Postdoctoral Fellow or Research Associate

Job Type Full-time Description

The ADA Forsyth Institute was founded in 1910 as the Forsyth Dental Infirmary for Children (later, the Forsyth Institute), to provide dental care to the disadvantaged children of Boston. While continuing to serve children in need, yet recognizing the ultimate goal is to prevent dental disease, the Institute in 1915 began to focus on scientific research and is today the world’s leader in oral health research. In October of 2023, the Institute joined with the American Dental Association to form the ADA Forsyth Institute, a 501(c)(3) entity dedicated to improving people’s oral and overall health and powering the profession of dentistry through cutting-edge basic research, creative translational science, innovative clinical technologies, and global public health outreach. Consistent with the Institute’s founding mission, the ADA ForsythKids mobile dental program continues to serve children in need.   

 
ADA Forsyth, an independent not-for-profit research organization, is located in the Brick bottom District of Somerville, in a newly built life-science building. We are in close walking distance to restaurants, the Community Path, and T & bus routes for easy commuting.    

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to join a dynamic research team for a 5-year project funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR/NIH). This project aims to develop a streamlined platform for creating bioactive dental restoratives with self-healing and dynamic capabilities, tailored to individual patient needs. Using hybrid modeling and simulation approaches, we will refine material formulations and optimize the application of restorative materials for effective caries treatment.

The successful candidate will collaborate with materials scientists, microbiologists, AI and Machine Learning experts, and dentists. Additionally, opportunities for participation in NIH training programs and career development initiatives will be available. We welcome self-driven researchers to join our team and contribute to advancing global oral health through innovative biomaterials research.

For additional inquiries, please contact Dr. Jirun Sun, Full Professor, ADA Forsyth Institute: jsun@forsyth.org.

 RESPONSIBILITIES

• Independently plan, design, optimize and execute experiments.
• Design, prepare, and characterize dental adhesives and composites.
• Perform experiments to improve performance and robustness.
• Carry out dental bonding, bioactive mineralization, mechanical testing and durability experiments. 
• Analyze and interpret experimental data, as well as maintain accurate and detailed documentation of completed experiments. 
• Development, verification, validation and technology transfer of dental restoratives and other dental products.

Requirements

• PhD, DDS, or equivalent degree in chemistry, mechanical engineering, polymer science, materials science, chemical engineering, or related fields.
• Strong motivation, responsibility, and attention to detail.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and experimental skills.
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment.
• Willingness to learn new techniques and operate specialized instruments.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience in calcium phosphate mineralization
• Experience in antimicrobial evaluation
• Expertise in mechanical testing including three-point bending, fracture toughness and fatigue evaluation.
• Experience and knowledge in spectrometers, SEM, DMA, Instron, and nanoindentor 
• Familiar with dental bonding procedures and bonding tests. 
• Familiar with additive manufacturing

 ADA Forsyth Institute is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions or any other characteristic protected by law.   Salary Description 65,000 - 79,942 gross annual salary hiring range