postdoc research statement sample

Search committee members are extraordinarily busy , so you must structure your statement strategically

Abstract : 10-15 lines at most. In a nutshell, what you work on and your plans for the next ten years in terms of the impact you hope to make on your field.

Ph.D work/background . What you worked on and what your work showed, demonstrated, elucidated, etc. Be very direct and to the point. Throw in anything the reader (who won’t be a specialist) will need to understand what you do.

Current postdoctoral research . Again, what you work on and what you hope to achieve. If needed, use a numbered list or bullet points.

Future Directions . I) What you hope to achieve over the next ten years; II) What you hope to achieve over the next 4-7 years; III) What you’ll tackle from the get-go(low-hanging fruits). Obviously, these are not sequential, but parallel. This section should be about 50-60% of the overall 3-5 page statement.  Once you're done, share your research statement with your faculty advisor and other colleagues for critical feedback.

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="postdoc research statement sample"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Research statement, what is a research statement.

The research statement (or statement of research interests) is a common component of academic job applications. It is a summary of your research accomplishments, current work, and future direction and potential of your work.

The statement can discuss specific issues such as:

• funding history and potential
• requirements for laboratory equipment and space and other resources
• potential research and industrial collaborations
• how your research contributes to your field
• future direction of your research

The research statement should be technical, but should be intelligible to all members of the department, including those outside your subdiscipline. So keep the “big picture” in mind. The strongest research statements present a readable, compelling, and realistic research agenda that fits well with the needs, facilities, and goals of the department.

Research statements can be weakened by:

• overly ambitious proposals
• lack of clear direction
• lack of big-picture focus
• inadequate attention to the needs and facilities of the department or position

Why a Research Statement?

• It conveys to search committees the pieces of your professional identity and charts the course of your scholarly journey.
• It communicates a sense that your research will follow logically from what you have done and that it will be different, important, and innovative.
• It gives a context for your research interests—Why does your research matter? The so what?
• It combines your achievements and current work with the proposal for upcoming research.
• areas of specialty and expertise
• potential to get funding
• academic strengths and abilities
• compatibility with the department or school
• ability to think and communicate like a serious scholar and/or scientist

Formatting of Research Statements

The goal of the research statement is to introduce yourself to a search committee, which will probably contain scientists both in and outside your field, and get them excited about your research. To encourage people to read it:

• make it one or two pages, three at most
• use informative section headings and subheadings
• use bullets
• use an easily readable font size
• make the margins a reasonable size

Organization of Research Statements

Think of the overarching theme guiding your main research subject area. Write an essay that lays out:

• The main theme(s) and why it is important and what specific skills you use to attack the problem.
• A few specific examples of problems you have already solved with success to build credibility and inform people outside your field about what you do.
• A discussion of the future direction of your research. This section should be really exciting to people both in and outside your field. Don’t sell yourself short; if you think your research could lead to answers for big important questions, say so!
• A final paragraph that gives a good overall impression of your research.

Writing Research Statements

• Avoid jargon. Make sure that you describe your research in language that many people outside your specific subject area can understand. Ask people both in and outside your field to read it before you send your application. A search committee won’t get excited about something they can’t understand.
• Write as clearly, concisely, and concretely as you can.
• Keep it at a summary level; give more detail in the job talk.
• Ask others to proofread it. Be sure there are no spelling errors.
• Convince the search committee not only that you are knowledgeable, but that you are the right person to carry out the research.
• Include information that sets you apart (e.g., publication in  Science, Nature,  or a prestigious journal in your field).
• What excites you about your research? Sound fresh.
• Include preliminary results and how to build on results.
• Point out how current faculty may become future partners.
• Acknowledge the work of others.
• Use language that shows you are an independent researcher.
• BUT focus on your research work, not yourself.
• Include potential funding partners and industrial collaborations. Be creative!
• Provide a summary of your research.
• Put in background material to give the context/relevance/significance of your research.
• List major findings, outcomes, and implications.
• Describe both current and planned (future) research.
• Communicate a sense that your research will follow logically from what you have done and that it will be unique, significant, and innovative (and easy to fund).

Describe Your Future Goals or Research Plans

• Major problem(s) you want to focus on in your research.
• The problem’s relevance and significance to the field.
• Your specific goals for the next three to five years, including potential impact and outcomes.
• If you know what a particular agency funds, you can name the agency and briefly outline a proposal.
• Give broad enough goals so that if one area doesn’t get funded, you can pursue other research goals and funding.

Identify Potential Funding Sources

• Almost every institution wants to know whether you’ll be able to get external funding for research.
• Try to provide some possible sources of funding for the research, such as NIH, NSF, foundations, private agencies.
• Mention past funding, if appropriate.

Be Realistic

There is a delicate balance between a realistic research statement where you promise to work on problems you really think you can solve and over-reaching or dabbling in too many subject areas. Select an over-arching theme for your research statement and leave miscellaneous ideas or projects out. Everyone knows that you will work on more than what you mention in this statement.

Consider Also Preparing a Longer Version

• A longer version (five–15 pages) can be brought to your interview. (Check with your advisor to see if this is necessary.)
• You may be asked to describe research plans and budget in detail at the campus interview. Be prepared.
• Include laboratory needs (how much budget you need for equipment, how many grad assistants, etc.) to start up the research.

Samples of Research Statements

To find sample research statements with content specific to your discipline, search on the internet for your discipline + “Research Statement.”

• University of Pennsylvania Sample Research Statement
• Advice on writing a Research Statement (Plan) from the journal  Science

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Graduate School Applications: Writing a Research Statement

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What is a Research Statement?

A research statement is a short document that provides a brief history of your past research experience, the current state of your research, and the future work you intend to complete.

