Research Scientist - Aging and Disability Public Health Surveillance - Chicago Loop Office

NORC at the University of Chicago • Chicago, IL

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a Research Scientist to join the Public Health Research Department in our Chicago Loop Office. NORC's Public Health Analytics Program conducts research and surveillance on age-related chronic disease and disability. The program's portfolio includes the Dementia DataHub (DementiaDataHub.org), the Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS), SoundCheckMap, fall prevention research, and additional projects on aging-related conditions. The work is funded through NIH grants, federal contracts, and foundation support, and is conducted in partnership with academic institutions, federal agencies, and industry collaborators. The program uses Medicare claims, national surveys, and other secondary data to measure disease burden, identify disparities, and inform policy. We are hiring a Research Scientist to provide analytic support across this portfolio. The role suits an early-career quantitative researcher who wants to build deep skills in claims and survey data analysis, contribute to peer-reviewed publications, and work across multiple projects in a well-funded program. This position works under the direction of senior scientists, with substantial mentorship and a clear growth path toward more independent research. Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Location: This is a hybrid role based in either our Chicago Loop or downtown Washington, DC office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office. The Public Health Research team conducts work on a variety of public health topics including disease surveillance, health communication science, health promotion, interpersonal conflict and violence, rural health, and social determinants of health. Our team includes prominent health policy experts, nationally recognized public health researchers with general and specialized expertise in areas such as rural health and tribal issues, health communications, skilled methodologists, and leaders in the field of survey design and implementation. Our staff also brings expertise in populations of special interest and the intersection of public health and health care delivery. We offer broad, multidisciplinary experiences spanning public health, epidemiology, statistics, policy, developmental psychology, economics, sociology, social work, and political science.

Requirements

• Master's degree in economics, health services research, public policy, epidemiology, biostatistics, data science, or a closely related quantitative field.
• Demonstrated proficiency in SAS, R, or Python for data management and statistical analysis. SAS is preferred; strong R or Python candidates will be considered.
• Hands-on experience managing and analyzing large or complex datasets, such as administrative claims, electronic health records, or national surveys.
• Clear technical writing and the ability to document methods and contribute to manuscripts and reports.
• Meticulous attention to detail and a strong instinct for when something is not quite right in the data or the analysis.
• Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

• PhD preferred but not required.
• PhD in a quantitative field listed above.
• Direct experience with Medicare, Medicaid, or commercial claims data.
• Experience with dementia measurement or aging-related health research.
• Familiarity with nationally representative longitudinal cohort studies relevant to aging, such as the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), or the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP).
• Experience working in the CMS Virtual Research Data Center or other secure data enclaves.
• Experience with epidemiological estimation, machine learning, Bayesian regression methods, econometrics, or cost-effectiveness analysis.
• Contributions to peer-reviewed publications.

Responsibilities

• Conduct analyses of Medicare and Medicaid claims and national survey data under the direction of senior scientists, including data management, cohort construction, descriptive analysis, and statistical modeling.
• Build, clean, document, and quality-check analytic datasets from large administrative and survey data sources.
• Produce tables, figures, and estimates for reports, manuscripts, public use files, and data visualization tools.
• Run and maintain established analytic pipelines, verify outputs, and flag anomalies for investigation.
• Co-author peer-reviewed publications and contribute to reports and federal contract deliverables, with first-author opportunities as skills develop.
• Support grant applications, progress reports, and disclosure review processes.
• Produce analytic code that is reproducible, auditable, and built to survive verification.

Benefits

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
• Dental and vision insurance
• A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
• Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
• Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level