The Decision Neuroscience and Psychopathology Lab (DNPL; PIs: Drs. Alexandre Dombrovski, Timothy Allen, and Aliona Tsypes) in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh is seeking a full-time Research Project Assistant to work on NIMH-funded studies examining decision processes involved in depression, personality pathology, and suicidal behavior. Our team uses behavioral experiments, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), passive sensing, computational modeling, and physiological measures like fMRI and EEG to investigate learning and neural mechanisms underlying personality and psychopathology. The lab environment is collaborative, and staff has the opportunity to acquire a variety of technical skills and a rich theoretical foundation. This is an ideal position for someone who is interested in pursuing graduate studies in psychology, psychiatry, or related fields. 100% of our lab alumni have been accepted to graduate or professional programs or found desirable industry jobs after 2–4 years in the lab.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Applications from members of groups underrepresented in science are highly encouraged.
Job Description
- Assist with the design, implementation, and administration of research protocols focusing on personality, psychopathology, neuroscience, and computational modeling, including an ongoing multi- modal (fMRI, EMA, physiology) R01 study and a new multi-site 28-day EMA protocol that includes ambulatory EEG and ECG data collection from older adults.
- Data collection, scheduling and screening participants, data management, participant recruitment and retention, lab administration, clinical assessment, supervision of undergraduate students, and analysis of behavioral and neuroimaging data.
- Contribute to additional lab projects.
- Successful lab members get support with independent data projects.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in related field (e.g., Psychology, Neuroscience, Biology, Engineering or Computer Science).
- One year of research/clinical experience, 2 years preferred. Undergraduate experience may be accepted if relevant.
- Proven ability and motivation to ensure high quality standards in collecting data.
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, organizational skills, and attention to detail.
- Ability to prioritize and perform tasks in a flexible and efficient manner.
- Preferred: programming experience (R, Matlab, Python, Bash or similar); fMRI, EMA and/or EEG data collection, processing and analysis; experience with psychopathology and behavioral assessment; experience working with clinical populations.
Interested applicants should apply through the UPMC careers portal: https://careers.upmc.com/job/21837490/research-project-assistant-pittsburgh-pa/ and/or contact Laura Taglioni (taglionil@upmc.edu). Please include a CV, cover letter, and 3 references.