Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Within the Center for Health Care Delivery Science
- Overview
- Salary & Benefits
- Location & Living
- Faculty & Participants
- Apply
Program Overview
The Center for Healthcare Delivery Science (CHDS) is an innovative and unique community of 18 investigators that uses diverse methods from family and learning health systems science, behavioral science, implementation science, informatics, health policy, and behavioral economics. Our goal is to build a strong base of scientific evidence about how health care can best be delivered to foster the healthiest generation of children.
Health care delivery is optimized when conceptualized as integrating aspects of health outcomes, health behavior, care delivery and health policy. CHDS spans the Nemours Children's enterprise with locations in Wilmington, Delaware and Jacksonville and Orlando in Florida. We offer a two-year intensive research fellowship program to professionals from a variety of backgrounds (e.g., psychology, nursing, medicine, public health) who aspire to academic research careers.
Fellows have the opportunity to:
- Work with a mentor to develop an area of research focus within the scope of CHDS, based on interest and experience.
- Write and submit mentored grant applications (e.g., internal fellowship grants, NIH K23), with the goal of launching their own line of research.
- Participate in all aspects of clinical research, including project planning, recruitment and data collection, data management and analyses, and manuscript preparation.
- Attend biomedical research presentations, pediatric grand rounds, CHDS-based research meetings and didactics, and other educational sessions.
- Become part of a cohort of postdoctoral fellows across Nemours.
Program highlights:
CHDS fellowships are two-year programs, with the most recent running summer 2025 to summer 2027.
We have two fellowship positions, one in Wilmington, Delaware and one in Jacksonville or Orlando in Florida.
Fellows are paired with a primary research faculty mentor within CHDS and may collaborate with other Nemours faculty.
These are primarily research positions; if applicable, up to 20% of supervised clinical time is allotted to accrue hours for licensure.
Salary & Benefits
Nemours offers a competitive salary and benefits package.
- Salary: $64,302 (2025-2026 academic year)
- Eligible for a merit increase at the start of second year
- Professional development allowance
Competitive benefits package includes, among others:
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Malpractice insurance
- Prescription drug coverage
- Generous paid time off (PTO) policy
- Free on-site parking
- Retirement annuity programs
- Retirement annuity programs
- Employer-paid short-term disability
- Basic life insurance and A&D
- Voluntary additional life insurance and/or AD&D
- Voluntary long-term disability
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Wellness program
- Financial education program
Locations & Living
The Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program offers two fellowship positions: One in Wilmington, DE and one in Jacksonville or Orlando, FL. Learn more about our locations and living in the areas we serve.
About Our Hospital in Delaware
The Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware is a multispecialty, tertiary care teaching institution located on a 300-acre estate in the scenic Brandywine Valley in Wilmington, Del.
Among the hospital’s amenities for all staff are:
- Free parking
- Park-like setting
- Gym/fitness center
- On-site child care center for children of staff
Living in Delaware Valley
Because of our location in the tri-state area of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we offer unique living/working opportunities. For example, you can choose to live in the downtown Philadelphia area and easily commute to our park-like hospital campus in Wilmington.
About Our Hospital in Orlando
Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida, located in Orlando’s Lake Nona Medical City, currently operates 130 inpatient beds and a 20-bed Emergency Department. Highlights include:
- Recognized for quality and safety
- Awarded for advanced technology
- More than 180 medical and surgical faculty
- Hospital in a garden setting
Living in Orlando
Located in southeast Orlando, Lake Nona is a vibrant, walkable community where many medical professionals live, work, and unwind. The area is popular with both young professionals and families, with top-rated schools and plenty of parks, shops, and restaurants at the nearby town center.
Orlando offers warm weather, no state income tax, and a diverse, welcoming population. Whether you're looking for cultural events, theme parks, sports events, outdoor adventures, or quick getaways to the beach, there’s always something to explore — all within easy reach.
About Nemours Children's Health, Jacksonville
Located downtown on the beautiful St. Johns River, Nemours Children's Health, Jacksonville is an outpatient pediatric clinic that provides specialized care for children in Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia and beyond. We also see patients at the adjacent Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Premier Pediatric Collaboration
Your training is provided through a seamless, time-tested affiliation between Nemours Children's Health, Jacksonville and Wolfson Children's Hospital. Our strong weekly academic schedule helps educate residents from the local University of Florida program, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and the combined U.S. Army/Navy program in Bethesda, Md.
Wolfson is the only tertiary referral children’s hospital in the Northeast Florida and Southern Georgia region. The 250-bed facility has 12 operating rooms, with approximately two to three per day dedicated to orthopedics. Wolfson’s Emergency Department is staffed entirely by fellowship-trained pediatric emergency medicine physicians. The trauma center is Level 3.
Train With Recognized Leaders
Train with faculty who are respected leaders in their fields, a patient care model that stands apart and access to groundbreaking research.
Our Leadership
Anne E. Kazak, PhD, ABPP
Enterprise Director, Center for Healthcare Delivery Science
Principal Research Scientist
Melissa A. Alderfer, PhD
Center Director, Center for Healthcare Delivery Science – Delaware Valley
Principal Research Scientist
Susana R. Patton, PhD, ABPP, CDCES
Center Director, Center for Healthcare Delivery Science — Florida
Principal Research Scientist
Jessica Pierce, PhD
Clinical Psychologist, Director of Fellowship Training, Center for Healthcare Delivery Science
Our Faculty
Meet our faculty now.
Faculty not pictured below: David Fedele, PhD, Julia Price, PhD, and Rachel Skyocypec, PhD.
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Danielle Ryan Hatchimonji, PhD
Primary Office
Wilmington, DE -
Erica Dolores Sood, PhD
Clinical Psychologist Associate Professor of Pediatric Psychology, Thomas Jefferson UniversityPrimary Office
Wilmington, DE
Recent Fellows
Emily “Isa” Granados, PhD, 2024-2026 (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Dr. Granados is a population health scientist interested in research on pediatric obesity. She’s being mentored by Drs. Susana Patton and David Fedele.
MaryJane Campbell, PhD, 2023-2025 (Orlando)
Dr. Campbell is a psychologist interested in research on family adaptation to pediatric food allergies. She’s being mentored by Drs. Susana Patton and Jessica Pierce, and has two grant proposals under scientific merit review.
Mallory Garnett, PhD, 2023-2025 (Wilmington, Del.)
Dr. Garnett is a psychologist interested in research on parenting in economically disadvantaged families. She’s being mentored by Dr. JJ Cutuli and has one grant proposal under scientific merit review.
Nicole Enlow, PhD, 2023-2025 (Wilmington, Del.)
Dr. Enlow is a psychologist who received a Nemours Biomedical Research Fellows Award on psychosocial risk in cerebral palsy in February 2024. She’s being mentored by Dr. Anne Kazak.
How to Apply
Application Requirements
Deadline: Applications are closed for the 2025-2027 fellowship in Delaware. Applications are still being accepted for Orlando or Jacksonville.
Required application materials include:
- CV
- Cover letter
- Three letters of recommendation
Rather than highlighting specific research mentors in your cover letter, we ask that you emphasize your area(s) of interest and career goals and how they align with CHDS focus areas.
Applications are reviewed immediately and accepted until the position is filled.
Please email your application materials to Dr. Jessica Pierce, Director of Research Fellowship Training.