As the nation’s largest most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.

About the Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA)

The Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) is dedicated to optimizing health for current and future generations by connecting agriculture, food systems, and nutrition through innovative research. As diet-related chronic diseases continue to rise nationally—with more than half of American adults affected by conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol—the IHA addresses these critical challenges with a multidisciplinary approach.

IHA’s mission is to reduce diet-related chronic diseases, lower health care costs, increase nutrition security, eliminate health inequities, and transform agricultural ecosystems to ensure both economic viability and environmental sustainability. Research at IHA spans three integrated disciplines: Precision Nutrition, Responsive Agriculture, and Healthy Living—leveraging expertise from leading scientists to drive impactful solutions.

Through partnerships, scholarship, and outreach, the IHA is advancing healthy and sustainable food systems and empowering Texas communities to live healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Explore our current projects and learn how you can be part of this transformative mission.

Click here to learn more about joining AgriLife!

Position Information

The Postdoctoral Research Associate scientifically supports and manages “Hungry Minds: Neurophysiological Studies of Nutritional Quality and Cognitive Resources,” a collaboration between Texas A&M AgriLife Research and USDA-ARS. The project conducts a randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of dietary intake on cognitive performance, emotion regulation, and behavioral economics outcomes. The project integrates behavioral economics and neurophysiological measures, including EEG and eye tracking, with dietary, anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical assessments.

Responsibilities:

Assists with research study implementation.

Develops and maintains IRB protocols and ensures regulatory compliance.

Supports participant recruitment, screening, enrollment, and scheduling.

Assists with intervention compliance monitoring.

Collects data at HBL and IHA Mobile Health Assessment Centers.

Cleans, merges, and documents data.

Conducts preliminary statistical analyses.

Develops online data collection tools.

Contributes to literature reviews, reports, manuscripts, presentations, and grant proposals.

Summarizes study results.

Communicates study progress and data needs to the research team while safeguarding confidential participant information.