Post-Doctoral Fellow

Job Summary:

The Mitchell Lab at the University of Colorado Denver l Anschutz Medical Campus welcomes applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow.

The Mitchell Lab focuses on advancing human-centered design and AI-driven systems to improve healthcare decision-making and information delivery. Our research includes clinical decision support, user interface design, and the use of language technologies, with a strong emphasis on deployment in real-world clinical environments. We study how clinicians interact with technology and develop tools that are practical, intuitive, and aligned with clinical needs. By combining methods from human-computer interaction, clinical informatics, and artificial intelligence, we aim to create systems that enhance reasoning, surface relevant information at the bedside, and support communication across care teams. We welcome individuals who are motivated to conduct interdisciplinary research that leads to meaningful improvements in health outcomes.

Responsibilities include contributing to the ideation and design of new studies, assisting data cleaning and preparation, and supporting the development of scientific communications such as abstracts, conference presentations, manuscripts, and grant proposals. Projects in the Mitchell Lab focus on transforming healthcare through human-centered AI systems, with an emphasis on enhancing clinical decision-making, improving information delivery, and supporting feedback processes in real-world care settings.

The postdoc and PI will jointly envision projects tailored to the fellow’s skillset and long-term career goals. Postdocs will be expected to carry out computational research, analyze data, and disseminate their findings, software, and data to the research community. The postdoc will also join a highly interactive, supportive, and interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff scientists, postdoctoral fellows, engineers, and students in Department for Biomedical Informatics. They will enjoy access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities on the Anschutz Medical Campus and across the University of Colorado system.

The Department of Biomedical Informatics fosters a thriving community of researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who are inventing and deploying advanced analytics and knowledge integration approaches. The goal of building this community is to make the Anschutz Medical Campus a leader in translating data into advances in research practice, health care delivery, and population health and in scaling these to provide nationwide benefit through innovative technologies.  

Key Responsibilities:

Research (65%)

• Investigate literature to identify existing solutions and the problem.
• Lead user studies or clinician interviews.
• Design and conduct experiments to test hypotheses.
• Analyze and interpret results, present research progress to meetings with PIs, and publish results to peer-reviewed manuscripts in conference proceedings and journals.
• Assist PI with grant writing.
• Contribute to the design of interactive tools or interfaces.
• Collaborate with external research partners and clinical stakeholders, coordinating data sharing, study planning, and integration of feedback into system design.

Communication (15%)

• Present research progress at lab meeting and project meetings with collaborators
• Prepare abstract/manuscripts for journal and conference paper submission, present at the local and international conferences.

Mentoring and collaboration (10%)

• Mentor and train other group members, such as graduate and undergraduate students.
• Pursue computational, experimental, and clinical collaborations.

Career development (5%)

• Work with the PI to develop and progress the candidate’s career goals.
• Attend career development seminars and networking events.

Administrative Duties (5%)

• Complete required research training.
• Perform general administrative duties as requested by the PI. 

Work Location:

Hybrid – this role is eligible for a hybrid schedule of 3 days per week on campus and as needed for in-person meetings.  

Why Join Us:

The Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI), located in the magnificent new Health Science building with a fabulous view of the Rocky Mountains, provides a fantastic environment for trainees to thrive and pursue their career goals. DBMI has a dedicated team for Grants Development and Scientific Writing, and a Software Engineering Team that can provide invaluable feedback to improve the quality of your code and your programming skills.

The Mitchell Lab at DBMI provides a dynamic and innovative environment where cutting-edge HCI and AI research meets practical medical applications. Collaborate daily with medical doctors and other healthcare professionals to develop solutions that have immediate and tangible effects on patient care. As the largest academic health sciences campus in the Rocky Mountain region, CU Anschutz encompasses six health professional schools, over 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked partner hospitals. This vibrant department offers unique opportunities for growth, collaboration, and impact. Our location not only provides unprecedented access to urban amenities and cultural experiences in Denver but also places you minutes away from some of the nation’s best outdoor activities, including hiking in the Rocky Mountains and skiing in Vail and Aspen.