The research statement is a common component of a potential candidate’s application for post-undergraduate study. This may include applications for graduate programs, post-doctoral fellowships, or faculty positions. The research statement is often the primary way that a committee determines if a candidate’s interests and past experience make them a good fit for their program/institution.

What Should It Look Like?

Research statements are generally one to two single-spaced pages. You should be sure to thoroughly read and follow the length and content requirements for each individual application.

Your research statement should situate your work within the larger context of your field and show how your works contributes to, complicates, or counters other work being done. It should be written for an audience of other professionals in your field.

What Should It Include?

Your statement should start by articulating the broader field that you are working within and the larger question or questions that you are interested in answering. It should then move to articulate your specific interest.

The body of your statement should include a brief history of your past research . What questions did you initially set out to answer in your research project? What did you find? How did it contribute to your field? (i.e. did it lead to academic publications, conferences, or collaborations?). How did your past research propel you forward?

It should also address your present research . What questions are you actively trying to solve? What have you found so far? How are you connecting your research to the larger academic conversation? (i.e. do you have any publications under review, upcoming conferences, or other professional engagements?) What are the larger implications of your work?

Finally, it should describe the future trajectory on which you intend to take your research. What further questions do you want to solve? How do you intend to find answers to these questions? How can the institution to which you are applying help you in that process? What are the broader implications of your potential results?

Note: Make sure that the research project that you propose can be completed at the institution to which you are applying.

Other Considerations:

• What is the primary question that you have tried to address over the course of your academic career? Why is this question important to the field? How has each stage of your work related to that question?
• Include a few specific examples that show your success. What tangible solutions have you found to the question that you were trying to answer? How have your solutions impacted the larger field? Examples can include references to published findings, conference presentations, or other professional involvement.
• Be confident about your skills and abilities. The research statement is your opportunity to sell yourself to an institution. Show that you are self-motivated and passionate about your project.

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Research statements for faculty job applications

The purpose of a research statement.

The main goal of a research statement is to walk the search committee through the evolution of your research, to highlight your research accomplishments, and to show where your research will be taking you next. To a certain extent, the next steps that you identify within your statement will also need to touch on how your research could benefit the institution to which you are applying. This might be in terms of grant money, faculty collaborations, involving students in your research, or developing new courses. Your CV will usually show a search committee where you have done your research, who your mentors have been, the titles of your various research projects, a list of your papers, and it may provide a very brief summary of what some of this research involves. However, there can be certain points of interest that a CV may not always address in enough detail.

• What got you interested in this research?
• What was the burning question that you set out to answer?
• What challenges did you encounter along the way, and how did you overcome these challenges?
• How can your research be applied?
• Why is your research important within your field?
• What direction will your research take you in next, and what new questions do you have?

While you may not have a good sense of where your research will ultimately lead you, you should have a sense of some of the possible destinations along the way. You want to be able to show a search committee that your research is moving forward and that you are moving forward along with it in terms of developing new skills and knowledge. Ultimately, your research statement should complement your cover letter, CV, and teaching philosophy to illustrate what makes you an ideal candidate for the job. The more clearly you can articulate the path your research has taken, and where it will take you in the future, the more convincing and interesting it will be to read.

Separate research statements are usually requested from researchers in engineering, social, physical, and life sciences, but can also be requested for researchers in the humanities. In many cases, however, the same information that is covered in the research statement is often integrated into the cover letter for many disciplines within the humanities and no separate research statement is requested within the job advertisement. Seek advice from current faculty and new hires about the conventions of your discipline if you are in doubt.

Timeline: Getting Started with your Research Statement

You can think of a research statement as having three distinct parts. The first part will focus on your past research, and can include the reasons you started your research, an explanation as to why the questions you originally asked are important in your field, and a summary some of the work you did to answer some of these early questions.

The middle part of the research statement focuses on your current research. How is this research different from previous work you have done, and what brought you to where you are today? You should still explain the questions you are trying to ask, and it is very important that you focus on some of the findings that you have (and cite some of the publications associated with these findings). In other words, do not talk about your research in abstract terms, make sure that you explain your actual results and findings (even if these may not be entirely complete when you are applying for faculty positions), and mention why these results are significant.

The final part of your research statement should build on the first two parts. Yes, you have asked good questions, and used good methods to find some answers, but how will you now use this foundation to take you into your future? Since you are hoping that your future will be at one of the institutions to which you are applying, you should provide some convincing reasons why your future research will be possible at each institution, and why it will be beneficial to that institution, or to the students at that institution.

While you are focusing on the past, present, and future or your research, and tailoring it to each institution, you should also think about the length of your statement and how detailed or specific you make the descriptions of your research. Think about who will be reading it. Will they all understand the jargon you are using? Are they experts in the subject, or experts in a range of related subjects? Can you go into very specific detail, or do you need to talk about your research in broader terms that make sense to people outside of your research field focusing on the common ground that might exist? Additionally, you should make sure that your future research plans differ from those of your PI or advisor, as you need to be seen as an independent researcher. Identify 4-5 specific aims that can be divided into short-term and long-term goals. You can give some idea of a 5-year research plan that includes the studies you want to perform, but also mention your long-term plans, so that the search committee knows that this is not a finite project.

Another important consideration when writing about your research is realizing that you do not perform research in a vacuum. When doing your research you may have worked within a team environment at some point, or sought out specific collaborations. You may have faced some serious challenges that required some creative problem-solving to overcome. While these aspects are not necessarily as important as your results and your papers or patents, they can help paint a picture of you as a well-rounded researcher who is likely to be successful in the future even if new problems arise, for example.

