The USC School of Pharmacy, USC Titus Center for Medication Safety and Population Health, and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics invite applications for a fulltime, 12-month per year, non-tenure track research faculty position at the Assistant Professor level to conduct research and teaching. This a one-year renewable position, based on funding and project continuation and performance.

Job Description:

The School of Pharmacy is seeking an Research Assistant Professor in Health Services Research to provide research and programming support on projects that primarily employ healthcare administrative claims data.  Significant prior experience analyzing claims data with SAS and/or STATA is required.  The successful candidate will become an integral part of the research team, working closely with the principal investigators and a multidisciplinary research team.  The key role for the successful candidate will be to develop and execute analytic protocols to interpret large, complex datasets designed to answer policy relevant research questions, doing so in conjunction with the core team and School of Pharmacy graduate students. The faculty member will manage large data files and apply creativity and innovation to help solve conceptual and programming problems raised by this cutting-edge research.  The successful candidate will benefit from access to the state-of-the-art data core at Schaeffer Center and the opportunity for peer interaction and mentoring. Other responsibilities will include graduate student teaching, advancement of population health initiatives through scholarly activities, and administrative engagement with health plans, government health leaders, and clinical pharmacy service providers. Routine faculty administration and participation duties, such as attendance at departmental and full faculty meetings and committee service, as well as annual review submissions and teaching evaluations are expected.

Required Qualifications:

• PharmD degree
• MA/MS in Statistics, quantitative social science, health economics, mathematics, or a related field
• 2 or more years of experience analyzing and problem-solving using SAS or STATA statistical programming languages and packages
• Ability to work independently on complex analytic programming tasks
• 2 or more years of experience extracting, formatting, and analyzing health data, including administrative healthcare claims (medical, pharmacy, plan benefit/enrollment, etc.) from Medicare, Medicaid, or health insurance plans, and electronic medical/health records
• Prior demonstrated teaching experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD in Statistics, quantitative social science, health economics, mathematics or a related field
• 3 or more years of experience with SAS and Stata; experience with SQL preferred but not required
• 3 or more years of experience handling, transforming, and analyzing large administrative databases, survey data, claims data, and electronic health records data
• Demonstrated creativity and innovation in solving conceptual programming problems
• Familiarity with healthcare payer priorities, and the ability to support health program administrative functions such as: developing pilot clinical services, contracting value-based payments, and monitoring program quality improvement activities

The University of Southern California offers a competitive salary within an academic environment based on the candidate’s experience and accomplishments. Salary advancement and promotion are provided commensurate with the research and scholarly accomplishments, assessed teaching capabilities, and expertise in the field of study.  Annual merit review is submitted by the faculty member, and reviewed by peers, the department chair, the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and the Dean for salary adjustments. Promotion is considered after an appropriate period of accomplishments with evaluation of the submitted dossier for review and decision.

The University offers excellent benefits and options to employees, which includes: health, dental and life insurance; tuition assistance; disability and retirement plans; credit union membership; and participation in cultural and social events, as well as access to athletic and recreational facilities. The tenure decision date will be determined prior to beginning the tenure-track period upon employment. Promotion and Tenure is determined by recommendation of the School of Pharmacy and by the university’s committee on academic promotions and tenure to the Provost’s office, where the ultimate decision is made.  University service is an important contribution for the well-rounded faculty candidate’s recruitment and success.

Application Procedure:

For consideration, please apply online using the following link: https://usccareers.usc.edu. Interested individuals should electronically submit a letter of intent/personal statement, current curriculum vitae, research/scholarship plan, teaching philosophy statement, and the names of three to five references with current contact information. Applicant screening will begin immediately and continue the position is filled.

An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer:
The University of Southern California is actively committed to equal opportunity, and diversity and inclusion within its faculty hiring practices, so qualified candidates from underrepresented minorities are encouraged to apply.

About the USC School of Pharmacy: Ranked by US News and World Report as #1 among private pharmacy schools in the country, the USC School of Pharmacy is recognized for its more than century-long reputation for innovation in pharmaceutical education, practice and research. Faculty in the departments of Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical and Health Economics, and Regulatory and Quality Sciences have national and international stature as professional, scholarly, and educational leaders. The School and its faculty uniquely spans the entire spectrum of pharmaceutical development and clinical care – from drug discovery to regulatory approaches that promote safety and innovation, from delivery of patient care services to evaluating the impact of care on patient outcomes and costs. The Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Economics features renowned masters and doctoral programs, and a nationally regarded successful Health Care Decision Analysis masters program and the newly-emerged Biopharmaceutical Marketing masters program.

The USC Titus Center for Medication Safety and Population Heath is based at the School of Pharmacy; its mission is to ensure that high-risk patients receive optimal medication guidance and therapy, to both improve health and reduce harm. One of our research streams focuses on the impacts of expanding pharmacists’ roles to deliver evidence-based medication management services (usually reinforced by rigorous continuous quality improvement methods and education and supported by value-based payments).

About the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics: The Schaeffer Center was established in 2009 to serve as an intellectual hub for health policy research at USC.  The result of a unique partnership between the School of Pharmacy and the Sol Price School of Public Policy, the Schaeffer Center takes an interdisciplinary approach to advance health policy and health economics. The Center’s mission is to measurably improve value in health through evidence-based policy solutions, research and educational excellence, and private and public sector engagement.  The Center supports 48 faculty affiliated with 9 schools at USC—including 3 winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics (Angus Deaton, James Heckman, and Daniel McFadden). Additionally, over 40 staff personnel provide support for research, administrative, and external affairs activities.  An innovative data core provides sophisticated data and analytic support – including research programmers, a statistician, system administrator, and a data scientist—and maintains data from more than 60 sources—including Medicare and Medicaid administrative data, private insurance claims, survey data, and electronic health record network data feeds with dozens of terabytes describing millions of individuals. The Data Core also develops adaptable policy tools, including models as part of an NIA-sponsored Roybal Center for Health Policy Simulation. An external affairs team supports a sophisticated dissemination strategy to ensure Schaeffer Center research informs health policy. In addition to assisting in the publication of policy-relevant, peer-reviewed journals, the team produces e-newsletters, issue briefs, opinion pieces, and creative data visualizations and graphics. Through an established partnership with the Brookings Institution, the Center regularly convenes health policy conferences and publishes policy briefs on salient policy issues.  Robust outreach in social and traditional media help support the Center’s mission and establish faculty as thought leaders.  Finally, the Schaeffer Center supports interdisciplinary training opportunities for students and scholars at all levels—ranging from high school all the way to junior faculty. For additional information, see the website: http://healthpolicy.usc.edu/