Guarini Dean's Postdoctoral Fellowship - Climate Resilience, Health Systems, and Quantitative Modeling

Dartmouth College invites applications for the Guarini Dean's Postdoctoral Fellowship jointly hosted by

• The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice (TDI)
• The Irving Institute for Energy & Society
• Dartmouth Cancer Center / Department of Radiation Oncology

This fellowship supports early-career scholars whose work advances climate resilience, health-system preparedness, operations modeling, and quantitative approaches to energy-health intersections.

The PROF Program aims to expand the pipeline to the professoriate by preparing early-career scholars for long-term success in academia. Fellows join a multidisciplinary cohort committed to increasing inclusive access in their disciplines and in higher education through research, teaching, and community engagement.

Research Focus and Opportunity

This two-year fellowship advances scholarship at the intersection of:

• Climate resilience & health systems
• Quantitative operations research and optimization
• Systems engineering, energy transitions & energy justice
• Health services research and implementation science
• Environmental health & population health
• Computational modeling, simulation, and data-driven decision-making

The fellow will contribute to Dartmouth's institutional priorities in Cold Climate Resilience (President Beilock) and interdisciplinary climate-health initiatives across TDI, Geisel, and the Irving Institute. Core activities include:

1. Climate-Hazard Vulnerability Assessment. A quantitative assessment of climate-related risks (e.g., heat, storms, wildfire smoke, grid instability, energy disruptions) across Dartmouth Health hospitals and clinics.
2. Healthcare & Energy Climate Resilience Toolkit. Development of optimization-based or modeling-driven decision tools for hospital and cancer-care resilience-especially in northern, cold-climate, and rural regions.
3. Interdisciplinary Quantitative Modeling Applicants may pursue independent research aligned with their disciplinary training and scholarly interests, such as:

• Mathematical modeling & simulation
• Optimization of clinical pathways or resilience strategies
• Energy systems modeling applied to healthcare
• Quantitative environmental epidemiology
• Operations management & decision science
• Machine learning, data science, or computational modeling
• Stochastic modeling of climate-health disruptions
• Systems engineering approaches to resilience design

Fellows will be expected to contribute their quantitative expertise toward developing modeling, optimization, or analytical approaches that strengthen climate-health resilience and health-system preparedness at Dartmouth and in northern, cold-climate regions.

4. Trainee-directed Scholarship. Fellows retain protected time for their research agenda and publications, supporting career advancement and strong positioning in the academic job market. Fellows will be encouraged to develop independent lines of scholarship suitable for NIH K-award, NSF CAREER, or equivalent early-career pathways.

Mentorship Environment

Primary co-mentors:

Amber Barnato, MD, MPH, MS
Director, TDI; Professor of Medicine
Expertise: health-care delivery, implementation science, equity, pragmatic trials

Katie Lichter, MD, MPH Assistant Professor, Radiation Oncology & Health Policy Director, Division of Sustainable & Resilient Cancer Care
Expertise: climate-health, environmental sustainability, health systems, oncology

Additional mentorship from Irving Institute faculty (e.g., operations research, systems engineering, energy modeling), the COBRE Implementation Research Core, and Dartmouth Engineering as appropriate for the fellow's disciplinary background. Fellows will participate in TDI research-in-progress seminars, Irving Institute seminars, PROF cohort programming, and other opportunities as they are interested (e.g., Cancer Center grand rounds).

Fellows may have opportunities to mentor graduate or undergraduate students, depending on interest.

Teaching Requirement

Fellows teach one course in the second year, typically a special topics course aligned with their expertise (e.g., climate-health modeling, operations research for health resilience, energy systems, implementation science, or environmental health). TDI and the Irving Institute will support curriculum design and integration into graduate programs.

Required:

• PhD, ScD, DrPH, MD/PhD, or equivalent terminal degree in a relevant field.
• Demonstrated training in quantitative, computational, or applied methods.

Preferred:

• Experience with optimization, operations research, modeling, statistical, or computational methods.
• Experience or strong interest in climate-health, energy transitions, environmental health, or health-systems resilience.
• Interest in academic career pathways and inclusive access in STEM, public health, or health-systems science.

We actively welcome applicants from a broad range of quantitative and interdisciplinary fields, including (but not limited to):

• Operations Research
• Implementation Science / Public Health / Health Services Research
• Mathematical Modeling / Applied Mathematics
• Quantitative Economics / Econometrics
• Industrial or Systems Engineering
• Operations Management & Decision Sciences

Applicants must upload the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae (including contact information for three references).
2. Research Statement (max 2 pages): Completed research & dissertation, Current projects, Future directions & publication plans
3. Teaching Statement (max 1 page).
4. Fellowship Statement (see prompt below).
5. One writing sample (published or unpublished).
6. Two to three confidential letters of recommendation, including one from the dissertation advisor.

Fellowship Statement

Please upload a 1-2 page Fellowship Statement describing:

1. Why you seek to join Dartmouth's Provost's Fellowship (PROF) cohort, and how you will both contribute to and benefit from a multidisciplinary community of early-career scholars.
2. How your research, teaching, service, or lived experiences reflect a commitment to increasing inclusive access in your discipline and in higher education. Examples may include supporting diverse trainees, expanding access to scientific or policy tools, community-engaged research, mentoring, broadening participation in quantitative or computational fields, or designing equitable systems.
3. How your disciplinary expertise (e.g., optimization, operations research, systems engineering, environmental health, energy modeling, HSR, computational science, etc.) connects to climate resilience or health-systems challenges, and what you envision accomplishing during the fellowship.

This statement is a core component of the selection process.

Review of applications will begin February 16, 2026, and continue until the position is filled.

Appointment Details

• Two-year residential fellowship
• Expected start date: July 1-Sept 1, 2026
• Annual stipend: The annual stipend follows NIH NRSA postdoctoral minimums, with Dartmouth permitted to offer up to 10% above these levels. Based on projected FY2026 NRSA guidance, the expected salary range is approximately $67,000-$75,000, depending on training stage.
• $5,000 research fund and $2,500 moving allowance
• Must reside at Dartmouth and participate in the PROF cohort
• Teach one course in Year 2
• International applicants are welcome to apply; U.S. citizenship is not required