Junior Specialist - AIR Lab
Position Overview:
A reasonable estimate for this position is $53,100 at Step 1 or $56,600 at Step 2
The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis invites applications for a qualified Junior Specialist for the Attention, Impulsivity and Regulation (AIR) Laboratory in the MIND Institute.
This position will be involved in research questions in regard to attention, impulsivity, decision-making in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and typically developing youth and adults. There are currently several projects in the laboratory including: 1) Use of naturalistic methods to assess distractibility in typically developing adolescents and adolescents with ADHD, using virtual reality technology, eye tracking and at home assessments via cell phone responding; 2) Testing a virtual reality intervention to improve attention in children with ADHD; 3) A neuroimaging (fMRI) project testing mechanisms driving attention. Future studies may also include how adolescents and young adults manage their time and use of digital (social media, gaming, etc.) devices. The successful candidate will have completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Human Development, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior or a related field. Experience with collecting data in human participants is highly preferred.
MAJOR RESPONSIBLITIES
The incumbent for this position will be involved in developing experimental tasks to assess attention in middle school or high school academic environments; developing participant recruitment materials; screening potential participants, scheduling appointments with participants, acquiring consent and assent and data from research participants, organizing and cleaning data and performing quality control checks on the data, communicating with parents, teachers, and the participants. Data types include survey (questionnaire) data, eye-tracking, behavioral data, interview data, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan data, ecological momentary assessment (via cell phone survey) data and related clinical measures.
The incumbent will also assist with research administration (e.g., progress reports, data agreements, project meetings, ordering supplies). Learning how to develop and amend Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols and communication with the IRB will also be a responsibility. Excellent communication with adolescent, parents and young adults, other staff, investigators, and trainees is a critical part of the position. Collecting and reviewing relevant journal articles; engaging in discussions on research and the interpretation of research results and contributing to the writing up of results for publication in scholarly journals and presentations at conferences, with potential for authorship credit.
General responsibilities include:
I. RESEARCH ACTIVITY (80% EFFORT)
Specific research and technical activities include:
Developing psychological/academic task materials for testing attention, particularly relevant to high school academic tasks for use in virtual reality classroom
Recruitment of research participants
• Developing participant recruitment materials
• Disseminating recruitment materials and working with UC Davis Public Affairs and Study Pages and the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC), the MIND Institute and other entities in recruitment efforts
• Managing volunteer recruitment and communication Scheduling participants for research visits and coordinating with clinicians and other team members conducting visits Data collection
• Screen participants; participate in decision making regarding including participants
• Learning how to collect and actively collecting high quality rating scale/survey and clinical, behavioral, eye-tracking, EMA and fMRI data
• Tracking participant progress in studies
• Reaching out to participants and/or family members about their progress and giving them feedback
• Scoring tests to obtain results for standardized psychological tests
• MRI study additional responsibilities
• Coordinate with physicians for screening and prescribing medication
• Working with Investigational Drug Service (IDS) on ordering and picking up medication
• Acquiring vital signs
• Safey checks
• Transferring and uploading data Managing data
• Ensuring data are stored carefully and inputted accurately
• Sharing data with team members when necessary
• Documentation of methods and quality assurance activities
• Keeping detailed and updated logs, standard operating procedures for projects
• Participate in collaborative data analysis General laboratory procedures
• Develop and/or coordinate procedures across the laboratory members
• Receiving supervision from senior lab members and responding to feedback Administrative
• Ordering supplies, preparing compensation forms for participants and other communication with finance team
• Preparing and
Location: Davis, CA
Posted: Oct. 16, 2024, 6:29 a.m.
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