Jobs
Postdoctoral Scholar
Posted 27 Feb 2024
Employer
University of California, San Diego
Location
San Diego , California
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator
Contact
To apply: Please submit a cover letter, CV, and letters from three references to Drs. Jeremy Elman (jaelman@health.ucsd.edu) and Matthew Panizzon (mspanizzon@health.ucsd.edu).
Description
UCSD is seeking a postdoctoral fellow for the NIA-funded Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) at the University of California, San Diego, in the Department of Psychiatry. The VETSA comprises a set of longitudinal studies focused on behavior genetics of cognitive and brain aging, as well as risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The position is for an initial two-year fellowship with the possibility to extend contingent on funding.
The VETSA has been funded continuously since 2002 and constitutes a rich study that can address a wide variety of important research questions elucidating risk and protective factors for cognitive and brain aging as well as life course development. In-depth cognitive, psychosocial and health, biomarker, GWAS, and air pollution exposure data have been collected in more than 1,600 participants across four waves with multimodal neuroimaging acquired on approximately one-third of the sample. The MRI sessions include structural, diffusion, and arterial spin labeling (ASL) acquisitions. The fellowship also includes opportunities to participate in several international consortia, including CHARGE, ENIGMA, IGEMS, and PGC.
Responsibilities: The candidate will have opportunities to participate in all aspects of analysis and interpretation of data. This will primarily focus on neuroimaging and related association studies with cognition, biomarker, and other factors. Mentorship to advance neuroimage analysis skills will be provided, as well as hands-on experience with pipeline modifications for structural, cerebral blood flow, and other modalities. Projects will include traditional twin analyses, GWAS, the use of polygenic risk scores, and causal-modeling. The candidate will be heavily involved in writing and preparating manuscripts, presentations for scientific meetings, and grant writing. The candidate will be encouraged and mentored to develop his or her own independent research program. There will be ample opportunity to interact with a large multidisciplinary, multisite team of over a dozen investigators at UCSD and with VETSA faculty at other institutions including Boston University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and University of Colorado at Boulder.
Salary: NIH rates based on experience; UCSD has excellent benefits.
Start date: Positions are open now and review of applications is ongoing.
Requirements
- Experience and strong interest in neuropsychology, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, genetics, and/or health-related factors.
- Experience or strong interest in neuroimage data processing and analysis.
- A Ph.D. in psychology, cognitive science, or a related field.
- A strong statistical background and excellent written and oral communication skills.