Follow these general steps to begin developing an effective research statement:

Step 1: Think about how and why you got started with your research. What motivated you to spend so much time on answering the questions you developed? If you can illustrate some of the enthusiasm you have for your subject, the search committee will likely assume that students and other faculty members will see this in you as well. People like to work with passionate and enthusiastic colleagues. Remember to focus on what you found, what questions you answered, and why your findings are significant. The research you completed in the past will have brought you to where you are today; also be sure to show how your research past and research present are connected. Explore some of the techniques and approaches you have successfully used in your research, and describe some of the challenges you overcame. What makes people interested in what you do, and how have you used your research as a tool for teaching or mentoring students? Integrating students into your research may be an important part of your future research at your target institutions. Conclude describing your current research by focusing on your findings, their importance, and what new questions they generate.

Step 2: Think about how you can tailor your research statement for each application. Familiarize yourself with the faculty at each institution, and explore the research that they have been performing. You should think about your future research in terms of the students at the institution. What opportunities can you imagine that would allow students to get involved in what you do to serve as a tool for teaching and training them, and to get them excited about your subject? Do not talk about your desire to work with graduate students if the institution only has undergraduates! You will also need to think about what equipment or resources that you might need to do your future research. Again, mention any resources that specific institutions have that you would be interested in utilizing (e.g., print materials, super electron microscopes, archived artwork). You can also mention what you hope to do with your current and future research in terms of publication (whether in journals or as a book), try to be as specific and honest as possible. Finally, be prepared to talk about how your future research can help bring in grants and other sources of funding, especially if you have a good track record of receiving awards and fellowships. Mention some grants that you know have been awarded to similar research, and state your intention to seek this type of funding.

Step 3: Ask faculty in your department if they are willing to share their own research statements with you. To a certain extent, there will be some subject-specific differences in what is expected from a research statement, and so it is always a good idea to see how others in your field have done it. You should try to draft your own research statement first before you review any statements shared with you. Your goal is to create a unique research statement that clearly highlights your abilities as a researcher.

Step 4: The research statement is typically a few (2-3) pages in length, depending on the number of images, illustrations, or graphs included.  Once you have completed the steps above, schedule an appointment with a career advisor to get feedback on your draft. You should also try to get faculty in your department to review your document if they are willing to do so.

Explore other application documents:

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• Academic Job Market

Research Statement

Research statements are a frequent component of the academic job market application portfolio and one of the more field-specific documents. In a research statement, you are explaining to the search committee your scholarly profile, research agenda, impact of your work, and how your scholarship fits into the department and institution.

While the research statement can vary widely depending on field and institution, in general, research statements:

• Are up to two pages in length
• Written as first-person narratives (e.g., "My research focuses on ..."; "I consider ...")
• Address research topic and details
• Demonstrate methodologies used, approach, techniques, etc.
• Address the impact of your work
• Speak to future research agendas
• Can address questions of diversity, equity, and inclusion

Content Considerations

While your research statement needs to specify your current research and the foundation you have developed in your doctoral program, you also need to speak to how this current work relates to a future-looking research agenda. You want to talk the search committee through the evolution of your research from current project to future pathways. Think of the statement in three parts:

• What is the current state of research and why is it important to your field?
• What immediate work (publications, grants, impact) will you get out of this research? Why is it important?
• How will you use the skills built in the first two parts to develop future projects? In what direction do you hope to grow? How is this research possible at this particular institution?

Finally, think about the reader of your research statement: a search committee that may be familiar with your field but still requires an easily legible and accessible statement. While drafting and revising, keep this reader in mind:

• Will they understand the jargon?
• Can your research be understood by colleagues outside of your adviser, committee, and immediate peers?
• What about the student population at this institution? How can they be involved and help develop your research agenda?
• What resources (equipment, access, buildings) does the institution have and how can that help with your research agenda?

You as a Peer

Of utmost importance in a research statement is that you are not talking as a graduate student. You are not proposing a dissertation or potential experiment. In the research statement, you are delineating the contours of your research so a hiring committee can determine if it is in the interest of the department to invest in your candidature. Think about the position you are applying to:

• How does your research style fit within the department?
• How does your research complement projects or programs already underway within the department?
• How would your research engage with the department’s broader interests (e.g., their teaching output or interdisciplinary perspectives)?
• How would your research benefit the institution (grants, collaborations, new courses, new projects, etc.)?

As with all application documents, make sure to have multiple eyes on the content before submitting your statement. Take advantage of the support Northwestern provides from the Graduate Writing Place, Office of Fellowships, and Northwestern Career Advancement .

Postdocs can make appointments for individualized feedback with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs .

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How to Write a Postdoc Research Proposal | Lex Academic Blog

6 December 2021

By Dr Michelle Liu (DPhil Oxon)

In an increasingly competitive job market, securing a postdoc somewhere is probably the best option many recent graduates can hope for. In the UK, where I am writing from, there are postdoc positions tied to specific research projects with restricted areas of research. There are also postdoc positions (e.g., British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships, Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships, Mind/Analysis Studentships, various JRFs at Oxford/Cambridge colleges) where areas of research are unrestricted.

Writing a postdoc research proposal is almost nothing like writing a paper for journal publication. For a start, grant referees may not be in your subject area, in which case striking the right tone and level of technicality in your proposal is important. Moreover, some of funders may care a lot more about impact than your average journal reviewers. So, it may be essential to think about whether your research project has wider applications and ramifications.

In this blog post, I will discuss what I think might be helpful for someone writing a postdoc research proposal. Given my area is philosophy, what I am offering here is perhaps more pertinent to philosophy than other subject areas (though I hope the general tips will apply across different disciplines in the Humanities). I shall mainly focus on writing research proposals where areas of specialisation are open. Of course, two successful research proposals can look quite different. So, it’s worth looking at some successful samples, if you can, before you start.

First, what topic should you propose? You should definitely propose a topic that you are already very familiar with. This could be an extension of your PhD thesis. Alternatively, it could be a new area that you have already begun to research. Not everyone can sustain a passion for one topic for 3-4 years. It’s likely that some of you started working on other topics during your PhDs. But if it’s a new area, then it should be a topic you already formed plans to write papers on – or even better, have published in. It is not an understatement to say that writing a research proposal is often a retrospective process. Sometimes, you already have a good idea of what your research outcomes will be, though the details still need filling in. You are working backwards in your proposal, guiding your grant reviewers through how one should go about investigating the topic.

