The Postdoctoral Associate will be working in the Youth Emotions, Thoughts, and Interactions (YETI) Lab with the PI, Dr. Leslie Horton, housed in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The YETI Lab examines psychosis risk in adolescents and young adults using methods that include cardiovascular psychophysiology, clinical interviews, computer tasks, and ecological momentary/ambulatory assessment.
The successful applicant will work on two new research projects: 1) One funded by the NIMH (R01MH121386-01) examining threat dysregulation (TD) as a contributor to social impairment and psychotic-like experiences in adolescents at-risk for psychosis, and 2) A large-scale, collaborative project (1U01MH124639-01) examining psychosis risk in adolescents and young adults at 27 institutions, including the U. of Pittsburgh. See projectreporter.nih.gov for more information on both projects.
The successful applicant will take a leadership role in the YETI lab on these two projects. Responsibilities will include collecting, processing, and analyzing ambulatory and cardiovascular data; conducting clinical interviews and assessments with participants; writing manuscripts and conference presentations; and mentoring more junior lab members and students. A 2-year minimum commitment is required.
Additional opportunities will be available to pursue data analysis and manuscript-writing using existing data; and to become involved in the development of other new research projects and grant proposals. Although this position primarily focused on research, qualified clinician candidates may have the opportunity to devote up to ½ day per week providing clinical services as part of the HOPE TEAM (Help Overcoming Prodromal Experiences through Early Assessment and Management), a clinic serving youth ages 10-26 who are at risk for psychosis (www.hopeteam.pitt.edu).
This position provides the opportunity to work and learn in an outstanding and collaborative research environment. The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh boasts a wealth of training and career development resources for postdoctoral researchers (https://www.psychiatry.pitt.edu/research/research-training/post-doctoral-training), including the Career and Research Development Seminar. This weekly seminar series is designed to enhance postdoctoral trainees’ grantsmanship, professional competence, and skills for launching an independent research career.
Qualifications:
- PhD or MD with a background in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science or a related discipline.
- Active interest in researching psychosis risk, ambulatory assessment of stress and behavior, stress/ threat processing, and/or cardiovascular psychophysiology.
- Strong written and verbal presentation skills.
- A promising research publication record.
- Ability to and interest in committing a minimum of 2 years to the position.
Preferred qualifications:
- Programming skills (e.g., Matlab, Python, Shell).
- Knowledge of statistics for intensive longitudinal data
- Experience collecting, cleaning, and/or analyzing ambulatory assessment and/or cardiovascular psychophysiology data
- The ability to run basic and more complex statistical analyses, e.g., in Matlab, SAS, MPlus, and/or R.
To apply, please send a CV, cover letter, and 3 references to hortonle2@upmc.edu.