Postdoctoral Fellow - Mind-Body Medicine

Postdoctoral Fellow - Mind-Body Medicine

At Cleveland Clinic Health System, we believe in a better future for healthcare. And each of us is responsible for honoring our commitment to excellence, pushing the boundaries and transforming the patient experience, every day. We all have the power to help, heal and change lives beginning with our own. That's the power of the Cleveland Clinic Health System team, and The Power of Every One.

Highly motivated individuals with a PhD or MD/PhD in relevant area are encouraged to apply. This training position, under the direct supervision of a Cleveland Clinic Principal Investigator will provide practical training and experience in a research setting. This position is appointed through Cleveland Clinic Research. The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate a commitment to research, a collaborative work ethic and strong communication skills, both written and verbal. This program is expected to be completed within 5 years.

Cleveland Clinic is seeking applications for a post-doctoral research fellow to join its Center for Wellness Research and Training (CWRT) in the Department of Wellness and Preventive Medicine. The candidate will contribute to several mind-body studies in the Center and, for the first year, will primarily work on an NIH-funded study on depression in patients who recently completed treatment for cancer (PI: Chelsea Siwik, PhD). The aims of the research project are to develop and test a novel, abbreviated, and digitalized way of delivering the fundamental components of the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) protocol. Under Dr. Siwik's guidance, the fellow will assist with distilling MBCT principles into 15-minute audio segments to be delivered via text message daily for 8 weeks. The major scientific question being addressed is to determine if this novel way of delivering the tenets of MBCT is feasible and acceptable among patients with depression and co-morbid medical illness.

This position will provide the successful candidate with the opportunity to engage in mentored research, gain experience in intervention development; clinical trial preparation; mindfulness-based interventions; digital health; manuscript/grant preparation; and the knowledge to improve access to evidence-based interventions among medically compromised individuals. In addition to receiving mentorship from Dr. Siwik, an Assistant Professor and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, the position will provide the successful candidate with the opportunity to assist other investigators in the department with other clinical intervention trials.

CWRT is the home of a growing team of mind-body medicine researchers with expertise in mindfulness-based interventions, mental health, health equity, integrative oncology, and non-pharmacological interventions for pain and chronic disease management. The Center has five investigators with multidisciplinary expertise, including two licensed clinical psychologists (PhDs), two naturopathic physicians (NDs), and one family medicine physician (MD). The department is also home to over 40 clinicians (e.g., physicians, chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, yoga instructors, and culinary medicine specialists). CWRT has strong research mentorship, research grant administration, and project support staff as well as relationships with the Cleveland Clinic Center for Value Based Care Research, the Lerner Research Institute, and investigators across the Clinic's specialty institutes.

By the start of the fellowship, the candidate must have a doctoral degree in psychology or a related field. The candidate must have a strong research background in mindfulness-based interventions and mental health. Other qualifications include a track record of peer-reviewed publications in psychology and/or behavioral medicine.

Principal Investigator: Chelsea Siwik, PhD

Cleveland Clinic Research Department: Wellness and Preventive Medicine

Research Topics:

• Mindfulness
• Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
• Depression
• Psycho-oncology
• Digital health

Job Responsibilities:

• Independent project design with the goal of data generation, analysis, interpretation and manuscript preparation
• Assist Dr. Siwik with project-specific tasks (i.e., creating content for the intervention, trial readiness, develop participant-facing materials)
• Draft reports, abstracts and manuscripts
• Conduct literature review and meta-analysis
• Assist with grant writing and research project support
• Perform data analyses

Education:

• PhD or MD/PhD required
• MD with relevant laboratory experience may substitute for PhD

Languages:

• English Proficiency proof required for candidates arriving on J-1, J-2, or F1 + OPT visa status

Work Experience:

• Previous experience in a research or academic setting. Graduate student experience meets this requirement.
• Scientific writing experience

Additional Preferred Qualities:

• Training in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
• Experience working with cancer patient populations
• Experience with mindfulness and meditation
• Training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Experience with intervention content development
• Strong skills in quantitative and qualitative data analysis

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to perform work in a stationary position for extended periods
• Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment
• Ability to communicate and exchange accurate information
• Ability to distinguish color
• Manual dexterity to handle specimens and repair equipment
• Ability to lift and transport equipment or specimens weighing up to 20 pounds
• May be exposed to hazardous chemicals, bio-hazards, radioactive materials, etc.

Personal Protective Equipment:

• PPE per institutional requirements; may vary by laboratory

Preferred Application Materials:

All application materials should be submitted directly via email to Chelsea Siwik, PhD at siwikc@ccf.org.

• CV
• A cover letter (describing relevant experience and research interests)
• A copy of a published/in-press article or working paper
• Contact information for three references

Keywords: Postdoc, Research, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Mind-body interventions, Mindfulness-based interventions, Psychology, Behavioral medicine

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