Susan's Blog

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Penn is Mighty

I have always loved University of Pennsylvania, my alma mater, where I learned about Tolstoy, Sartre, and Voltaire. Where I became a city girl, in lovely Philadelphia. And where I met and fell in love with Ned Batchelder.

Now I love Penn even more. I just came across this item, thanks to the wonderful blog Left Brain, Right Brain. Penn Medical School is looking for a post-doc to research autism services. A much-needed area of research. Here is the job post:

Postdoctoral Training Fellowship in Autism Services Research

The Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research (CMHPSR) invites applications for one- and two-year post-doctoral fellowships in children’s health services research, with a specific focus on the organization, financing and delivery of care to children with autism spectrum disorders. The fellowship is funded through a research grant from the National Institute of Mental Health entitled, “Interstate Variation in Healthcare Utilization among Children with ASD (5R01MH077000).” This study combines national Medicaid claims data, information on local healthcare and education resources, and state-level policy data to examine associations between policies and healthcare delivery to children with autism.

Fellows will receive training in health policy and services research methods and in the clinical presentation and care of children with autism. Training activities include intensive mentorship from a multi-disciplinary team of faculty, participation in didactic courses and lecture series, clinical observations, and guided research activities.

We seek applications from persons with a PhD or equivalent in psychology, sociology, public health, economics, social welfare, or other related fields. Preference will be given to applicants with strong statistical skills and those with previous experience analyzing administrative data. Knowledge of children with autism or other psychiatric/developmental disabilities is preferred but certainly not required.

Applications will be accepted throughout the year. Recent graduates and those seeking to enhance their skills in new areas are welcome to apply. Applications should include: 1) Cover letter and CV; 2) List of degrees, dates of conferral, focus of study & institutions; and 3) Current and permanent contact information (address, phone number, e-mail). Please e-mail complete applications to Lindsay Lawer at llawer@mail.med.upenn.edu.

For further information, please view our web sites at http://www.med.upenn.edu/cmhpsr and http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/car/.

(note: edited to correct who the principle investigator is on this project)

Read more: http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/?p=2692#ixzz0NGsgsmSH

3 comments

"Hurrah for the red and the blue!" — Cathy (who met her husband at Penn too!) in CT

— added by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 10:33 pm

My Alma Mater too. My hometown. My birthplace too, born at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. My city. Ahhhh…..

They are doing a lot, Penn, in terms of research. They have speakers every few months too and an annual conference that tends to focus on autism in adults and older teens. I think it's progress.

— added by Penny on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 8:02 am

Thanks for the nice comments. I'm looking forward to reading Kev's posts again.

It would be a kick if someone good got this job by reading a blog post. The more good researchers we can pull into the autism field, the better.

— added by Sullivan on Friday, August 21, 2009 at 12:44 pm