Postdoctoral Research Training Program, School of Mental Health, University of Washington

The University of Washington School of Medicine (SoM) and College of Education (CoE) are recruiting two fellows for 2020 for the University of Washington School of Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training (SMART) Center’s Postdoctoral Research Training Program in School Mental Health, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences (IES).

The fellowship’s focus aligns with those of the SMART Center and includes topics such as:

• Research-based school behavioral health interventions, strategies, and policies spanning the prevention to intervention continuum
• Implementation science
• Educational equity
• Understanding and reducing ethnic and racial disparities
• Clinical research methodology

The successful applicants will work closely with one or more faculty in the SoM and/or CoE who will serve as mentors on current and recently completed federally funded research, training, and or national, regional, state, and local implementation support projects. Examples of research projects include development and testing of teacher trainings to enhance and restore relationships with students; designing and testing implementation strategies to support the uptake and sustained use of evidence-based practices for teachers and school-based clinicians; large scale, multi-site efficacy trials of a school-based intervention; leveraging social media and machine learning to address adolescent suicide risk; studies of racial and ethnic disproportionality in discipline; development and testing of measures to support educator adoption of evidence-based practices; and many others.

We also seek applicants whose interest may be primarily or secondarily in promoting implementation of research-based strategies in authentic education settings, and other kinds of applied scholarship. Such fellows would work with SMART faculty and trainer/consultants on the Center’s many federally and locally funded training, technical assistance, and continuous quality improvement projects, in order to become fluent in implementation practice and methods of community engagement and apply them with rigor in academic, education, non-profit, or other professional settings. For more details on the SMART Center’s funded projects and faculty interests, see http://education.washington.edu/smart).

In addition to mentorship and participation in funded research, training, and implementation support projects, fellows will also:

• Engage in an individualized sequence of applied experiences in research design and advanced statistical techniques from SMART Center faculty who are nationally recognized experts in educational statistics and methodology;
• Engage in extensive scholarly writing, secondary data analysis, and development and execution of their own independent research agendas;
• Participate in coursework relevant to the fellow’s interests and individualized plan;
• Interact with partners from schools, districts, and state education authorities as part of the SMART Center’s community evaluation and mobilization projects;
• Receive a $5,000 travel budget each year to attend up to 3 events, meetings, or trainings (additional meetings may be attended using relevant grant funds);
• Have access to $6,000 each year for independent research project costs (e.g., laptop, statistical software, participant honoraria, local travel, hourly research assistant time).

Qualifications

• An earned doctorate in Clinical, Community, School, or Educational Psychology; Special Education; Social Work; Public Health; or a related discipline at the time of appointment.
• Interest and experience in research on and/or implementation support for: (1) strategies for implementing evidence-based and culturally-responsive mental health assessment and intervention practices in education; (2) strategies for understanding and reducing ethnic and racial disparities in discipline, achievement, and health; (3) enhancing school mental health data collection and use capacities (e.g., via screening, measurement-based care, data-driven decision support); and/or similar school mental health topics.
• Candidates must be citizens of the United States to be eligible for the fellowship.

To apply, please email:

• A detailed letter describing interest in and qualifications for the position, including academic preparation, relevant experience, and agenda for research and/or public impact.
  • Please include a section identifying potential SMART Center mentor(s), your shared interests, and how the mentor(s)’ projects and foci may support the candidate’s progress toward professional goals.
  • Please also describe experiences with and commitment to diversity-related work and equity in research, teaching, service, and/or outreach, including experience engaging with historically underserved schools, communities, children, and/or families.
• A curriculum vitae;
• Two examples of scholarly writing;
• Names/contact information for at least three references

Please send the above information to Eric J. Bruns, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington at smartdoc@uw.edu.

For full consideration, applications must be received by November 1, 2019.

For more information and to apply, view the fellowship posting.