Postdoctoral Fellow, Autism Research

Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health • Halifax, NS

2d • Onsite

About The Position

IWK Health is a respected academic health sciences centre located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, providing tertiary and primary care for two million children, youth, adults and families each year across the Atlantic region. We have a team of approximately 4000 employees, physicians, volunteers and learners at sites across Nova Scotia. People build careers with IWK Health with our focus on training and mentorship opportunities. We recognize each other’s talent and celebrate our successes. We collaborate in modern facilities or virtually from home, align our work to our values, and enjoy access to enhanced benefits and wellness programs. We are proud to support our patients, families and communities and are grateful for the generous donor support we receive.

Promoting an anti-racist environment, and calling out discrimination as we work and provide care, is important to us. We are located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Working in Mi’kma’ki and providing care to those across Atlantic Canada is a shared privilege with the original inhabitants who have lived here for many thousands of years prior to colonization. There are 13 First Nation communities across Nova Scotia, and more than 50 historic African Nova Scotian communities who also have a long, deep, and complex history dating back over 400 years. We have the highest percentage of people with disabilities in the country. Nova Scotia has the highest proportions of transgender and non-binary people than any other province or territory in the country. We are active in our work to eliminate discrimination, but have more work to do to build that trust, acknowledge our biases and reduce the barriers our diverse communities face. We want IWK Health to be a safe and supportive space of equity and belonging in the care we provide and the employment we offer. We welcome all interested persons who self-identify as Indigenous, Black/African Nova Scotians, Persons of Colour, Immigrants/Newcomers, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply to support our goal for our workforce to be representative of the patients, families, and communities that we care for at all job levels.
The OpportunityWe invite applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow to join the research program of Dr. Giacomo Vivanti, incoming Joan & Jack Craig Chair in Autism Research. The position is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is expected to begin in Fall 2026.
The successful candidate will join a dynamic and growing research program focused on advancing the science and practice of early identification and early intervention in autism. The Chair’s program integrates developmental science, clinical research, and implementation approaches to improve outcomes for autistic children and their families across diverse service systems.

Requirements

• A PhD (or equivalent) in psychology, neuroscience, public health, or a related field (completed or near completion)
• A strong record of scholarly productivity (e.g., peer-reviewed publications)
• Experience with quantitative and/or mixed-methods research
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with autistic individuals and/or early intervention systems is highly desirable.
• Autism early intervention
• Early learning processes and developmental mechanisms in autism
• Implementation science and service delivery models
• Community-participatory or community-partnered research
• Computational and/or advanced statistical approaches to clinical and developmental data
• Candidates with interdisciplinary backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

• Leading and contributing to peer-reviewed publications
• Designing and conducting studies related to early autism development and intervention
• Analyzing complex longitudinal and clinical datasets
• Supporting grant development and research coordination
• Engaging with community, clinical, and policy partners to support research translation
• Mentoring trainees and contributing to a collaborative research environment
• Contribute to embedding research within real-world service systems
• Analyze large-scale clinical and implementation datasets
• Evaluate models of care and intervention effectiveness at scale
• Support the generation of evidence to inform provincial and national autism policy and practice

Benefits

• enhanced benefits
• wellness programs

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree