A part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives.  NIH’s mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and apply that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.

The Division of Behavioral and Social Research (BSR) of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) offers a scientifically energizing and collegial environment with opportunities to engage the scientific community and support innovative social, behavioral, psychological, and economic research in aging and Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease related dementias. We are recruiting three Program Officers, including one supervisory role within the BSR Office of the Director.  Program Officers cultivate a portfolio of grant-supported research; lead and participate in transdisciplinary research collaborations; and develop scientific programming (e.g., symposia, special journal issues, conferences, and workshops).  The ideal Program Officer candidate will have a PhD, MD, or doctoral equivalent; substantial research training in the behavioral or social sciences and/or related fields; strong writing, communication, and interpersonal skills; and experience working in interdisciplinary teams. Prior experience in aging research is ideal, but not required.

Population and Social Processes Branch (PSP)
PSP Program Officers (two) (GS-12/13/14; non-supervisory GS-15)
Interested parties should contact Dr. John Phillips, PSP Branch Chief (John.Phillips@nih.gov).

The PSP Branch supports research and data infrastructure development projects on how demographic, social, economic, institutional, geographic, and other factors at the population level influence health and mortality at older ages, including physical and cognitive functioning, AD/ADRD, disability, morbidity, and well-being. PSP supports programs on economics of aging, health systems, and health services, with an emphasis on understanding the drivers of health disparities. It develops and oversees several large data and harmonization/sharing research infrastructure activities, including staff-intensive projects such as the HRS and its international comparators as well as the Demography and Economics Centers program.

• PSP Program Officer: Cognitive and Dementia Epidemiology/Global Health – The ideal candidate brings expertise in cognitive or dementia epidemiology and the social/population sciences to lead initiatives related to global trends in dementia incidence, prevalence, and research to inform non-pharmacological Alzheimer’s disease prevention and treatment intervention research at the population level. The candidate will have opportunity to inform future development of BSR’s longitudinal aging studies and to work with international comparators to the Health and Retirement Study in high, middle, and low income countries to generate new knowledge supporting the NIA mission, including the National Alzheimer’s Plan of Action. The position also offers opportunities to develop innovative global health research with a focus on aging in coordination with Fogarty International Center in support of NIH-wide health research initiatives.
• PSP Program Officer: Health Systems and Heath Economics – The successful candidate will have responsibility for developing and managing a portfolio of research grants on exploring the influence of health systems on care for older populations that features research utilizing large administrative data sets and quasi-experimental techniques, as well as pragmatic trials and field experiments utilizing behavioral economic approaches to produce efficient improvements in care. Successful candidates will also initiate research in other areas of the economics of aging including how economic factors (g., taxes, prices, economic shocks, etc.) affect health and well-being, health-related behaviors, healthcare utilization, socioeconomic disparities, and responses to public health interventions.

BSR Office of the Director
Supervisory Program Officer/Director: Office of Behavioral and Social Clinical Trials Support (Supervisory GS-15)
Interested parties should contact Dr. Lis Nielsen, Director of BSR (Lisbeth.Nielsen@nih.gov).

• Director: Office of Behavioral and Social Clinical Trials Support  – The successful candidate will lead this new office in BSR, overseeing pre-award policy compliance, risk management, training, outreach, and administrative support for BSR’s ever increasing number of clinical trials, including behavioral interventions and pragmatic trials, conducted in a range of community, healthcare, and institutional settings, and spanning both scientific branches of the division. The ideal candidate will have in-depth knowledge of NIH Clinical Trials policies and procedures, familiarity with the unique challenges of behavioral and social interventions and pragmatic trials, and the ability to provide outreach and develop funding opportunities in line with the NIH Stage Model and mechanisms-focused behavior change research. The director will develop and manage a portfolio of intervention research in one of BSR’s aging and/or Alzheimer’s-related areas of emphasis, aligned with his/her area of expertise. The director will also represent BSR on NIA and NIH Clinical Trials working groups.

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SUBMIT YOUR CV AND GET UPDATES ON APPLICATION DEADLINES! Interested candidates who wish to be considered for any of these positions are encouraged to send a CV and a sample publication to NIAJobs@mail.nih.gov. Please specify the position in which you are interested. We will contact you when formal job announcements associated with these positions are posted on usajobs.gov.

Candidates must be US citizens. All applicants will receive consideration without regard to ethnicity, gender, national origin, age, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.  DHHS, NIH and NIA are Equal Opportunity Employers. The work site is in Bethesda, Maryland.  Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience; excellent benefits are offered.   The positions will be posted at the GS 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 federal government salary grades, with an annual salary between $72,750 and $172,500. All inquiries will remain confidential.