A catchy title is also a good idea.

In terms of the overall structure of the proposal, I tend to think it’s helpful to have three sections: the introduction, the main body, and the outcome.

The opening paragraph is where you introduce your research topic to your (very often) non-specialist audience. Make sure you avoid jargon and write in plain English, but in an engaging way that captivates your readers. Think about why your topic is worth pursuing.  Why should anyone care? It’s worth considering how your own research compares and contrasts with the existing research on the topic. Make sure you give the impression that your project is exciting and will make a new contribution to the field.

The main body of the proposal goes into details about your aims and methodology, and exactly how you will carry out the project. The first thing to consider is timeframe. How might you divide your research time? What issues do you want to investigate for each period? For a typical three-year research fellowship in the UK, you could, for instance, divide it into three one-year periods and focus on investigating one question for each period.

I find it very helpful to frame the research plan in terms of guiding questions, with one question naturally leading to the next. Framing it in this way helps bring out your research goals and outcomes. For each question, think how you might go about answering it. What kind of literature do you want to engage with? Is there a popular view in the literature that you would like to criticise? Is there a hypothesis you want to investigate? You might have already made up your mind that you want to argue for thesis T when answering the research question you pose. But in this case, it may still be helpful to frame T as a hypothesis that you want to investigate in order to give referees a future-orienting sense of the project. In my own experience, I often find myself unsure of how to answer a specific research question that I raised. The advice I have received is that it is better to be specific and clear about what you want to argue for, even if you are not quite sure of it. Sometimes, you might have to put things in a way that sounds more confident than you actually are. It’s okay to be speculative; you don’t necessarily need to stick to your research plan. Also, I think it is better to show ‘positive’ outcomes (e.g., arguing for a new theory T) rather than ‘negative’ outcomes (e.g., arguing against theory X).

Depending on the nature of the topic, it may be appropriate to investigate it using case studies. In my own Leverhulme-funded project on polysemy, I investigate three case studies:  gender terms, sensation terms, and emotion terms. It is worth thinking about why these case studies were chosen. How are they related to each other? What overall purpose do they serve? In my own work, the three case studies were carefully chosen to encompass three different classes of words, i.e. nouns, verbs, and adjectives, from which wider philosophical implications about polysemy are to be drawn.

In the final section of the proposal, you should lay out the specific results you aim to achieve through your project as well as its wider impact. If your research is divided in several periods, think about what your output is for each period. It might be a specific paper for each period, in which case state the provisional title of the paper and the journal you are aiming to publish in. Again, this might not be what you in fact achieve if you secure the grant. It is also worth considering where you want to disseminate your research. Are there conferences that you want to attend or organise?

It is almost obligatory to include a section in the research proposal about the wider implications of the project. What significant impact does the research promise? It would be ideal if your project has wider social ramifications, such as clarifying conceptual confusions in a popular debate or resolving issues in certain clinical or policy-making contexts. If social impact is hard to find, it is still important to talk about how the project can advance debates in your field and what potential it has for applications in related research areas.

Finally, don’t forget to include references at the end as you are bound to cite research in your proposal.

Getting Feedback, etc.

There are other aspects of a postdoc application besides writing a research proposal. Some funding bodies give generous research allowances, in which case you will need to draft a budget outlining how you want to spend the money. This can involve various things from purchasing books to organising workshops or conferences. If the latter, it is important to give a breakdown of the costs. Where do you want to host the conference? How many speakers do you want to invite? How much would it cost to host each speaker? The last question depends on whether the speaker is domestic or international.

Often, you will also be asked to summarise your past and current research experience in your application. Here, you will inevitably mention your doctoral work and the papers that you have already published, that are under review, or that are in preparation. It is important to give the impression that your existing research experience naturally leads to your proposed project. Try to convey the idea that you are ideally suited to conduct the proposed project.

If your project is tied to a host institute, it is vital to explain (either in your proposal or elsewhere) the reasons for choosing a particular institution. What are its areas of expertise and how are they related to your research project? Mention members of the department whose work is relevant to yours. Also, how does your research contribute to the teaching and research in the host department?

Now that you have a draft for your research proposal, it is important to get a second opinion. In most universities, there are research offices dedicated to helping academics secure grants. Writing a grant application is a meticulous and formal process that involves peer reviews – something I was utterly unaware of when I was fresh out of my DPhil. However, graduate students or graduates who have not yet secured a university position are unlikely to have access to the expertise in the research office. In these cases, it would be wise to seek help from your supervisors as they are likely to offer useful insights.

Just as there are general tips that one can give to improve one’s chances for journal publication, I believe there are patterns that converge in successful grant applications. Like others, I am slowly figuring out both cases through experience and the helpful advice I’ve received from others over the years. Of course, it is undeniable that luck often plays a decisive role in grant success. My Leverhulme project on polysemy didn’t make it through the internal selection round at one institution, but I was lucky enough to apply at the last minute and eventually secure funding with my current institution. I hope that what I offer here may be helpful to some recent graduates, and I welcome others to share their successful experiences.

Dr  Michelle Liu is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire. Her project is titled ‘The abundance of meaning: polysemy and its applications in philosophy’. Liu completed her DPhil at the University of Oxford in 2019 and was a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire from 2019 to 2021.

