Summer Research Fellow (PhD or Postdoctoral Summer Fellow Role) – Youth Mental Health Tracker
About The Position
Surgo Health is a Public Benefit Corporation that builds an AI-powered data platform to uncover the unseen drivers of health, including people's beliefs, barriers, and behaviors. This intelligence is transformed into scalable products that help healthcare organizations drive impact, reduce costs, and advance inclusion by improving clinical trial design, optimizing care delivery, and public health strategies. The company aims to make healthcare more personal, precise, and effective for everyone. This role is for a Summer Research Fellow to join Surgo Health’s Youth Mental Health Tracker Initiative. It is designed for researchers eager to move beyond descriptive analysis to generate novel, high-impact, and actionable insights into the drivers of youth mental health. As a Fellow, you will design and execute an independent research project using Surgo’s proprietary data and analytic infrastructure. The goal is to produce work that is policy-relevant, intervention-oriented, fundable, and publication-ready. You will collaborate closely with Surgo’s research team while maintaining academic independence. Applications must include a short concept note (3–5 pages) outlining your proposed research question, methods, and expected impact.
Requirements
- PhD candidate, postdoctoral researcher, or early-career researcher in a relevant field (e.g., public health, economics, sociology, psychology, data science)
- Strong experience in quantitative analysis and working with complex datasets
- Demonstrated ability to produce rigorous, publication-quality research
- Interest in translating research into real-world impact and decision-making
- Experience or interest in youth mental health, public systems, or social determinants of health
Responsibilities
- Develop a novel research study identifying actionable drivers of youth mental health
- Produce publication-quality research suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal
- Generate funder-ready and policy-relevant outputs that inform real-world decision-making
- Translate complex data into clear insights for policymakers, healthcare systems, and community organizations
- Contribute to Surgo Health’s growing portfolio of intervention-oriented research and thought leadership
- Design and execute a research project using the Youth Mental Health Tracker dataset and, where relevant, external datasets (e.g., NSDUH, ACS, policy datasets)
- Identify novel mechanisms, risk levers, or protective factors that can inform intervention
- Articulate clear intervention pathways and decision-making use cases
- Develop outputs tailored to multiple audiences, including academic, policy, and funder stakeholders
- Collaborate with Surgo’s research scientists for methodological guidance and translational framing
- Produce one submission-ready manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal
- Produce one funder-ready research brief or concept memo
- Produce one policy-facing summary or insight brief
- Provide clear, actionable recommendations for decision-makers
Benefits
- Access to Surgo Health’s Youth Mental Health Tracker dataset and analytic infrastructure
- Methodological and analytic support from Surgo’s research team
- Guidance on funder positioning and grant development
- Support for publication and co-authorship (where applicable)
- This fellowship is funded at $6,000 upon successful completion.
- Fantastic, fun and collaborative colleagues
- Opportunity to solve tough challenges in healthcare
- Ability to be entrepreneurial and tremendous opportunities for growth
- Public Benefit Corporation with an impact and equity mission
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
Number of Employees
1-10 employees
