Dr. Kristine Yaffe and the Center for Population Brain Health are recruiting for an advanced two year Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Data Science Applications for Cognitive Aging and Brain Health. Potential areas of application include bioinformatics, big data, genetic epidemiology, prognostic models, and machine learning. The fellowship is associated with the Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center at the San Francisco VA Health Care System is (MIRECC; VISN 21) and affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
The primary goal of the program is to train fellows with a doctoral degree in epidemiology, statistical genetics, bioinformatics, biostatistics, computer science, data science, or similar quantitative field to become skilled investigators for advancing our understanding of AD/ADRD outcomes with a focus on solving new challenges in cognitive and brain health research. Over the course of the two-year program, fellows are trained in bioinformatic concepts and computational methods with opportunities to generate novel approaches and tools to analyze AD/ADRD and brain health data. The successful candidate will work on large-scale datasets to address research questions including understanding risk and resilience factors of brain health, the AD/ADRD exposome across the life course, and mechanistic pathways of AD/ADRD development. Fellows will be responsible for driving an original research agenda while also gaining skills and training to become an independent investigator. Under the guidance of the fellowship director, Dr. Yaffe, the candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with investigators and participate in didactic sessions. Additional faculty mentors are affiliated with the SFVAHCS services for mental health, medicine, neurology, and radiology; the UCSF/SFVAHCS Center for Population Brain Health; the UCSF Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neurology, Epidemiology/Biostatistics, Precision Medicine, and Neuroscience; the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute; and the Global Brain Health Institute.
We are a team of multidisciplinary researchers, dedicated to advancing brain heath across the lifespan. We emphasize population-based research methods to identify risk and protective factors for AD/ADRD, cognitive aging, and brain health and to optimize cognitive and brain health in aging. The expertise of our faculty spans the fields of epidemiology, neurology, and psychiatry. This fellowship is funded by the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Application information
To apply, please email the following to administrative assistant Tina Hoang ([email protected]):
- Letter of interest detailing your research experience, interests, and career goals
- CV
- Three (3) letters of recommendation
The application deadline is November 30, 2025.