The PI is committed to supporting the candidate’s research progress and career development, including exploring new project areas and collaborations. The Mitchell Lab also provides numerous opportunities for national and international collaborations with researchers across the field of AI, Human Computer Interaction, Biomedical Informatics, Medicine, and Education.

Why work for the University?  

The University of Colorado offers a comprehensive benefits package. To see what benefits are available for Post-Doctoral Fellows, please visit:

·         Payroll & Benefits Orientation for Post-Doctoral Fellows | University of Colorado (cu.edu)

·         benefits guide cover-post-doc-2024 (cu.edu)  

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:  

Applicants must meet minimum qualifications at the time of hire.  

• PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Human-computer Interaction, Computational Linguistics, Machine learning, Biomedical Informatics, or related fields  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience developing and evaluating language models or NLP systems for analyzing user-generated content, including feedback or open-ended survey responses.
• Familiarity with laddering techniques, qualitative coding, or mixed methods research for understanding user needs and refining AI-human interaction.
• Understanding of design, design thinking, user/human-centered design, and design tools such as Figma.
• Background in designing or deploying decision support tools or research platforms in healthcare, educational, or military settings.
• Proficiency in working with structured and unstructured biomedical data, including EHR data, wearable sensor time-series data, or clinical annotations.
• Demonstrated ability to build interactive or web-based systems using frameworks with emphasis on usability and iterative feedback.
• Experience with transformer-based language models (e.g., GPT-4, LLaMA, Mistral) and techniques for summarization, explanation, or retrieval-augmented generation.
• Prior work with data curation, metadata standards, or semantic similarity measures, especially in the context of research reproducibility.
• Strong communication and writing skills, with a track record of contributing to scientific manuscripts, grant proposals, or conference presentations in venues such as AMIA, CHI, JAMIA, or IEEE. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proficiency in scientific communication as evidenced by peer-reviewed conference proceedings (journals) manuscripts and presentations at national or international conferences.

How to Apply:

For full consideration, please submit the following document(s):

1.    A letter of interest describing relevant job experiences as they relate to listed job qualifications and interest in the position

2.    Curriculum vitae / Resume

3.    Five professional references including name, address, phone number (mobile number if appropriate), and email address

Applications are accepted electronically ONLY at www.cu.edu/cu-careers . 

Questions should be directed to: James Mitchell, james.2.mitchell@cuanschutz.edu

Screening of Applications Begins:

  Immediately and continues until position is filled. For best consideration, apply by August 10, 2025. 

Anticipated Pay Range:

The starting salary range (or hiring range ) for this position has been established as HIRING RANGE:

$73,000  

The above salary range (or hiring range ) represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. This position is not eligible for overtime compensation unless it is non-exempt.

Your total compensation goes beyond the number on your paycheck. The University of Colorado provides generous leave, health plans and retirement contributions that add to your bottom line.

Total Compensation Calculator: http://www.cu.edu/node/153125  

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

The University of Colorado (CU) is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  

ADA Statement:

The University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities throughout the employment application process. To request an accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact the Human Resources ADA Coordinator at hr.adacoordinator@ucdenver.edu ​.  

Background Check Statement:

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our faculty, staff, students and visitors. To assist in achieving that goal, we conduct background investigations for all prospective employees.  

Vaccination Statement:

CU Anschutz strongly encourages vaccination against the COVID-19 virus and other vaccine preventable diseases . If you work, visit, or volunteer in healthcare facilities or clinics operated by our affiliated hospital or clinical partners or by CU Anschutz, you will be required to comply with the vaccination and medical surveillance policies of the facilities or clinics where you work, visit, or volunteer, respectively. In addition, if you work in certain research areas or perform certain safety sensitive job duties, you must enroll in the occupational health medical surveillance program .