Job Abstract

The University of California, Berkeley, solicits applications for a new Junior/Assistant Specialist, in the Building Blocks of Cognition Laboratory, directed by Dr. Silvia Bunge.

The Building Blocks of Cognition Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley, headed by Professor Silvia Bunge, studies the cognitive and neural processes that support reasoning, memory, and goal-directed behavior in humans. To investigate these phenomena, the lab leverages behavioral, brain imaging, and eyetracking method. Research assistant will work on a National Institute of Mental Health project titled "Narrowing the mechanistic gap for anterior prefrontal cortex function"

The Junior/Assistant Specialist will work closely with Professor Bunge and the project team to launch this study. The successful candidate will recruit, screen, schedule, and compensate participants, collect behavioral data, assist with scanning, oversee and coordinate with undergraduate research assistants and the scanner technician, collaborate with the human subjects research coordinator and systems administrator, manage data (and code) sharing with the research community, handle purchasing and reimbursements, organize research team meetings, etc. This team member will have the opportunity to participate in data analysis, presentations, and writeup of results.

This project targets the lateral aspect of anterior PFC, a brain region whose anatomy in humans is not clearly defined and whose fundamental role in cognition is poorly understood. At a descriptive level, aLPFC is involved in higher-level cognitive abilities such as planning, multi-tasking, reasoning, memory retrieval monitoring, and decision-making. Here, we seek to investigate its function at a more granular level via fMRI, structural MRI, and diffusion-weighted imaging on the 3 Tesla and 7 Tesla scanners at the Brain Imaging Center at UC Berkeley.

This is a unique opportunity for individuals interested in pursuing graduate studies in the future.

Bachelor's degree (or equivalent international degree) or currently enrolled in a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent international degree) program.

Bachelor's degree (or equivalent international degree)

-Experience assisting with MRI research, and experience with coding and statistics (ideally in Python).
-One year of research experience involving human participants.
-1+ year of research experience involving human participants.
-Strong background in STEM
-Strong organizational and interpersonal skills, and facility learning new technology.
-Intrinsically motivated, results-oriented, and efficient.
-Willingness to trouble-shoot independently but check in regularly.

• 3-6 required (contact information only)

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included. Successful candidates will demonstrate knowledge and skill related to ensuring equity and inclusion in the activities of their academic position (e.g., teaching, research, and service, as applicable).

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

Please refer to the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy and the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.