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How to Prepare a Compelling Research Statement for R1 Faculty Applications

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Applications are encouraged from all qualified individuals regardless of background and identity. To apply, please complete the application on the U-M Careers site. Applicants should submit the following items in a single PDF:

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The School for Environment and Sustainability (https://seas.umich.edu/) is a collaborative and interdisciplinary school. Our mission includes contributing to the protection of environmental resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. We accomplish this by generating and sharing knowledge, contributing to policy and engaging managers and stakeholders. The University of Michigan is a top-ranked public university with excellence in research and teaching.  Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan, is a town known for arts, culture, parks and restaurants.   

SEAS is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and equitable environment that respects diverse experiences, promotes generous listening and communications, and discourages and restoratively responds to acts of discrimination, harassment, or injustice. Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is deeply rooted in our values for a sustainable and just society.

Why Work at Michigan?

In addition to a career filled with purpose and opportunity, The University of Michigan offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package to help you stay well, protect yourself and your family and plan for a secure future. Benefits include:

• Generous time off
• A retirement plan
• Many choices for comprehensive health insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term disability coverage
• Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses

Responsibilities*

• Collect and analyze soil and plant samples from working farms in southeastern Michigan for a comprehensive suite of biological, chemical, and physical properties.
• Lead field work and interviews with diverse groups of farmers and use the interview data to quantify nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency.
• Analyze data, help mentor graduate and undergraduate students, and contribute to writing of journal articles. 
• Engage with farmers and other agricultural stakeholders through participation in field days and roundtable discussions. 

Required Qualifications*

• Ph.D. in ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry, soil and crop sciences, agroecology, or a related field.
• Experience in field and laboratory techniques to analyze carbon, nitrogen, and/or phosphorus pools in plants and soils. 
• Proficiency with data analysis and coding in R or another statistical program.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

Applications will be reviewed as received throughout the posting period and continue until the position is filled.

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The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

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Requisition # 4227, position basics, position details, online application required documents, contact information.

The University of Iowa is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment free from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. The University also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to University facilities. Women and Minorities are encouraged to apply for all employment vacancies. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact the Coordinator of Title IX and Section 504, and the ADA in The Office of Institutional Equity , 319/335-0705 (voice) or 319/335-0697 (text), The University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242-1316.

Persons with disabilities may contact University Human Resources/Faculty and Staff Disability Services, (319) 335-2660 or [email protected] , to inquire or discuss accommodation needs.

Prospective employees may review the University Campus Security Policy and the latest annual crime statistics by contacting the Department of Public Safety at 319/335-5022.

College of Engineering

This modified stainless steel could kill bacteria without antibiotics or chemicals.

Researchers etch nano-sized textures and add copper ions to create a naturally antibacterial material for hospitals and other shared settings.

Postdoctoral scholar Anuja Tripathi examines a small sample of stainless steel after an electrochemical etching process she designed to create nano-scale needle-like structures on its surface. A second process deposits copper ions on the surface to create a dual antibacterial material.

An electrochemical process developed at Georgia Tech could offer new protection against bacterial infections without contributing to growing antibiotic resistance.

The approach capitalizes on the natural antibacterial properties of copper and creates incredibly small needle-like structures on the surface of stainless steel to kill harmful bacteria like E. coli and Staphylococcus. It’s convenient and inexpensive, and it could reduce the need for chemicals and antibiotics in hospitals, kitchens, and other settings where surface contamination can lead to serious illness.

It also could save lives: A global study of drug-resistant infections found they directly killed 1.27 million people in 2019 and contributed to nearly 5 million other deaths — making these infections one of the leading causes of death for every age group.

Researchers described the copper-stainless steel and its effectiveness May 20 in the journal Small .

“Killing Gram-positive bacteria without chemicals is comparatively easy but tackling Gram-negative bacteria poses a significant challenge, due to their thick, multilayered cell membrane. And if these bacteria persist on surfaces, they can grow rapidly,” said Anuja Tripathi, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral scholar in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering . “I aimed to develop an antibiotic-free bactericidal surface effective against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.”

Tripathi and her colleagues — William R. McLain Professor Julie Champion and former Ph.D. students Jaeyoung Park and Thomas Pho — produced a one-two punch that overcomes those challenges and doesn’t help bacteria develop resistance to drugs.

The team first developed an electrochemical method to etch the surface of stainless steel, creating nano-sized needle-like structures on the surface that can puncture bacteria’s cell membranes. Then, with a second electrochemical process, the researchers deposited copper ions on the steel’s surface.

Copper interacts with the cell membranes and ultimately compromises them.

“The nanotextured stainless steel can kill both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, but we wanted to enhance the antibacterial activity for surfaces that can be highly contaminated,” Tripathi said. “The copper coating on the nanotextured stainless steel gave us very high antibacterial activity.”

During the Tripathi's electrochemical process, current and an acid electrolyte etch nano-sized needle-like structures on the surface of stainless steel. The structures are able to destroy bacterial cells.

These four samples of stainless steel show the different stages of Tripathi's process. At left, an unmodified sample at the top and a sample after the electrochemical etching process at the bottom. On the right, two samples after copper ion deposition — four minutes for the top piece and 15 minutes for the bottom piece.

Despite copper’s known antibacterial properties, it’s not widely used to fight surface contamination because it’s expensive. Tripathi’s approach deposits only a thin layer of copper ions on the stainless steel, so it’s cost-effective without compromising the material’s antibacterial activity.

Together, the dual attacks resulted in 97% reduction of Gram-negative E. coli and 99% reduction in Gram-positive Staphylococcus epidermis bacteria in the group’s study.

Tripathi said the stainless steel could be used for common tools in medical settings that are easily fouled, such as scissors or tweezers. It could be used for door handles, stair railings, and perhaps even sinks — places where stainless steel is often the material of choice and surface bacteria are common, especially in hospitals or other shared settings.

The process she and her colleagues developed also could be useful in food service. Tripathi said the approach could be fairly easily incorporated into existing industrial processes, where different electrochemical coating methods already are used for stainless steel food storage containers.

