Philip R. Lee Health Policy Fellowship

Home > Philip R. Lee Health Policy Fellowship - University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Location: United States

Job Posted Date: December 11, 2023

Academic Positions

Full-time Positions

Postdoc Positions

Population: Global Health, Life Sciences, Population & Social Sciences

We emphasize tangible research goals.

UCSF is a health sciences campus with a mission of advancing health worldwide through its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy. IHPS emphasizes team-based, interdisciplinary research that impacts policy and practice. Fellows receive mentorship and feedback from health policy faculty at IHPS and participate in joint training activities with UCSF clinical fellows developing clinician-investigator careers. Fellows advance and develop their own research agendas within this dynamic environment of didactics and practice.

We are committed to excellence in teaching and mentoring.

Studies show that the strongest predictor of success during fellowship is a dedicated research mentor. Mentorship is available from IHPS faculty and throughout UCSF. IHPS faculty are affiliated with all 4 professional schools within UCSF and have a wide variety of areas of expertise – including cohort and quality improvement studies, survey research, analyses of administrative data such as Medicare/Medicaid, qualitative studies, studies using electronic health records, and implementation science.

Works in Progress and Seminars

Our works-in-progress (WIP) seminars provide an opportunity for fellows to present their research and progress to their peers and an interdisciplinary group of faculty in a supportive environment. These sessions allow fellows to both learn from and teach their peers, and the environment is relaxed and open; all types and levels of questions are encouraged. Fellows may join weekly WIPS hosted by the UCSF National Clinical Scholars Program and twice-monthly WIPs hosted by IHPS faculty.

Affiliation: Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies - University of California- San Francisco (UCSF).

Effort: 100%; Full-time

Start Date: July 2024

Equal Employment Opportunity: The University of California San Francisco is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

Job Requirements:

The Philip R. Lee (PRL) Health Policy Fellowship provides post-doctoral training for highly-qualified individuals with a Ph.D. in the social and behavioral sciences, public health, public policy, and related fields, or clinician-researchers with Masters or doctoral research training in those fields.

Fellows are PhDs or clinicians with research degrees (e.g., MD-MPH, RN-PhD) whose research interests are in health policy, health services research, social and behavioral sciences, public health, and related fields. Clinician candidates may be considered for joint appointment with the National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP) at UCSF but must apply directly to the NCSP by July 17 and indicate in the NCSP application that they are interested in a joint appointment. The NCSP application must be forwarded as part of the application to the PRL Fellowship along with a cover letter detailing interest in a joint appointment. Clinician candidates do not need to apply for a joint appointment to be considered for the PRL Fellowship. Terminal degrees must be awarded and visible on transcripts by May 2024 to be eligible.

Fellows spend two years at IHPS in intensive research training that includes structured mentorship, independent research projects, and joint training activities with other postdoctoral fellows and clinician-investigators within the National Clinical Scholars Program. Fellows are supported by a National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Training Grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Our goal is for fellows to submit scientific abstracts and at least two manuscripts, learn about grant writing, and be prepared to apply for positions in academic or health system settings to accomplish high-impact health services/policy research after completing their fellowship training.

Our environment offers outstanding opportunities for team-based, interdisciplinary research that impacts health policy and practice. IHPS faculty are affiliated with all 4 professional schools within UCSF and have a wide variety of areas of expertise – including cohort and quality improvement studies, survey research, analyses of administrative data such as Medicare/Medicaid, qualitative studies, studies using electronic health records, and implementation science. We place great emphasis on finding a good match between the fellow and the mentor that includes a common research interest as well as a complementary style that will foster the most productive working relationship.

How to Apply:

Application Requirements and Process

We anticipate appointing one new fellow to start in July 2024, pending availability of funding. Applicants must have a doctorate (e.g., PhD); professional doctorates (MD, JD, PharmD, etc.) must have an additional research-based master’s degree (MPH, MS, etc.). All terminal research degrees must be awarded and visible on transcripts by May 2024.

• A 1.5-2 page statement of interest that describes your past work in health policy and health services research, your career goals, and how and why you feel the PRL Health Policy Fellowship will advance your career, including potential mentors.
• National Clinician Scholars Program applicants must submit a copy of their NCSP application by the NCSP deadline.
• Writing samples and letters from, or contact information for, references will be requested from finalist candidates.

Selected candidates will be invited for interviews (via Zoom). Prospective candidates will meet with the fellowship director, potential IHPS faculty mentor(s), current fellow(s), and other members of the Fellowship search committee. The directors and current fellows will be more than happy to discuss questions before or after the interview day.

Applications will be accepted starting August 1, 2023. Applications received before October 31, 2023, will receive full consideration, as first-round interviews will be conducted in November and December. No applications will be accepted after December 31, 2023 .

The Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies (PRL-IHPS) contributes to the solution of complex and challenging health policy problems through leadership in research, training, technical assistance, and public service. Our special competence lies in translating research across disciplines and fields to inform health policy. We undertake this work with a commitment to improve health and health care within local, state, national, and international communities and with a focus on improving the health of vulnerable populations.

PRL-IHPS is the first interdisciplinary health policy research group to be part of a major health sciences campus. Established in 1972 as the Health Policy Program by Philip R. Lee, MD, with a small group of faculty members whose backgrounds were in medicine, pharmacology, ethics, and law, the Program grew rapidly. In 1981, the Board of Regents of the University of California established the Institute for Health Policy Studies as an organized research unit within the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

The Institute’s Directors have been: Philip R. Lee (1972-1993); Harold Luft, PhD (1993-2008); Claire Brindis, DrPH (2008 – 2020); Joanne Spetz, PhD (2020 – present).

PRL-IHPS collaborates closely with UCSF schools and departments, other universities, the private sector, government, and community-based organizations to address issues critical to the health of the public. Our faculty work in and often across three primary areas: Healthcare Systems, Population Health and Determinants, and Clinical Practice.