Career Opportunities at CPP

Applications Due: January 15th, 2024, 5:00pm EST

Description of Award:
The Center for Precision Psychiatry (CPP) is committed to fostering the careers of early career investigators in the emerging area of precision psychiatry. Precision psychiatry aims to identify and leverage individual differences in biology, lifestyle, environment, and the social determinants of health, to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions. Integrating research, clinical implementation, education and training, the Center is committed to driving innovation to implementation and making discoveries that can be translated to clinical care. CPP is launching the Tommy Fuss Scholars Program in Precision Psychiatry to support innovative research efforts by early career investigators.

Scholars will work with CPP faculty on projects aligned with the CPP mission and goals including therapeutics, big data analytics, precision treatment matching, mobile health technologies, genomics, neuroscience, and clinical trials. Recipients will be selected by a CPP faculty review panel and will receive $50,000 for one year, inclusive of indirect costs, to advance their research project. Funds can be used flexibly to support salary or research costs.

The Tommy Fuss Scholars Program is endowed by The Tommy Fuss Fund, a private foundation established by the Fuss family in memory of their son to promote medical research to further our understanding of mental illness and develop more effective means of diagnoses and treatment.

Application Timeline:

• Call for applications: October 16th, 2023
• Applications due: January 15th, 2024
• Funding notification: February 15th, 2024
• Funding period: July 1st, 2024 – June 30th, 2025

Eligibility:

• Postdoctoral fellows (incoming or current) or faculty at the level of Instructor or Assistant Professors are eligible to apply.
• Applicants should identify a mentor (for postdoc fellows) or collaborator (for junior faculty) within CPP for the proposed research.
  Please refer to the CPP Team Page to find the list of faculty members who may serve as mentors or collaborators. 
• Applicants are required to have Massachusetts General Brigham affiliation.
• Applicants who have received NIH R01 funding as PI are not eligible to apply.
• U.S. and non-U.S. citizens are eligible.
• Women and URiM candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Review Criteria:

Applications will be considered based on:

• Feasibility, innovation, and rigor of the proposed research;
• Alignment with the goals of precision psychiatry;
• Applicant track record and potential for future research in precision psychiatry.

Due Date:
Applications will be accepted until 5:00 pm EST January 15th, 2024, for the funding period starting July 1st, 2024 – June 30th, 2025.

Recipients will be responsible for providing milestone reports at 6 months and a final report at 12 months.

Application Requirements:

1. A cover letter including a description of how the Tommy Fuss Scholar Award will fit into their future career plans.
2. A current curriculum vitae or resume.
3. Other support: NIH Other Support pages or comparable description of current and pending funding sources.
4. Research Plan/Project. (6-page limit, excluding references), including: 
   1. project title
   2. abstract/summary (up to 300 words),
   3. specific aims (1 page max),
   4. background/significance, preliminary data, research design and methods (3 pages max),
   5. timeline for completing the project during the fellowship year (1 page max),
   6. references.
5. Budget and budget justification
6. Two letters of support commenting on the applicant’s qualifications and proposal. One of these must be from the proposed CPP mentor (for fellows) or collaborator (for faculty).
   1.  Recommenders may direct letters to mghctrprecisionpsych@mgh.harvard.edu.

Applicants should apply by utilizing the Tommy Fuss Scholar RedCap Application Survey, linked below.

https://redcap.link/TommyFussScholar

Questions can be directed to mghctrprecisionpsych@mgh.harvard.edu.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions or any other characteristic protected by law.

Overview: The Center for Precision Psychiatry (CPP) in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry invites applications for a full-time faculty position as Associate Director of the CPP. This position would also hold the Tommy Fuss Endowed Chair in Precision Psychiatry and an Assistant or Associate Professor of Psychiatry faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School (HMS), commensurate with accomplishments and experience. The position will report to the Director of the CPP. The position is full-time and offers competitive salary and benefits packages.