Tripathi said future work will investigate if the copper-coated, nanotextured stainless steel is effective against other kinds of cells harmful to human health. She’s also interested in exploring whether the steel could be used for medical implants to help ward off infections.

Since it proved effective against troublesome E. coli, she’s hopeful.

“Reflecting on a recent E. coli outbreak in grocery stores in Calgary, Canada, I was particularly driven in my research, recognizing the urgent relevance and significance of combating such resilient bacteria on surfaces,” Tripathi said. “They can be difficult to eliminate.  So, if we can effectively eliminate E. coli, we stand a good chance of eradicating many bacteria on surfaces.”

Atomic force microscope images show a stainless steel sample before electrochemical etching (top) and after the process (bottom). Tripathi's process creates needle-like protrusions at the nanometer scale that are capable of killing bacteria cells. (Images Courtesy: Anuja Tripathi) 

About the Research

This research was supported by the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship at Georgia Tech and performed in part at the Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure supported by the National Science Foundation, grant No. ECCS-2025462. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any funding agency.

Citation: A. Tripathi, J. Park, T. Pho, J. A. Champion, Dual Antibacterial Properties of Copper-Coated Nanotextured Stainless Steel. Small 2024, 2311546. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202311546

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Key searches, fluoride exposure during pregnancy linked to increased risk of childhood neurobehavioral problems, study finds.

Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC conducted the first U.S.-based study examining the link between prenatal fluoride and childhood social, emotional and behavioral functioning.

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Nearly three-quarters of the United States population receives drinking water that contains fluoride, a practice that began in 1945 to help prevent tooth decay. But recent studies suggest that fluoride exposure can cause harm to a fetus if consumed during pregnancy, a critical period for brain development.

A new study, led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, analyzed more than 220 mother-child pairs, collecting data on fluoride levels during pregnancy and child behavior at age three. The researchers found that a 0.68 milligram per liter increase in fluoride exposure was associated with nearly double the chance of a child showing neurobehavioral problems in a range considered close to or at a level to meet the criteria for clinical diagnosis.

The findings were just published in JAMA Network Open.

“Women with higher fluoride exposure levels in their bodies during pregnancy tended to rate their 3-year-old children higher on overall neurobehavioral problems and internalizing symptoms, including emotional reactivity, anxiety and somatic complaints,” said Tracy Bastain, PhD , an associate professor of clinical population and public health sciences and senior author of the study.

These population-level findings add to existing evidence from animal studies showing that fluoride can harm neurodevelopment, as well as data from studies conducted in Canada, Mexico and other countries showing that prenatal exposure to fluoride is linked with a lower IQ in early childhood. The researchers hope the new findings help convey the risks of fluoride consumption during pregnancy to policymakers, health care providers and the public.

“This is the first U.S.-based study to examine this association. Our findings are noteworthy, given that the women in this study were exposed to pretty low levels of fluoride—levels that are typical of those living in fluoridated regions within North America,” said Ashley Malin, PhD, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida’s College of Public Health and Health Professions and College of Medicine and lead author of the present study. Malin conducted the research in part as a postdoctoral scholar at the Keck School of Medicine.

Tracking emotions and behavior  

Data for the study came from the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social stressors (MADRES) Center for Environmental Health Disparities at the Keck School of Medicine. MADRES follows predominantly Hispanic families in Los Angeles from pregnancy throughout childhood.

“The overall goal of MADRES is reducing the effects of environmental contaminants on the health and well-being of marginalized communities,” said Bastain, who co-directs MADRES.

The researchers analyzed 229 mother-child pairs, calculating fluoride exposure from urine samples collected during the third trimester of pregnancy. Most urine samples were collected from fasting women, which improves the accuracy of chemical testing. Children were then assessed at age three using the Preschool Child Behavior Checklist, which uses parent reports to measure a child’s social and emotional functioning.

Children exposed to an additional 0.68 milligrams per liter of fluoride in the womb were 1.83 times more likely to show behavioral problems considered to be clinically significant or borderline clinically significant. Specifically, children exposed to more fluoride had more problems with emotional reactivity, somatic complaints (such as headaches and stomachaches), anxiety and symptoms linked to autism.

No association was found with several other neurobehavioral symptoms, including “externalizing behaviors” such as aggression and attention problems.

Impact on the U.S. population  

Currently, no official recommendations exist for limiting fluoride consumption during pregnancy, but the researchers hope these findings can help stimulate change.

“There are no known benefits to the fetus from ingesting fluoride,” Malin said. “And yet now we have several studies conducted in North America suggesting that there may be a pretty significant risk to the developing brain during that time.”

Next, the research team will explore how exposure to fluoride during pregnancy may impact brain development among infants in the MADRES study. Additional studies in other regions of the country can also help determine the extent of the problem and the best way forward, Bastain said.

“While this is the first U.S.-based study of fluoride exposure during pregnancy, more studies are urgently needed to understand and mitigate the impacts in the entire U.S. population,” she said.

About this research

In addition to Malin and Bastain, the study’s other authors are Sandrah Eckel, Howard Hu, Ixel Hernandez-Castro, Tingyu Yang, Shohreh Farzan, Rima Habre and Carrie Breton from the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC; and E. Angeles Martinez-Mier from the School of Dentistry, Indiana University.

This work was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [R00ES031676, ES030400, 50MD015705, P50ES026086, R01ES021446] and the Environmental Protection Agency [83615801–0].

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Celebrating the Yale MD Class of 2024

Md class of 2024 commencement, commencement speaker francis collins, md, phd.

“You’re a bulldog doc who hails from Yale.” Commencement speaker — and surprise singer — Francis Collins, MD, PhD, National Institutes of Health (NIH) distinguished investigator in the Center for Precision Health Research, and former director of NIH, sang these words at the end of his address to the 103 MD graduates of the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) Class of 2024.

