Do you envision finding a meaningful role with an inclusive and compassionate team? At Children’s Mercy, we believe in making a difference in the lives of all children and shining a light of hope to the patients and families we serve. Our employees make the difference, which is why we have been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top pediatric hospital, for eleven consecutive years.

Children’s Mercy is in the heart of Kansas City – a metro abounding in cultural experiences, vibrant communities and thriving businesses. This is where our patients and families live, work and play. This is a community that has embraced our hospital and we strive to say thanks by giving back. As a leader in children’s health, we engage in meaningful programs and partnerships throughout the region so that we can improve the lives of children beyond the walls of our hospital.

This is a two-year post-doctoral appointment (with possible renewal) to provide advance research training to individuals with a doctoral degree in Developmental Psychology, Child Clinical Psychology, Human Development and Family Studies, Developmental Neurobiology, Nutritional Sciences, or obesity/health related field. This is a postdoctoral training experience in a multidisciplinary research team. The Postdoctoral Associate will be supervised by Dr. Kai Ling Kong, an Associate Professor in the Division of Health Services and Outcome Research, UMKC Department of Pediatrics. She is the Principal Investigator for the Children’s Mercy Baby Health Behavior Lab. Her primary research focus is on infant health, specifically infant’s home environments and ingestive behaviors. Her research aims to identify how infant-toddler’s food and non-food behaviors affect obesity later in life and how early interventions can protect those at risk from obesity. She currently has an R01 grant that examines the effect of strengthening the reinforcing value of alternatives to eating, using a music program to shift the motivation to eat in 9-15 month old infants, who were tested to have high motivation to eat. The major aim was to examine the short and long-term efficacy of this intervention on obesity related outcomes. Besides getting involved in her R01 grant, Postdoctoral Research Scholar will also allocate time to collaborate on data analysis and publications of existing longitudinal data sets of diverse, high risk samples by seeking to understand the developmental mechanisms, such as infant-parent relationship, self-regulation, individual differences in children’s autonomic and stress reactivity, on the impact of children’s health outcomes, specifically obesity risk later in life.

For more information please visit -https://www.childrensmercy.org/profiles/kai-ling-kong/

At Children’s Mercy, we are committed to ensuring that everyone feels welcomed within our walls. A successful candidate for this position will join us as we strive to create a workplace that reflects the community we serve, as well as our core values of kindness, curiosity, inclusion, team and integrity.

Additionally, it’s important to us that we remain transparent with all potential job candidates. Because we value the safety of the patients and families we serve, as well as the Children’s Mercy staff, we want to let you know that the seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines are a condition of employment for all employees in our organization. New employees must be willing to be vaccinated if found non-immune to measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) and chicken pox (varicella) and/or without evidence of tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination since 2005. If you become a finalist for this position, and have any concerns about receiving these vaccines, medical and/or religious exemptions can be further discussed with Human Resources.

• Assist lab manager with pregnancy and infancy pilot studies
• Develop hypotheses and design and carry out laboratory experiments using a variety of research techniques to test those hypotheses under the supervision of his or her research mentors.
• He/she will also assist the lab manager with the various pregnancy and infancy pilot studies in the Dr. Kong’s lab
• Develop hypotheses and design and carry out laboratory experiments using a variety of research techniques to test those hypotheses under the supervision of his or her research mentors.
• Mentoring in grant writing will be provided to interested candidates. It is common to work more on ongoing projects in the beginning of the postdoctoral experience while transitioning to become an independent investigator. The goal is for the Postdoctoral Associate to become an independent investigator, and working toward writing his/her K award grant.

• Ph.D.or MD or related doctoral level degree in a relevant discipline And 1-2 years of experience
• Experience conducting research with children and families, longitudinal data analysis, and manuscript writing

Our pay ranges are market competitive.  We follow the NIH Guidelines for Post Docs. 

This is an intermittent remote position, which means that the person hired will work with his/her manager to determine a schedule that includes both at home and onsite hours at a Children’s Mercy location. The incumbent must live in the Kansas City metro area.

Children’s Mercy hires individuals based on their job skills, expertise and ability to maintain professional relationships with fellow employees, patients, parents and visitors. A personal interview, formal education and training, previous work experience, references and a criminal background investigation all are factors used to select the best candidates. The hospital does not discriminate against prospective or current employees based on the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, creed, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry or veteran status. A drug screen will be performed upon hire. Children’s Mercy is smoke and tobacco free.

CM is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. Our patients and families come from all walks of life, and so do we. We know that our greatest strengths come from the people who make up our team so we hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes our hospital stronger and our patient care more compassionate.

If you share our values and our enthusiasm for service, you will find a home at CM. In recruiting for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring, including education, ideas, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, age, languages spoken, veteran status, color, religion, disability and beliefs.