Postdoctoral Associate - Medical Humanities Research Institute

About Rice:

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lectures series, courses and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities. 

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community and Excellence.

Position Summary:

The Medical Humanities Research Institute at Rice University seeks to appoint one postdoctoral associate with a PhD in a humanities discipline for a two-year appointment in the research area of artificial intelligence for health for Fiscal Years 2026-28. The postdoc will join the vibrant, new collaborative Center for Humanities-based Health AI Innovation (CHHAIN), co-led by the Baylor College of Medicine Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy and funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This position provides early-career scholars the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research at the intersection of medical humanities, ethics, and emerging AI technologies in healthcare.

The Medical Humanities Research Institute includes faculty from diverse fields in the humanities, social sciences, engineering, and the arts, and collaborates with numerous institutions in the Texas Medical Center and the broader Houston community. 

Building on the strength of Rice University’s faculty working in Medical Humanities, Science and Technology Studies, Engineering, and the Creative Arts, MHRI imagines new approaches to healthcare that place anti-racism, ethics, patient experiences, artistic expression, and historical and narrative analysis at the center of medical innovation. The postdoctoral associate would work within this dynamic environment at Rice to further MHRI’s key initiative in Trustworthy Health AI.

Responsibilities:

The postdoc will contribute to CHHAIN’s collaborative agenda by supporting and advancing humanities-based research. Key responsibilities include data collection (literature reviews and interviews), data analysis, dissemination of findings through conferences and peer-reviewed publications, project management, and scholarly communication across disciplines and with community partners. Specifically, the postdoc will be expected to

• Conduct interdisciplinary research on medical humanities, AI ethics, and health justice.
•  Lead and contribute to dissemination activities, including publications, conference presentations, workshops, and community-facing scholarship.
• Coordinate and support project management across Rice and Baylor collaborations.
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students in medical humanities research projects.
• Teach one course per year for the Medical Humanities Program through the School of Humanities and Arts.
• Strengthen CHHAIN’s ties with Houston-area community partners and healthcare organizations through outreach and engagement.

The postdoctoral associate will be selected based on the relevance of their work to CHHAIN objectives and focus area on trustworthy health technologies, potential for outreach with local health and community-based organizations, scholarly record of publications and presentations, and history of demonstrated interest in collaborative research.

This position is in the Rice University Medical Humanities Research Institute for the period from July 1, 2026-June 30, 2028. This is a full-time, residential postdoctoral position teaching 1 class during each academic year and is benefits eligible.

The ideal candidate has a PhD in a humanities discipline, conferred between June 29, 2022 and June 30, 2026. The ideal candidate should have evidence of strong humanities-based research skills and experience in collaborative research projects, preferably in the medical humanities field in the research area of artificial intelligence for health. Demonstrated ability to work in an organized, detailed, and collaborative manner is important.