Borrowing a guitar from a student performer and singing to the tune of Simon & Garfunkel’s "The Sound of Silence," Collins drew loud applause and a standing ovation for his creative song, which began with the 2020 COVID-centric world — “Hello Fauci my old friend, I see you’re on the news again,” — and ended with a verse focused on 2024, which he told the graduates “is all about you.”

The song was a highlight of the celebratory, yet reflective, ceremony, for a class whose medical school experience was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and polarizing societal issues —some affecting patient care. The responsibility of physicians, and addressing polarization more generally, were themes throughout the ceremony.

Therefore, let us rejoice

In their invocation, Class Presidents John Lyon Havlik, MD, MBA, and Ragini Luthra Vaidya, MD, MBA, recited and reflected on several passages from a poem the class had read during first-year orientation and again in the fourth-year capstone course: John Stone’s Gaudeamus Igatur , which means “Therefore, let us rejoice.” (Stone was a poet and cardiologist at Emory University.)

“For this is the day you know too little against the day when you will know too much For you will be invincible and vulnerable in the same breath which is the breath of your patients”

After reading this verse, Havlik and Vaidya noted the knowledge gained during medical school as evidenced through qualifiers, clerkships, and taking the United States Medical Licensing Exam, “and yet,” they said, “we each can admit we know a fraction of what we would want to, in order to become the physicians we aspire to be. There are the further unknowns of what medicine itself will look like, with the basic practice of medicine under attack in many states.” The co-presidents continued, “But this lifetime of learning, adapting, and questioning are what the Yale System , with all its freedoms and challenges, has been preparing us for. We have faith that each of you will continue to pursue endless knowledge, with compassion and humility, in the service of your patients’ well-being.”

"You give us hope in the future"

In her welcome and reflections, Nancy J. Brown, MD, Jean and David W. Wallace Dean and C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine, noted how many members of the class began in August 2020, when most classes were virtual and university COVID guidelines limited gatherings to no more than 10 people. “Over the last four years,” she said, “you have overcome the constraints imposed by COVID to become physicians. You have also wrestled with the role of physicians in society, in combatting racism of all forms, considering the rights of women and the medical ethics of abortion, creating a community that is inclusive and fair, and struggling with the tension between deeply held personal beliefs and your professional responsibility to care for all.”

Praising the graduates, she said, “You have taught us how to listen, and to hear what is behind the words. You have also learned to think critically and to probe deeply, to ask tough questions, understanding that the simplest answers are not always the correct answers. Only through an agnostic approach, open to all possibilities, will we solve the problems of medicine and humanity. This is the rationale behind the Yale System.”

Looking ahead, she continued, “You have demonstrated time and time again that it is possible to disagree passionately while caring for the individuals with whom you disagree. In so doing, you have set an example, and you give us hope in the future.”

In introducing Collins as Commencement speaker, Brown stated that “his visionary guidance and unwavering commitment to collaboration were instrumental” in the historic achievement of the Human Genome Project — an international endeavor to map and sequence the entirety of the human genome. Brown also noted that Collins’s 12 years as director of NIH — spanning three presidencies — made him its longest-serving director.

Commitment to objective truth

In his remarks, Collins recounted a research project he worked on during his fellowship at Yale. After months of hard work, he conducted the definitive experiment and “it was a complete and utter disaster.” Collins was “utterly devastated” and thought he should leave the program. However, to his surprise, neither his mentor nor the department chair “seemed at all rattled by this.” In fact, his chair told him how his own first research project “totally bombed out, how he learned a lot from that, and how it made him a better scientist for the rest of his career.” Collins’s advice to the graduates: "Failure is an inescapable part of being a physician and a scientist. Don’t fear it. Learn from it.”

Turning to his unexpected path leading the Human Genome Project and directing NIH, he advised the graduates, “Your life trajectory is likely to be very different than you expect today. Watch for those doors that open that you didn’t expect. Don’t be shocked when others close. Stay flexible.”

After describing the intense work and expansive collaboration that led to the remarkable scientific achievement of quickly developing highly effective vaccines for COVID-19, Collins said it initially “seemed like science had triumphed.” However, by the summer of 2021, large numbers of Americans were not getting vaccinated because of rumors and conspiracy theories about the vaccine. It is estimated that between June 2021 and April 2022, when vaccines were free and widely available, 234,000 unvaccinated Americans lost their lives. “These were deaths from science misinformation. I know of no other way to say it: our culture wars killed hundreds of thousands of Americans,” said Collins.

A wake-up call

Calling this “a wake-up call of the loudest sort,” Collins said, “These were good, honorable people who for a multitude of reasons lost trust in the scientific process.” Collins cautioned, “The consequences of this growing distrust of all institutions, including science and medicine, are truly serious for our nation, and for our world” — pointing, for example, to its impact on preparing for the next pandemic and addressing climate change.

Collins doubts the solution to the divisions and distrust will come from political leaders, since politics are so polarized. Rather, he said, “it is actually up to each one of us.” Collins challenged everyone “to a commitment to re-anchor ourselves to objective truth,” adding “there really is objective truth and there really are no alternative facts.” He urged the graduates to “have the courage to reach out to friends and family with different views to listen, really listen, and understand.”

More optimistically, Collins told the graduates that while we must address the inequities that riddle our health care system, “medical research, whether in development of vaccines, cures for rare diseases, neuroscience, or implementation of precision medicine for prevention and treatment of common disease, is at an exponential phase of rapid progress. Breakthroughs are all around us. For those of you with an interest in research, being part of this will be a fantastic adventure.”

Joint degrees & teaching awards

Thirty-five percent of the graduates received joint degrees, including twenty receiving MD-PhD degrees, nine MD-MHS degrees, and seven MD-MBA degrees, as well as four receiving a Certificate in Global Medicine that accompanies their MD degree. The Commencement ceremony also included the traditional bestowal of teaching awards. See the awardees and statements of praise from those who nominated them here .

