a variety of factors, including experience, education, and hospital need. The salary range or contractual rate listed does not include bonuses/incentive, differential pay or other forms of compensation or benefits.

Please follow the instructions and apply online at: https://careers.mountsinai.org/jobs/2816526

 Available Subjects:

  • By employing innovative methodologies to integrate clinical and biological markers into epidemiologic study designs, his current research examines the role of biological and modifiable factors in cancer disparities and cancer prevention.
  • Evaluating the joint effect of diet, human microbiome and microbiome related metabolites with chronic GI disease or GI cancers.
  • Evaluating methods for integrating the microbiome with host factors (genetics, epigenetics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) on dietary intervention for on chronic GI disease or GI cancers.
  • Unraveling risk factors and mechanisms to inform the development of new preventive interventions and clinical strategies on chronic GI disease or GI cancers.

Eligibility criteria:

  • A successful candidate will have excellent written and verbal communication skills, be self-motivated, independent and comfortable seeking and obtaining feedback from a large, multidisciplinary team of near-peers and colleagues
  • The ability to work well in a team and to manage numerous research studies simultaneously are required
  • Applicants with or soon to receive a doctoral degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, computational biology, public health, or another analytical, related field are encouraged to apply. Experience analyzing microbiome data is a plus, but not required.
  • Candidate should have a record of original first-authored manuscripts in one or more of these areas, as well as excellent written and oral communication skills, strong quantitative/analytical research skills, experience using statistical software such as SAS, Python and R or other computer languages for both data management and analysis, and the ability to work well independently and as part of a team with collaborators.

Application Procedure:

Applicants can email a CV and cover letter, along with any questions, to Dr. Xiaotao Zhang ([email protected]).