Research Assistant Professor, Non-Pharmacologic and Integrative Approaches to Acute Pain in Emergency Care

Job Description

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Job Title:
Research Assistant Professor, Non-Pharmacologic and Integrative Approaches to Acute Pain in Emergency Care
Department:
Medicine | Emergency Medicine
The Ohio State University College of Medicine and the Wexner Medical Center seek a research faculty member to join the Department of Emergency Medicine at the rank of Research Assistant Professor. The position sits within Population Health and Health Services (HealthNow), the department's emergency department (ED) based population health research program, and focuses on non-pharmacologic and integrative approaches to acute pain in emergency care.
Position Overview
Research Assistant Professor, Non-Pharmacologic and Integrative Approaches to Acute Pain in Emergency Care. The Research Assistant Professor will develop and lead a line of research on complementary, integrative, and non-pharmacologic interventions for patients treated in the ED, with a primary focus on acute pain. Pain is the most common reason people come to an ED, and treatment still depends on a small set of medications, several of which carry risk of misuse. Approaches such as mindfulness-based interventions and virtual reality have a growing evidence base in outpatient and chronic pain settings, but much less is known about whether they can be delivered during an ED visit, which patients will engage with them, and how to measure that engagement in a short and often interrupted encounter.
The successful candidate will work across emergency care, pain research, behavioral intervention, and implementation science. The position is embedded in an established ED research infrastructure that has run federally funded recruitment, enrollment, and longitudinal follow-up in this department for years, including an NIH/NINDS-funded prospective cohort study of acute pain (MODEL-pain). The candidate will be expected to build a program of research that complements the department's existing work on acute pain and opioid decision-making while remaining scientifically distinct from it.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Research Assistant Professor will design and lead clinical studies of non-pharmacologic pain interventions in the ED. This includes intervention development and adaptation for the ED setting, feasibility and pilot testing, and the development and psychometric evaluation of ED-specific measures. They will prepare and submit competitive extramural grant applications, including NIH career development (K) and research project (R-series) awards, and will manage funded projects in line with sponsor and institutional requirements. They are expected to publish in peer-reviewed journals and present at national and international meetings. The role also includes contributing scientific expertise to ongoing departmental studies of acute pain, such as study design, data analysis, regulatory submissions, and first-author manuscript leadership.
The position involves mentoring and supervising students, trainees, and research staff, and working with collaborators in the Department of Emergency Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, and the OSU Center for Integrative Health. Service responsibilities include participation on departmental and institutional committees, teaching, and clinical implementation related to the program of research.
Requirements
Education and Training:
PhD or other research doctorate in public health, behavioral science, health services research, nursing, psychology, or a related field.
Postdoctoral research training in emergency care, pain, behavioral intervention, or population health research.
MPH or equivalent graduate training in epidemiology and biostatistics is preferred.
Experience:
Demonstrated experience developing and testing mindfulness-based or other behavioral or integrative health interventions, including pilot or randomized controlled trial designs.
Experience conducting clinical research with patients in the ED or other acute care settings, including recruitment, enrollment, and follow-up.
Experience with non-pharmacologic approaches to pain, including digitally delivered interventions (for example, tablet-based or virtual reality delivery).
Experience working on NIH-funded research and evidence of progress toward independent funding, such as a submitted or in-preparation career development award.
Experience mentoring or supervising students and research staff.
Evidence of effective collaboration on interdisciplinary research teams.
Methods and Technical Skills:
Qualitative and mixed methods, including focus groups, individual interviews, and thematic analysis.
Instrument development and psychometric evaluation.
Quantitative analysis of trial and observational data using standard statistical software (for example, Stata, R, or SAS).
Familiarity with feasibility, acceptability, and implementation outcome frameworks such as RE-AIM.
Working knowledge of human subjects protections, IRB submissions, and good clinical practice.
Scholarly Achievements:
A record of peer-reviewed publications in emergency medicine, pain, integrative health, behavioral medicine, or public health, including first-author work.
Presentation of research findings at national or international conferences.
Experience in scientific writing, including grant applications, research protocols, and manuscripts.
Leadership and Communication:
Ability to lead study teams and manage research projects in a busy clinical environment.
Strong written and verbal communication skills for scientific writing, presentations, and teaching.
Additional Requirements:
Commitment to translating research findings into emergency care practice, with attention to patients who face barriers to accessing care.
Department Description
The Department of Emergency Medicine is one of the oldest academic departments of emergency medicine in the country, founded in 1990 with Dr. Douglas Rund as the inaugural chair. Through 2016, we have had 286 graduates of our residency program, now practicing across the country. Research is a core mission of the Department of Emergency Medicine with investigator support from multiple NIH and industry grants spanning clinical, basic science and translational research realms. We are a growing, vibrant department composed of dedicated and accomplished faculty, bright energetic residents and fellows and a supportive administrative team.
Faculty Defined
Clinical faculty (regardless of rank)
- Persons with titles of assistant professor-clinical, associate professor-clinical and professor-clinical. These faculty will have earned a Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), doctorate (PhD) or other terminal degree in the relevant field. Clinical faculty members are not eligible for tenure and are appointed for terms of three to five years. They may be reappointed to successive terms. Their principal career focus is the delivery of exemplary clinical care, and may include teaching, and/or research.
Tenure-Track faculty (regardless of rank
) - Persons with the titles of assistant professor, associate professor, or professor who are eligible for tenure or who have obtained tenure. These faculty will have earned a doctorate (PhD), Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) or other terminal degree in the relevant field of study. Their primary career focus centers on research, service, and teaching. Tenure-track faculty with MD, DO or MD/PhD degrees may also be involved in clinical care.
Research Faculty (regardless of rank)
- Persons with the titles of research assistant professor, research associate professor, or research professor. These faculty will have earned a doctorate (PhD) or other terminal degree in the relevant field of study. Research faculty members are not eligible for tenure and are appointed for terms of one to five years. Their principal career focus is research.
The Ohio State University College of Medicine

The Ohio State University College of Medicine, with more than 5,000 learners, is the only academic medical center in central Ohio. Recognized as a Tier 1 school for research in the 2025-2026 U.S. News & World Report "Best Medical Schools" list, it ranks among the top 16 medical schools for research in the nation. It also remains in Tier 2 for primary care, further demonstrating its strength across the academic spectrum. Known for its innovative curriculum, cutting-edge research, and excellence in clinical care through The Ohio State University Wexner