The CPP is an interdisciplinary center that integrates research, clinical implementation, and education to advance the emerging field of precision psychiatry and improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions. Active programs include a focus on big data and advanced analytics for precision risk stratification and prevention, treatment stratification and clinical decision support, suicide research and prevention, and precision neuroscience and novel therapeutics. Our highly collaborative and dynamic research environment includes scientists, clinicians, and trainees at Mass General Brigham, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The Tommy Fuss Scholars Program is endowed by The Tommy Fuss Fund, a private foundation established by the Fuss family in memory of their son to promote medical research to further our understanding of mental illness and develop more effective means of diagnoses and treatment.

Associate Director Position: The Associate Director will be responsible for building a vibrant program of research in their area of expertise, building successful collaborations with researchers and executing projects related to precision psychiatry, securing, maintaining, and growing a profile of funding to support research activities, and publishing research findings in peer-reviewed journals. The Associate Director will collaborate with the CPP Director in setting strategy for the Center, cultivating new research initiatives and collaborations with academic, industry, and government partners, and growing Center activities including the Annual Conference on Precision Psychiatry and the CPP’s new Tommy Fuss Scholar’s Program for early career investigators.

Successful applicants will hold an MD or PhD in a related field (e.g., psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, genetics, data science/biostatistics, biomedical informatics), have a strong record of research accomplishments, including high impact publications and external grant funding, be experienced in leading research projects, managing research teams, and mentoring students and/or early-career researchers.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively with other researchers and partners are crucial for this position. Applicants must be eligible for appointment as an Assistant or Associate Professor of Psychiatry faculty at HMS (commensurate with accomplishments and experience).

Application Process:

Applications will be accepted until November 1st, 2023.

1. Full applications should include:
   1. Research statement listing scientific vision, accomplishments, goals, space and infrastructure requirements (3-page limit).
   2. Up to date CV
   3. Up to three representative publications and a brief synopsis (less than 250 words each) of their significance and impact on the field.
   4. Two or three letters of reference commenting on the applicant’s qualifications.
2. Applicants should apply by sending application materials to Ashley Seiger, CPP Program Director, at aseiger@partners.org
3. Finalists will be notified and asked to deliver a seminar
4. Final decisions will be made by the selection committee

Questions can be directed to Ms. Seiger (aseiger@partners.org) or Dr. Jordan W. Smoller (jsmoller@mgh.harvard.edu).

Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Precision Psychiatry, Big Data Analytics, Biomedical Informatics, and Genomics

PI: Jordan Smoller, MD, ScD

We have immediate openings for postdoctoral fellowships in a new Center for Precision Psychiatry and in the Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Postdoctoral training encompasses precision medicine, biomedical informatics (leveraging health system data) and psychiatric genomics. Our program is conducting studies aimed at the development and clinical translation of novel approaches to risk prediction and genomic medicine using high-dimensional data to advance precision psychiatry. Our research leverages large-scale data resources including electronic health records, genomics, neuroimaging, and behavioral data across the spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g. autism, ADHD, psychotic, mood, and anxiety disorders, PTSD) and related phenotypes (e.g. suicide, treatment response). Our highly collaborative and dynamic research environment includes leading scientists, clinicians, and trainees at MGH, the Broad Institute, Partners Healthcare, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Mentorship, training, and career development opportunities span precision and genomic medicine, neuropsychiatric genetics, and population health. We seek a highly motivated and dedicated MD or PhD with strong training in biomedical informatics, biostatistics, predictive analytics, machine learning/AI, computer science, applied mathematics, and/or statistical genetics with outstanding quantitative skills, proven ability to work well in a collaborative environment, fluency with all modes of communication in English, and strong writing skills.

To apply, please send a single email “Postdoc Application: Precision Psychiatry, Big Data Analytics, Informatics, and Genomics” containing your CV, a short statement describing your qualifications for this position, and contact information for three professional references to the Center for Precision Psychiatry at mghctrprecisionpsych@mgh.harvard.edu.