Post-Doctoral Scholar - Department of Epidemiology

At VCU, we take pride in our deep commitment to our postdoctoral community. In 2026, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) named VCU as one of only 12 recipients of its inaugural
Institutional Policy Awards, in recognition of our transformative efforts to elevate quality of life and workplace equity for postdocs. VCU postdocs are Virginia state employees, with benefits mirroring 12-month faculty. We adhere closely to the NPA’s guidelines for best practices in postdoc training. We work closely with our local NPA chapter, the VCU Postdoc Association, to make this a welcoming and productive place to complete your training!

The Department of Epidemiology at Virginia Commonwealth University
(VCU) School of Public Health invites applications for a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellow with expertise in metabolomics and/or lipidomics to join an innovative research program focused on menopause, cardiometabolic aging, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention in women.

The successful candidate will work under the mentorship of Dr.
Samar R. El Khoudary, Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and an internationally recognized leader in women's cardiovascular health and menopause research.

A central focus of this position will be participation in
SHE-HEALS (Stopping Atherosclerotic Heart and Vessel Disease in
Women), a newly established international research network bringing together investigators from 13 institutions across seven countries. SHE-HEALS seeks to transform cardiovascular prevention in women by identifying early vascular changes associated with menopause and investigating opportunities for earlier detection and intervention.

Dr. El Khoudary leads a subproject within SHE-HEALS investigating how metabolomic and lipidomic profiles in midlife women are associated with changes in vascular health across the menopause transition. The postdoctoral fellow will play a central scientific and analytical role in this project, applying advanced methods for metabolomics and lipidomics data processing, analysis, and interpretation to identify molecular signatures associated with vascular aging and subclinical atherosclerosis.

The fellow will also have opportunities to contribute to complementary research projects, including the Study of Women's
Health Across the Nation (SWAN), one of the longest-running and most comprehensive longitudinal studies of midlife women's health.

This position offers a unique opportunity to integrate molecular epidemiology, advanced biostatistical methods, and cardiovascular research within a collaborative, multidisciplinary, and internationally connected research environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and conduct analyses of metabolomics and lipidomics data

to investigate associations between molecular profiles, menopause-related changes, and vascular health outcomes.

• Apply advanced analytical approaches for high-dimensional omics

data, including data preprocessing, quality control, normalization, multiple-testing correction, and statistical modeling.

• Utilize multivariable and longitudinal statistical methods to

examine associations between metabolomic and lipidomic signatures and changes in vascular health across the menopause transition.

• Apply and evaluate approaches for identifying metabolomic and

lipidomic patterns, molecular pathways, and potential biomarkers associated with vascular aging and subclinical CVD.

• Integrate omics data with detailed epidemiologic, clinical,

hormonal, and cardiovascular phenotyping data.

• Collaborate with investigators and multidisciplinary research

teams within the international SHE-HEALS network.

• Lead first-author manuscripts and contribute to collaborative

publications, scientific presentations, and conference abstracts.

• Participate in the development of research proposals and grant

applications, including opportunities to pursue independent fellowship or career development funding.

• Contribute to additional research projects within Dr. El

Khoudary's research program, including analyses of longitudinal data from SWAN and other ongoing studies.

Training and Professional Development Opportunities

• Receive close scientific mentorship from Dr. El Khoudary, an

established investigator and leader in menopause and cardiovascular epidemiology.

• Participate in the newly established SHE-HEALS international

research network, with opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and scientific exchange.

• Advance expertise in metabolomics, lipidomics, molecular

epidemiology, and advanced statistical approaches for high-dimensional and longitudinal data.

• Gain experience integrating molecular biomarkers with detailed

clinical and vascular phenotypes to address important questions in women's cardiovascular health.

• Lead high-impact publications and develop a strong scientific

portfolio supporting an independent research career.

• Receive mentorship in grant writing, research leadership, and

career development.

• Access rich longitudinal data from SWAN, providing

opportunities to develop complementary research questions related to menopause, cardiometabolic aging, and CVD prevention.

Required Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent doctoral degree in epidemiology, molecular

epidemiology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, computational biology, or a closely related field.

• Demonstrated hands-on research experience in metabolomics

and/or lipidomics, including substantive application of omics analytical methods during doctoral research.

• Strong quantitative and statistical skills, including

experience analyzing high-dimensional molecular data.

• Proficiency in R or Python for statistical analysis, data

processing, and reproducible research.

• Experience with metabolomics or lipidomics data preprocessing,

quality control, normalization, and statistical analysis.

• Demonstrated ability to interpret complex analytical results

and contribute to scientific manuscripts.

• Strong scientific writing, communication, and organizational

skills.

• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively

with multidisciplinary research teams.

• Strong interest in continuing to develop expertise and an

independent research trajectory in metabolomics, lipidomics, or molecular epidemiology

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with untargeted and/or targeted metabolomics or

lipidomics datasets.

• Familiarity with mass spectrometry-based omics data and

associated analytical workflows.

• Experience with pathway enrichment analysis, multivariate

methods, dimension reduction, clustering, or machine learning approaches for high-dimensional omics data.

• Experience integrating multiple omics platforms or linking

molecular profiles with clinical and epidemiologic outcomes.

• Experience with longitudinal data analysis, mixed-effects

models, or other advanced epidemiologic methods.

• Familiarity with cardiovascular epidemiology, vascular imaging

outcomes, women's health, menopause, or aging research.

• Prior first-author publications involving metabolomics,

lipidomics, or related molecular epidemiologic analyses.

To Apply

Interested applicants should submit:

• A cover letter describing their research experience,

particularly their hands-on work with metabolomics and/or lipidomics data and analytical methods.

• A current curriculum vitae.
• A brief statement of research interests and career goals,

including their interest in continuing research in metabolomics, lipidomics, and cardiovascular health.

• Contact information for three professional references.

For priority consideration, please submit your application by
December 12, 2026

Applicants are encouraged to highlight relevant doctoral research projects, publications, analytical methods, and computational tools used in their metabolomics or lipidomics work.

This is a restricted position with no set end date and continued employment is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.

Salary Range: 70,000

Benefits : All VCU employee types are eligible for a wide array of benefits to support you during your employment at VCU.
Consult the benefits website for information on benefits eligibility according to employee type.

FLSA Exemption Status: Exempt

ORP Eligible: Yes

Flexible Work Arrangement: Hybrid

Contact Information:

Contact Name: Cian Brooks

Contact Email: Brookst10@vcu.edu