Postdoc Employee-The Building Blocks of Cognition Laboratory - Psychology

Position overview
Salary range: The UC postdoc salary scales set the minimum pay determined by experience level at appointment. See the following table for the current salary scale for this position: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2023-24/oct-2023-acad-salary-scales/t23.pdf. The current minimum salary range for this position is $64,480-$71,908. Salaries above the minimum may be offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: August 1, 2024

Position duration: 2 year appointment, with a possibility of renewal

Application Window
Open date: May 5, 2024

Next review date: Wednesday, Nov 20, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Wednesday, Apr 30, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The Department of Psychology at the University of California Berkeley invites applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar Employee, specifically in the area of cognitive neuroscience.

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 methods.

Postdoctoral employee will work on a National Institute of Mental Health project titled "Narrowing the mechanistic gap for anterior prefrontal cortex function". 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. Seeking 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. Close collaborators on the project include Associate Professor Kevin Weiner (functional neuroanatomist) and Adjunct Professor David Feinberg (MR physicist) at UC Berkeley.
Specific duties include:

• Assist with finalizing study design and task presentation code, oversee piloting and data collection, and set up behavioral and fMRI preprocessing and analysis pipelines.
• Taker the lead on writing and revising manuscripts, and present results locally and at conferences.
• Provide mentorship to the graduate student researcher and full-time research assistant, as well as other lab members.
• Expertise in structural and functional MRI data collection and analysis

Lab: http://bungelab.berkeley.edu

Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
PhD or equivalent international degree or enrolled in a PhD program or equivalent international degree program at the time of application

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)
-PHD or equivalent international degree
-No more than 3 years of post PhD research experience

Preferred qualifications
-A Ph.D. or equivalent international degree in Neuroscience or Psychology

• Established publication record in human cognitive neuroscience
• Experience with fMRI data collection and up-to-date analysis methods
• Coding experience (ideally Python)
• Ability to carry out a variety of statistical analyses (ideally in Python, R)
• Ability to write up results for publication in a timely manner
• Strong initiative and organizational and interpersonal skills
• Experience with open science data practices (e.g., preregistration on OSF; sharing code to Github, etc.)
• Experience with layer fMRI is a bonus
  
  Application Requirements
  
  Document requirements
  • Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
  • Cover Letter
  
  
  Reference requirements
  
  • 3-6 required (contact information only)
  Apply link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04378
  
  Help contact: dreamartinez@berkeley.edu
  
  About UC Berkeley
  
  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.
  
  Job location
  Berkeley, CA
  
  
  To apply, visit https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04378