Research Post Doctoral Fellow

A Brief Overview

Assume responsibility for an on-going, innovative research project as a Postdoctoral Fellow at CHOP. Our postdoc experience will broaden your skillset, scientific background, and research capabilities.

CHOP's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
CHOP is committed to building an inclusive culture where employees feel a sense of belonging, connection, and community within their workplace. We are a team dedicated to fostering an environment that allows for all to be their authentic selves. We are focused on attracting, cultivating, and retaining diverse talent who can help us deliver on our mission to be a world leader in the advancement of healthcare for children.

We strongly encourage all candidates of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply.

The postdoctoral will conduct clinical and translational research under the direction and guidance of Dr. J. William Gaynor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

Dr. Gaynor is a Professor of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery. He has a long interest in long-term outcomes assessment in children with congenital heart defects (CHD). His research has focused on understanding neurodevelopmental outcomes, and risk factors associated with adverse outcomes, particularly for single ventricle congenital heart disease. He serves as the Principal Investigator of studies which enrolled and performed serial neurodevelopmental evaluations in this patient population, including: "Genetic Predisposition to Neurologic Dysfunction after Repair of Congenital Heart Defects" [AHA National Grant-in-Aid 9950480] which enrolled the cohort of 550 patients and performed a 1-year evaluation, and "APOE Genotype and Sequelae of Infant Cardiac Surgery" [HL64388-02], which performed the 4-year evaluation of the same cohort. These two studies have led to 36 manuscripts to date. He also serves as the National Co-Principal Investigator of the NHLBI-funded Pediatric Heart Network study "Trial of Right Ventricular vs. Modified Blalock-Taussig Shunt in Infants with Single Ventricle Defect Undergoing Staged Reconstruction" [HL068279]. He currently serve as Director of the Long-term Follow-up Program in the Cardiac Center at CHOP, and is an emeritus member of the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC4) Executive Committee. He is the Co-Principal Investigator of the Birth Defects Biorepository at CHOP. He has a special interest in the understanding the role of the maternal-fetal environment and genetic factors as mediators of long-term outcomes. In a series of studies with national and international collaborators, he has begun to investigate the impact of the maternal-fetal environment on outcomes for neonates with CHD and to elucidate the underlying biological pathways. We have shown that the maternal-fetal environment is an important mediator of outcomes, especially in single ventricle CHD. He served as PI for a prospective randomized clinical trial investigating the impact of maternal progesterone therapy in pregnancies where the fetus has CHD. This post doc position is focused on developing academic clinical research skills in surgical trainees who demonstrate interest in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery.

Responsibilities

• Participate in project planning, recording, and evaluation of data.

• Conduct independent scholarly research, developing new methods and protocols under the guidance of a mentor (principal investigator).

• Acquire technical, lab management, and grant writing skills.

• Participate in seminars, lectures, poster sessions, national presentations, and professional workshops.

• Supervise junior lab members.

• Assist with other research projects as needed.

Education

• Required: Doctorate