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• Nancy J. Brown, MD Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of the Yale School of Medicine and C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine
• John Havlik
• Ragini Luthra

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Quantification supports amyloid-PET visual assessment of challenging cases: results from the AMYPAD-DPMS study

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Several studies have demonstrated the high agreement between routine clinical visual assessment and quantification, suggesting that quantification approaches could support the assessment of less experienced readers and/or in challenging cases. However, all studies to date have implemented a retrospective case collection and challenging cases were generally underrepresented.

Methods In this prospective study, we included all participants ( N =741) from the AMYPAD Diagnostic and Patient Management Study (DPMS) with available baseline amyloid-PET quantification. Quantification was done with the PET-only AmyPype pipeline, providing global Centiloid (CL) and regional z-scores. Visual assessment was performed by local readers for the entire cohort. From the total cohort, we selected a subsample of 85 cases 1) for which the amyloid status based on the local reader’s visual assessment and CL classification (cut-off=21) was discordant and/or 2) that were assessed with a low confidence (i.e. ≤3 on a 5-point scale) by the local reader. In addition, concordant negative ( N =8) and positive ( N =8) scans across tracers were selected. In this sample, ( N =101 cases: ([ 18 F]flutemetamol, N =48; [ 18 F]florbetaben, N =53) the visual assessments and corresponding confidence by 5 certified independent central readers were captured before and after disclosure of the quantification results.

Results For the AMYPAD-DPMS whole cohort, the overall assessment of local readers highly agreed with CL status (κ=0.85, 92.3% agreement). This was consistently observed within disease stages (SCD+: κ=0.82/92.3%; MCI: κ=0.80/89.8%; dementia: κ=0.87/94.6%). Across all central reader assessments in the challenging subsample, global CL and regional z-scores quantification were considered supportive of visual read in 70.3% and 49.3% of assessments, respectively. After disclosure of quantitative results, we observed an improvement in concordance between the 5 readers (κ baseline =0.65/65.3%; κ post-disclosure =0.74/73.3%) and a significant increase in reader confidence ( M baseline =4.0 vs. M post-disclosure =4.34, W =101056, p <0.001).

Conclusion In this prospective study enriched for challenging amyloid-PET cases, we demonstrate the value of quantification to support visual assessment. After disclosure, both inter-reader agreement and confidence showed a significant improvement. These results are important considering the arrival of anti-amyloid therapies, which utilized the Centiloid metric for trial inclusion and target-engagement. Moreover, quantification could support determining Aβ status with high certainty, an important factor for treatment initiation.

Competing Interest Statement

DISCLOSURES DA, IB, DVG, ILA, AP, and GBF report no relevant disclosures. LEC has received research support from GE Healthcare and Springer Healthcare (funded by Eli Lilly), both paid to institution. Dr. Collij s salary is supported by the MSCA postdoctoral fellowship research grant (#101108819) and the Alzheimer Association Research Fellowship (AARF) grant (#23AARF-1029663). GNB is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Project ID 431549029 - SFB 1451 and partially by DFG, DR 445/9 1. MB is employed by GE HealthCare. RW is employed by IXICO ltd. RG is employed by Life Molecular Imaging AWS is employed by Life Molecular Imaging ZW has received research support from GE Healthcare. PS is employed by EQT Life Sciences team. AN has received consulting fee from H Lundbeck AB, AVVA pharmaceuticals and honoraria for lecture from Hoffman La Roche. JDG has received research support from GE HealthCare, Roche Diagnostics and Hoffmann La Roche, speaker/consulting fees from Roche Diagnostics, Esteve, Philips Nederlands, Biogen and Life Molecular Imaging and serves in the Molecular Neuroimaging Advisory Board of Prothena Biosciences. AD has received research support from: Siemens Healthineers, Life Molecular Imaging, GE Healthcare, AVID Radiopharmaceuticals, Sofie, Eisai, Novartis/AAA, Ariceum Therapeutics, speaker Honorary/Advisory Boards: Siemens Healthineers, Sanofi, GE Healthcare, Biogen, Novo Nordisk, Invicro, Novartis/AAA, Bayer Vital, Lilly Stock: Siemens Healthineers, Lantheus Holding, Structured therapeutics, Lilly. Patents: Patent for 18F JK PSMA 7 (Patent No.: EP3765097A1; Date of patent: Jan. 20, 2021). SM received speaker honoraria from GE Healthcare, Eli Lilly and Life Molecular Imaging. CB is employed by GE HealthCare. VG is supported by the Swiss national science foundation (project n.320030_185028 and 320030_169876), the Aetas Foundation, the Schmidheiny Foundation, the Velux Foundation, the Fondation privee des HUG. She received support for research and speakers fees from Siemens Healthineers, GE HealthCare, Janssen, Novo Nordisk, all paid to institution. GF is employed by GE HealthCare. FB is supported by the NIHR biomedical research centre at UCLH. Steering committee or Data Safety Monitoring Board member for Biogen, Merck, Eisai and Prothena. Advisory board member for Combinostics, Scottish Brain Sciences. Consultant for Roche, Celltrion, Rewind Therapeutics, Merck, Bracco. Research agreements with ADDI, Merck, Biogen, GE Healthcare, Roche. Co-founder and shareholder of Queen Square Analytics LTD.

Funding Statement

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The project leading to this paper has also received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 115952. This Joint Undertaking receives the support from the European Union s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA. This communication reflects the views of the authors and neither IMI nor the European Union and EFPIA are liable for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

All participants gave written informed consent. The trial was registered with EudraCT (2017-002527-21). The study was approved by the CCER (Commission Cantonale d Ethique de la Recherche) in Geneva Switzerland (#2017-01408).

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Data Availability

Data is available upon request through the ADDI platform

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